-AoW-JP

Wow I remember people thinking I was nutz for complaing about the torque steer. This is good info on the VDC. I'm turning mine off tomorrow and going to compare the drive. Thanks for the info guys!

blackpaladin67

Remember you can never really turn it off .. it's still lurkin in the background ready to pounce....

MACKAVELLI

iTrader: (1)

anybody have this Vehicle Dynamic Control and full-size spare tire option?
is it worth the money?

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

I have that option. I have never been in a situation where the VDC had to kick in yet, however it is reasuring to now that it is there, whenever I may need it. If you are like me and don't plan on getting after market rims, then having a full size spare might not be such a bad option.

logik05se

the hell with all these electro - nannies, cars for years didd come with nothing close to vdc, not even traction control, even the RWD ones. Just know how to drive.

02MaxGLE

I wish I had the option to turn my TCS on and off like I did with my '02 GLE.

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

I had my rear wheel 94 infiniti q45 go into a 360 while driving straight on route 80 during a snow down pour last winter. Sometimes all the driving skills in the world can't help you when you hit a patch of black ice.

MaximaSE2005

Even though I haven't used my spare tire, it's good to know that I have a full size one and can go regular speed.

For some reason, when I turn off the VDC and only have the TCS on (cause you can't turn off the TCS), it seems to handle better. Especially cornering.

Go figure.

I am glad that I got the VDC w/ Full size spare.

logik05se

I hear ya stuff can happen, I duno though I went through 3 bad ny winters, 1 with a 91 240sx, 1 with a 94 540i, and a 97 eldorado. I did alot of driving in these winters too, 50 miles one way to work. No doubt the eldo was better because it was FWD rather than rear, but the rear was fine once it was moving, just a little harder to get going.

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

I had been driving the "Q" for 4 winters before the spin out. My life literally flashed before my eyes as I was spinning uncontrollably and saw 3 cars just miss me, before the 4th (a caravan) slam into my car, pushing it into the center concrete divide.

logik05se

damn man, glad to hear everything was ok at least. Anything could indeed happen, fa sho.

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man. In the winter I used to have to drive around with a bag of sand in the Q, shouldn't have to do that now with the Max.

lightonthehill

Government tests have repeatedly proven that stability control (Nissan calls it Vehicle Direction Control) actually does help significantly when the car is in a skidding or fishtailing situation.

In fact, the improvement in control is so clear that the government is going to require stability control in all passenger cars by (IIRC) 2010.

Those who feel superior driving skills can do better than VDC are incorrect. The power steering response on the Maxima (and all vehicles) is not capable of responding to extremely quick reversals of direction commands nearly as fast as stability control systems, which bypass the normal steering system.

After over 56 years of driving, I have been in many situations where the power steering response was not capable of handling the quick reversals I was attempting to input; it was as if the steering was locked for a tenth of a second every time I tried a quick reversal.

I am a firm believer in stability control, and will never buy a car without it.

The 6th gen Maxima is one of the few cars I have ever owned where I felt the OEM wheels and tires were exactly appropriate for the vehicle. As a result, I haven't changed a thing, and really appreciate the full size spare on matching alloy wheel.

MaxMus

Case in point, last winter I took my car onto a back road during a snowstorm.
There was about 5 inches on the ground and I decided to test out VDC. I did several runs where i accelerated to about 30mph, where I sharply cut the wheel. the VDC computer recognized that the car was not turning in the direction i was pointing it and applied the brakes individually until the car straightened out. It was then and there that I recognized that I will never buy another car again without stability control.

It also came in handy a couple of days later where i was trying to merge onto a slush covered freeway and i hit a deep pile of slush and the car wanted to head toward the guardrail, but with VDC it made some grinding noises and went back on track.

bikerbeng

For me the options that were most important were the DPP and the VDC. Living in the East you never know what kind of weather may await you. One minute the sky is clear and the next it is raining or snowing. Hard to leave the sunroof open in this environment either but that is another thread. I sure hope, as others have posted, the VDC was a good buy. When you spend $30k on a car (SL) what is another $600 for the VDC?

lightonthehill

bikerbing - Good point. And the $600 is truly a bargain when one considers that the matching alloy wheel and OEM tire alone might cost that much at the dealer.

Mr.Sparkle

In some situations VDC is dangerous and can even get you killed. I was up in the mountains pushing it hard. Before this very tight turn the road banks from left to right several times but it goes in a straight line, it just kinda like sways from left to right. I think the small rapid elevation changes triggered the VDC, when I tried to brake for the turn all I heard were these clicks coming from the brakes and the car wouldnt slow down. Now remember this is before entering the turn and I was not braking so it wasnt the antilock brakes I dont think. Well I went in the turn full speed, there was no way in hell I would of made it if it wasnt for pilot sport tires I had on. I had my foot pressed on the brakes the whole way through the turn to no avail but the car did seem to slow down a bit by itself, it seemed like it was braking with the engine. Anyhow I almost went over a 200 foot cliff because of the system engaging too soon.