DARKMAZ8

I drive a base 8 myself and never had any issues yet......my previous rx7 didn't have dsc and although the back end liked to come out,,i drove the car carefully when weather conditions were bad.......I think you are more likely to drive faster when you know that dsc will help out when needed.....so is dsc really a good thing considering that you tend to drive the car more aggressively in bad weather with it on......I think it is better to learn the limits with dsc off because you never know when your dsc will not work one day and all the years driving with it on just made you worst off in the long run......I am also canadian and i have tons of experience in bad weather so im used to driving in snow and ice.....in ice dsc doesnt stand a chance so maybe instead of dsc we should all take a trip to skip barbers skid school..... :D

RX8by

Thie Guy learned what happens when you don't have DSC. Most people who have and turn it off end up wrecking in the rain or when they hit that unexpected slick spot. I have had mine work a few times that I really didn't expect it would activate. I am glad it did. One time for sure I would have hit the curb and lost a wheel and tire at the very least.


"So I totaled my 8 in the rain, so sad, on the freeway. Changed lanes, caught a puddle and the back end came around the front...slammed into the center divider, long story short ended up on the drivers side.

The best part of the accident is that I was not injured.

Mine was a 2004 had about 11,000 miles on it. Just curious about what inusrance companies are paying off on cars. I want to buy another 8, I know they are safe at least...but worried about what I may end up getting for it.

My 8 wasn't Silver, and I dont have DSC...I am sure it would have helped. If I get another, I will be sure to get DSC."

DARKMAZ8

I think that guy was a first time rwd sports car owner cause I have owned lot's of cars without dsc and never totaled the car.....I admit that i don't push the envelope when the weather is bad but i don't think depending on dsc is really a smart idea......I also cant understand how a lane change can cause you to total a car.....I guess if you crank the wheel to change lanes but otherwise inexperiance is a lot worse than having no dsc.....just my .005

RX-Hachi

I leave it on in the rain. Other than the safety aspect when roads are slick, I don't think you are missing much.

I think Mazda does have a good system, it doesn't intrude that much compared to other cars I've owned or driven. But when the Sun is out, I will often turn it off. I just prefer to be in complete control.

It's like the rain sensors some cars have these days. Nice feature, but I prefer to control the wiper speed. It never wipes the rain at the speed I want, so I end up manually setting the speed or initiating the wipe anyway.

ezrider55

I am not Macho Man :D , so I leave DSC on. I feel the best way to learn the limits of this car is with DSC on as the light will tell you when you have reached the limits . Of course the fact that i'm older than dirt may have something to do with my opinion.

Rhawb

I leave mine on. I don't necessarily think I need it (I've driven around with it off), but it's nice to know that if I do overcook it at some point, chances are good that I'm going to be driving my 8 home rather than having it brought home on a flatbed. Plus, if conditions are good and you're pushing it hard enough to engage the DSC on this car, you might want to be thinking of backing it down a little bit - the limits are set VERY high compared to other similar cars I've driven and I've never had it step in on me even when I've been pushing it really hard. (I have gotten it to activate in the rain though, that's not very hard to do)

G-ReX

A recent Car and Driver column spoke to this: C/D Feb 05 Steering Column. It suggests there's good data for DSC reducing accidents.

It's interesting that many of the accidents people report here are when DSC equipped cars have it turned off soon before the accident. I suspect we get comfortable with a car that's compensating for our mistakes, then the safety net is gone when we shut it off to try and get a little more out of the car.

A couple people have apparently had accidents when shifting in a corner at high RPM's. There's been some speculation that the DSC over-reacts and kicks out the tail in this setting. You might search for those posts, too.

Mine stays on always.

DARKMAZ8

I am not denying that it doesnt do a great job of keeping the car straight.....my point is that some ppl depend on it too much and yet never understanding the true limits of the car......thus making more accidents happen when dsc is turned off or if it ceases to work one day

VikingDJ

It's a great safety feature, but it's not a necessity. DSC is not a ticket to drive carelessley. Many cars old and new do not have it. My theory is if you drive carelessley and wreck a car without DSC, you likely would end up wrecking one with DSC. It should not be an excuse to drive faster. It's intention is to provide safety in those unexpected situations where you might lose traction. If it's self enduced by driving carelessley, then it defeats the purpose of it. For those without it, taking precaution is the key. For those with it, the same rules apply, but it can help you out in those situations that are out of your control. Just my .02.

DARKMAZ8

my thoughts exactly.....I just think that liability always should lie in the drivers capabilities rather than blaming accidents because of dsc off

Grabitquick

VikingDJ has it right--the entire world lived with exclusively rear-wheel drive cars for much of the 20th Century, without DSC. DSC may be nice to have, but it's no substitute for prudent driving. People who drive like morons will end up with the same result sooner or later, DSC or no DSC.

StewC625

DSC is a proven safety feature. You're foolish to shut it off in day-to-day driving if you have it available. In racing situations (ie. autocross/roadcourse), I shut it off to allow me to steer the car with the throttle and weight transfer, but in daily driving there is no need to shut it off.

However, the people who are bigger fools are those that have it and drive harder and more aggressively in the misguided notion that it will save their *** from crashing.

It's totally worth it.

Yes, I've had a number of rear drive sports cars without it. But just like DVD's, high speed internet, microwave ovens, HID headlights and antilock brakes, while I lived without it, I sure as hell won't buy a car without it again.

RXLogic

I think the focus on DSC is often missing a more important point -- a large number of the ***-end forward incidents reported here involve rain and or wet pavement. Perhaps the DSC helps keep the back wheels in back, but it's nowhere near foolproof. I suspect different (non-stock) tires would be an even better safety feature.

For my part, I keep the DSC on and I try to drive a different car when it rains. If I am caught in the rain, I go slow.

If the RX8 were my only car, I think I'd ditch the summer performance tires in favor of all seasons.

BlueFrenzy

DarkMaz8, I think you bring up a good point in that people become overconfident. As a fellow Canadian, I've seen my share of AWD or 4WD driving jerks in a ditch/accident because they think their AWDness maked them invincible. I can see the same happening with DSC.

For sure, driver education and judgement is key regardless of DSC or not.

brothervoodoo

If you do a review of the guys on this board who wrecked their cars, I think you'll find the majority of them said they either turned-off DSC and/or had a base model 8. DSC helps but will not cure driving beyond your means...

ThisGuy

Fot me, my accident, was prob a combo of both....I didnt turn the wheel hard by any means, I may have been going too fast for the conditions, but I wasnt going over the speed limit at the time. It just seemed when I changed lanes that the rear end stayed in the lane I was in and I couldnt get it back...so I spun...I dont have much expierence with such cars, so sure that could be part of it I guess..

I have no idea if the DSC would have helped or not.

hagar852

we recently had 8-10 inches of snow here in New England. I was caught in the snow storm and had to drive home. The trip was 12-14 miles or so and the roads were poorly plowed. Leaving where I was I had to go up a hill. Without DSC I would have never made it up the hill. So I am glad I did get this car with the DSC. The rest of the ride home the car was ok but I had to keep it below 30mph on the highway I was on.

The tires I have are Toyo Proxes 4. Which handled the snow pretty well since I made it home ok, and I was also able to make it up that hill.

I don't have a false sense of security with DSC just a sense of help with slippery surfaces.

ÜberJumper

I've driven a few RWD cars before, but the 8 seems to like to try and kick the *** end around, even with low RPM/minimal throttle input.

DSC seems to prevent that.

VBprogrammer666

How do you know that? I suspect it's the tires more than the DSC that helped you.

DARKMAZ8

Let's just face it everyone....the stock tires suck *** and are a bigger factor than dsc.....I wonder if all the accidents so far were with the stock tires????

Grabitquick

What are the stock tires in Canada? I have the Dunlops here in the U.S. (I've always liked them--this is the 3rd set I've had over the years), and others in the U.S. have Bridgestone Potenzas, as I recall (could be wrong). It would be interesting to see what people have experienced with or without DSC and the various stock tires.

Tigster

I live in florida and I have a base model rx-8, my car came with the Dunlop Sport tires and I am overall very happy with the car. The only time I wish I had the dsc is when the roads are wet. When going around the corner you can't give it much gas as the back end does slide a bit. Other than this instance since I live where it does not snow I don't want the dsc, I am happy getting the car with the options that I did and that leaves some more $$ in my pocket for mods.

If you lived where it snowed I would highly recommend NOT getting the base model it does slide rather easily. I am sure some different tires would make a huge difference, my last car had Bridgestone potenzas SO 2's all around the tires were great when it was dry and sucked when it was even a little wet.

mzdoggmann

Generally, do think this model is o.k. for most winter driving conditions, say compared to front wheel driving vehicles from your experience??

StewC625

Did just that and it does make a HUGE difference in all situations. In fact, I think the all seasons I put on, Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires, handle better in the dry/warm than the stock Potenzas as well - was a terrific, no compromise upgrade for me.

And I still leave my DSC on at all times except on the autocross course.

Arby

DSC saved my *** on the freeway yesterday. Started hydroplaning and the dsc caught it before something bad happened. :D