E39 540iA ('00): 'Undocumented' DSC mode ?

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Ken R. - 14 May 2005 21:47 GMT

As stability control evolves, mfr's are providing more
DSC modes for owners to choose. But on my 540, there
appears to be a choice of either DSC on/DSC off.

1) In this application, when DSC is off, is just the traction
control disabled or are both traction and stability control
turned off?

2) On some earlier cars, it is possible for an owner to reduce
intervention by holding the DSC button for an extended period.
I've tried this (holding DSC button for 10+ sec) but don't
sense any difference. Is there a different sequence I need
to use or is it simply a binary feature (on/off - nothing else)

Regards,
Ken R.

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SharkmanBMW - 15 May 2005 01:14 GMT

on my e34 1994 540i, holding the button 10 secs de-activates the engine
shutdown traction control and keeps ON traction control using the brakes.
In your e39, when you hold the button, if the dash light does not flash or
signal you someway, I doubt it is making a difference.

> As stability control evolves, mfr's are providing more
> DSC modes for owners to choose. But on my 540, there
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Regards,
> Ken R.

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Ken R. - 16 May 2005 00:40 GMT

> on my e34 1994 540i, holding the button 10 secs
> de-activates the engine shutdown traction control and keeps
> ON traction control using the brakes. In your e39, when you
> hold the button, if the dash light does not flash or signal
> you someway, I doubt it is making a difference.

The DSC icon does not flash when I hold the button for an
extended period.

With DSC off (icon lit up on Driver Info Centre) the car
is not restrained by engine/throttle regulation. In a Solo II
(AutoX) event today on a fast track, the rear tire(s) would
spin on hard accel out of a tight gate through a sweeping
turn to the next gate. However, despite the drama, there was
never a time when the rear felt like it was going to rotate
around.

Under the circumstances, the DSC icon was already lit up so
I wasn't seeing it blink as it will when DSC is enabled and
traction gets loose. The M-Sport cars have a limited slip
diff so one would think that when loose tires are heard at
the rear - they are both spinning. Still, since the car
was not trying to come around, I am wondering whether DSC
was intervening by actuating the brakes on one or more of
the f/r corners.

.

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