Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I was travelling clockwise on M25 near Reigate on New Year's Day at mid to late afternoon in my BMW Z3 2.2 Sport. It was getting dark and the traffic was moderate (light by M25 standards) with very few lorries but lots of cars. I was on cruise at a GPS 70 mph in lane 3 of 4. On my right and to the rear was a large white car (Audi I think) gaining on me by about five to ten mph, and on my left in lane two another car (unknown make) travelling some five to ten mph slower than I was. So far, so normal on M25 with all its gantry cameras causing little speed differential across the outmost three lanes. There was nothing ahead of the lane two car for some distance and indeed not a lot immediately ahead of me because the braking distance at that speed dictates a good headway to the car ahead. As I drew alongside the car to my left he suddenly and unneccessarily started to change lane towards my nearside. This was no lane drift; this was a deliberate lane-change manoeuvre and had I not taken evasive action he would have barged me across to lane four where the Audi was now approaching alongside. Instinctively I swung the wheel quickly through about 90 degrees right and then instantly back sufficiently to regain the course in the lane in order to move the car at least half a vehicle's width towards, but not into the path of, the car in lane four. He (the Audi) must have lost control of his bowels when he saw what was apparently a small two-seater diving across his path and then, equally suddenly stopping the swerve! Doing this in some (most) cars on a damp concrete road surface at 70mph would almost certainly have resulted in a total loss of directional control, but in the Z3, thanks to DSC, it did exactly what was asked of it with no more than a couple of flashes of the yellow DSC light on the dash! I am so glad I took the Z yesterday and not my Jag X Type - that has traction control and ABS but no stability control. What's more it's a bit of a heavy lump and would have been unlikely to be as nimble as the Z anyway.Over the years I have driven in excess of a million miles and can honestly say that I have never had such a stupid driver threaten my safety. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattt Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 The DSC in that will be around 20 years old - modern systems are even better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 Nearer fifteen probably as the car is mid-2002 manufacture and is the current system of the day - not ASC that the earlier cars had. It has operated only once before and that was on wet leaves in a country lane in Darkest Oxfordshire and that was pretty impressive too. I have to say I was chuffed with my reaction speed - for an old grunter it was quite sharp. Sharp, but probably none-too clever given the circumstances! I could have featured on 'Police, Camera, Action' careering all across the four lanes but for the grace of the God BMW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'm forever getting my dsc light on in the Z4. It's far to aggressive and allows no slip at all. Which is a pain as it's a bit old school unlike the modern equivalents and cuts all power to the wheels so it leaves you stranded when pulling out if your too aggressive. It has some sort of way of cutting it back a bit when you press the button but you can't turn it off at all. Which is a good thing as when it does work your thankfully. It saved me just after I got the car on a slippy wet road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'm forever getting my dsc light on in the Z4. It's far to aggressive and allows no slip at all. Which is a pain as it's a bit old school unlike the modern equivalents and cuts all power to the wheels so it leaves you stranded when pulling out if your too aggressive. It has some sort of way of cutting it back a bit when you press the button but you can't turn it off at all. Which is a good thing as when it does work your thankfully. It saved me just after I got the car on a slippy wet road. My son's Z4M Coupé has a sport button but I don't know if that eases the nanny-strict DSC. What I do know, however, is that you must disengage the DSC on a track because its efforts to curb your excesses will cook the brakes in no time flat! I have noticed that the traction control on my Z3 is very agressive too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Never had any bother like that with me old A35 van Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Ah, but did you have the bag of cement in the boot/back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 The only thing in it besides me was the drivers seat . Everything surplus was removed to improve power to weight ratio , carpets,head lining, air filter , bumpers , hub caps , front grill , passenger wiper blade, door mirrors etc. etc. No idea on top speed as the speedo thing wasn't working but at least 60mph (ish) , had a stop watch & used to time it between 2 points to see how much faster it went with each new mod ( part removed ) all in the interests of science I'm sure you've been there & got the T shirt Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Some of the attempts to save weight on my old Fiesta Supersport were even deliberate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Flash Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Just replaced both the dsc sensor's in my 2003 M3 at a massive £110 each. Ouch!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Are you sure you can't turn it all the way off by holding the button like in my E90 LCI? Mine is like that too, cuts all power really so it often comes fully off for a spirited drive pretty sure. it turns off dsc and turns on DTC or something like that. i really cant remember the exact way. tbh i never bother just have adjusted my driving style so it doesnt happen as much. the Z4 seems pretty planted and i dont have the sport seats so too much spirited driving sees you squirming about in the seat. i only really bought it because i like roadsters and wanted something that had a small amount of poke, with no roof, and didnt look like some one had chopped the roof off a hatch and then had to put a massive A*** on the car to fit a hood in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.