Has anyone been in a situation where their VSA system came on to help correct over or understeer?

Did the system help or hurt your efforts to regain control of the car?

 

VSA is a good system... not great like the bimmer one, but its fairly helpful when ur just hitting holes in the road. its also much less intrusive then the bimmer one... i dont know if its by design or lack thereof, but it doesnt seem to kick in when ur sliding sideways or close to it... i would think its just not "smart" enough... but in the ice/snow climates it does a good job of keeping u staight and moving.

 

I agree with Zodiak on the bimmer statement, the 3 series stability control rocks.

I tested mine in the rain few weeks ago in the parking lot at work. I tested understeer and it worked pretty well, it slid for a second or so and then caught on and I was going the direction I wanted. I have not tried oversteer, there is not enough room in the parking lot. I have my eye on another lot for the oversteer test, just need some rain.

 

Just curious, how are you going to get a FWD sedan to oversteer?

 

umm...i think by turning the steering wheel. just like a rwd car.

 

Last October, I got run off the road by an armored truck whose hood flew open just as he approached me (oncoming traffic). I was going about 50MPH and swerved to avoid him and found myself sliding sideways in the wet grass just off the shoulder. I'd like to think it was all my driving skill, but after sliding and [over]correcting and sliding the other way, the car ended up back on terra firma (and not the canal on the other side of the street) -- and in the correct lane even.

My co-worker who was riding with me shared my thoughts that it was scary how quickly it all happened, and then asked "what the hell was that yellow flashing light on the dash?" I was obviously paying attention to other things and didn't notice it, but apparently he did -- of course that flashing yellow light was the VSA.

There's no way to tell how effective it was in that particular situation, but it did engage.

 

I did a test on fresh 4" snow-packed parking lot. Then, I had new Blizzak snow tires. With VSA on, I was never able to lose control. Like going sideways or spinning. I tried slalom manouvers and hard cornering, the VSA was flashing and the CLS was in control at all time.

Pretty impressive. I am sure you can contact Acura and ask for DVD/VHS of VSA test photoage. This will show you what VSA can do.

On the other hand, VSA is an assistive mechanism to keep the CLS in control. Do not trust it too much. It has its own limitaitions as a system.

 

I also tested it out in about 3" of fresh snow in the parking lot and I was flat out scared of the result. I got up to about 25 mph and pressed the brake just enough to start to loose traction and kept that same pressure. VSA light flashed, antilock brakes were pumping and I skidded straight for 40-45 feet like I was on crisco. I did not feel any traction or friction slowing me down, I could turn the steering wheel full left and right and nothing, I kept going in a straight line.

That was the last time I ever will drive in snow with stock tires. I plan on picking up some snows come winter time this year.

 

Snow tires make a lot of difference. Howver the Blizzaks wear out fast 5-10 Kmiles and they would be like All-Season tires.
I heard a lot of good feedback on the Sweedish tires like Nokian.

 

If you change the sway bars or change to adjustable shocks, you can dial in extreme settings that can make a fwd car to oversteer like crazy.

 

Don't flame me for this stupid question...

But do we have anything that works like pos-i-traction or a limited slip differential does on RWD cars?

Does the VSA or anything else on our FWD car keep us from being "one wheel" drive when stuck in mud or snow? Will the VSA take over and give the second front wheel some traction if the one in the mud or snow gets stuck and just spins?

Thanks!

It would be nice to know that we have "two wheels" to help move out of slick spots when needed. I like to ski in the winter, but haven't driven the TLS in inclimate conditions yet to know how much traction capability exists.

 

the VSA does something like that, but is a lot less effective than a real limit-slip, unfortunately

 

I've gotta believe that the TL auto has a limited slip differential. My old '96 Altima had one!

Certainly it's not the same as the 6 speed.

Just so you know, differentials are not only on rear wheel drive cars.

 

I'm convinced that this car has a slip differential as well. I've noticed it in action during peel outs in the rain with VSA off.

 

GEEZ VSA almost killed me!!!! It was raining and i was driving hard at night, no cars. I was at a red light waiting to turn left. light turn green, i pushed the car into the left turn...VSA was still on, i usually turn it off when i drive hard, the computer thought i was understeering so it pulls the car hard left into the opposite side traffic...i easied off the gas and corrected the VSA. Don't flame on me for driving hard in the rain. I just like to put the car to see what it's capable of. In my case, if there was a car on the opposite side of the road, i would've hit it. I'm not saying that VSA doesn't work...i'm saying in my case, it didn't work properly. Nothing is 100% gurraneted.

 

Here is my personal experience with VSA... I don't like it. The reason I say that is because it simply cuts your engine output by up to 50%. In other words, it is like when your wheels starts to slip and all you are doing is letting up the gas pedal 50%. In the snow it worked fairly well due to the weight of the car and the less than requested engine output. On wet roads when you are sliding side ways, I find, most of the time it does not correct the problem.

 

TL's have open differentials.