gcjin2007

went and "tested out" the vsa today. you could realllllllyyyy feel the difference with the vsa on and off, by the way, i foudn out that almost NEVER does the vsa come on when the rear brakes are used for correction. it was really cool because, the lot had some dry spots, and when one wheel made contact, you could really feel the traction and the stability assist workin together and jerk the car into the correct direction

and now the concerns....
i the transmission never really shifted into 2nd, but am i still hurtin the tranny. also, i reved the engine into its vtec range preeetttyyyyy fast, that hurtin the engine either? finally, the tires, as i said the lot was mixed with leveling ice, concrete and sharp turns by me, the tires ok?


p.s. all in all it is allloottta fun and if one of my concerns are a problem, i would recommend it to anyone(snow/ice, >20mph, empty parking lot, sharp turns= fun!!!)

03CoupeV6

VSA is designed to stabilize the car as a last resort, Acura engineered it to not be intrusive. This is why it sometimes seems hesitant to activate.

gcjin2007

nah trust me, it works allll the time without the driver noticing, i would spin out w/o vsa and on the same exact turn, i would stay stabalized in the turn w/o the vsa light flashing. but ya im opinion, the vsa will usually only come on when theres a major brake job on the rear brakes, a traction break or if the front brakes need to correct, which is logical because if the the light would flash when the rear lights come on then it would be on alot


p.s. regarding my first post, my car is all ok right??

03CoupeV6

I'm sorry, what?

The only way for you to control just the rear brakes is the E-brake, and considering that's foot-operated, that has to be tricky.

And the VSA /!\ flashes when VSA is working.

VSA does not operate WITH the brakes, nor does ABS or the TCS function of VSA.

mclarenf3387

Umm, yes, how do you think it corrects the car when it begins to lose control. It uses the brakes. It also uses a throttle body to cut power, but the way it attempts to correct a condition where the car is losing control is by being able to brake each wheel individually.

03CoupeV6

You missed the point of my message. He stated that the VSA indicator could not possibly flash every time the brake lights lit up. I said "It doesn't operate WITH the brakes." which is a true statement.

It USES the brakes and throttle to correct situations, but just because you're applying the brakes does not mean VSA/ABS/TCS is active. That's what I meant.

fsttyms1

Sorry, but VSA is for hose who should spend a little more time in Drivers ED. Its simply a aid and should NEVER be depended on to save your butt. first shoud come your own ability, then if thats been reached should VSA come into play

gcjin2007

lol, ok first, can u guys rensure me that my car is ok? lol. aight now, if maybe i am misunderstood, vsa on the acura tl-s is used to apply brakes to each indiviual wheel when accelerating, even to a point where it cuts of engine power to help gain traction. vsa also has the ability and corrects under/oversteer. this is done by applying each of the 4 brakes accordingly, wat I AM SAYING is that, from my experience in the snow, the vsa USUALLY does not come on when it uses each or both of the rear disc brakes to correct under/oversteer. this, if you think about it seems logical becuase in the real world, where the vsa is constantly working the wheels, the vsa light would come to a point of becoming irratating after the driver constantly sees the vsa light come on when even doing a simple turn.


p.s. plz answer my question regarding my car being ok lol.

03CoupeV6

Your car is fine, but your understanding of VSA is fcuked beyond repair.

gcjin2007

y is that??? wats ur defn of vsa? what wrong wit mine?


p.s. ive been a car enthusiast since i was about 12 and have seen the evolution of the stability assist programs... i really wanna know what im missin lol

MikePA

What I don't understand is why you would go do this then ask if your car is OK? What would you do if someone responded, "Your tranny is toast for what you did."?

gcjin2007

wow umm, dont wanna be rude or anything, but for some reason i had a understanding of this being a good forum, but from the first day, ive only been gettin negative energy from my posts. come on guys wats goin on

gcjin2007

o ya and i already a preety sure that my car would be fine, but am jus makin sure wit u guys

03CoupeV6

Okay here's your first problem. Why would the car apply the brakes to individual wheels while accelerating? It will pump the either front wheel brake if one or both of them lose traction (TCS function), but if you're accelerating without tire slip there is no VSA action. Yes, it can cut engine power, but again this is only when the tires are slipping.

But not all 4 of them.. it will apply braking to an outside or inside front or rear wheel depending on the direction of the skid (understeer or oversteer). Lets not forget that VSA is the acronym for "Vehicle Stability Assist" It aids you in getting the car under control, but it cannot defeat laws of physics and is no substitute for good judgment and/or safe driving.

If VSA is using any of the brakes, it is activated. Are you talking about the triangular /!\ VSA active light not coming on? It's possible, I suppose, for it to act for just a short moment and not have time to trigger that light - but if it's actively attempting to correct understeer or oversteer, the trianglular /!\ will flash.

The reason why this ISN'T logical is because VSA is NOT a driving assistant. It is only, and I mean ONLY, active when yaw and steering input sensors detect the car is off the driver's intended course, such as an understeer or oversteer situation. It is not "constantly" working.

The same is true for ABS and TCS as well as VSA - they rely on sensors at the wheels (and more complex yaw and steering sensors for VSA) to determine when they need to work. You're misunderstanding VSA. Its sensors are always monitoring, but it is not always active. The /!\ light on the dash is ONLY intended to come on when the system is actively stabilizing (or attempting to) the car.

The other light labeled "VSA" should not come on at any other time than when you start the car, and then is should immediately go out unless you press the "VSA" button on the dash and deactivate the system. If the "VSA" light comes on at any other time, the /!\ light will also come on and this indicates a problem with the VSA system. There's a good chance if this happens that your "ABS" light will also be on, but not necessarily. If either or both of the lights come on, your car will operate normally but the system(s) won't work if you need them.

Thank you for listening to VSA 101.

gcjin2007

wow, ok, either i cant type or u dont understand waht im sayin. but ur basically reinforcing wat i just said or wat my concept of vsa is.
dont wanna call u out but... i said EACH of the 4 brakes.... but thats ok.

anyways, if anyone have a misunderstain of vsa, after readin this threaad, ull need to know everything and anything about vsa for about the next 5 yrs.

etxxz

couln't help myself
VSA is the ****

your engine is fine...as long as it revs on its operating range (safely under 6krpm). This doesnt mean you can rev it up all the time without worry, its not a racing car.

gcjin2007

cool, anyonw know anything cool that can be done in the snow? like a funky fwd drifting technique w.o. the e-brake or somthin???

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Not much you can do in a FWD without using the parking brake.


A couple of nights ago, I was out with my friends in this parking structure. Of all the places, we picked a place 4 stories off the ground. Don't ask, we're just that stupid.

Regardless, it was fun as hell. Probably doing that again tonight. Everybody thought I wouldn't be able to do it in my gigantic boat, but I fucking did it. All those times drifting my Tahoe back in high school are paying off.

strcdan

:whocares: :ghey: :ghey: :whocares: ur car is prolly gonna die in a few days, u should have NEVER done that!!!

gcjin2007

y???? wats wrong it a big ass empty parking lot goin less than 20 mph

gcjin2007

y???? wats wrong it a big ass empty parking lot goin less than 20 mph.... trsut me, once u realize ur in a safe area, and u start "testin out" the vsa and havin fun, i gaurantee u that u wont think im a retard... ull thank me.

fsttyms1

If you use the brake and gas at the same time (once you figure out how much brake to use and learn to 2 foot drive) you can use the regular brake to get teh back end of the car to come out with out having to use the e-brake

etxxz

i tried that last year in the rain and it didn't work...even under WOT

i would've thought differetly too, but uh oh...prob the same story in snow but idk 'cause i've never driven in snow.

fsttyms1

well about the only way it will work in the rain is if your going fast enough, or use the E-Brake. There is just too much traction. Now snow is a completly different animal

MikePA

I know a guy who thought he'd play games in an unplowed parking lot. Spins, Ebrake turns, he was having a blast...until he 'found' a line of concrete parking stops. Bent a wheel, blew the tire. Called me to take him to a tire store. Make sure you know what's under the snow.

bmoreTLS

Not only that but if you do hit a dry spot the wrong way you can tear up your rear axle pretty easily.

bmoreTLS

Does VSA actually apply the brake or just cut power? I think it only cuts power to the appropriate wheel(s). Think of this... when you jump off from a red light with VSA on, it doesn't stop you it just kills your power and stops your wheels from spinning.

Edward'TLS

It happened to me once when I was turning left too fast at an intersection on a wet day, the car did a 4-wheel slide with the VSA light blinking helplessly at my face. VSA is only good for understeering and oversteering. It is helpless in neutral sliding.

fsttyms1

The TL doesnt have a rear axle

Vsa applies the brakes and cuts power via a 2nd throttle body, What your talking about is traction control which is a seperate system (all powered off by the same switch) that uses brakes to help curb wheel spin