TMLInfinity

Hi,

I live in Toronto where winters can be pretty ridiculous.

the last week or two, there have been storms which accumulated enough snow to go to just under my knees........

I know VSA is for safety......I always leave it on. Is not an option for me but I am starting to have second thoughts in some instances in winter weather.

I think VSA will start throttling back some power if you are applying too much or if your front wheels start spinnning right?

I assume this is only if ur going into a corner too hard.

But in snow even when getting off the line, there is slippage and the VSA light will start blinking......

does this help gain traction? or should i turn VSA off sometimes and just try to slowly accelerate off the line even if some slippage occurs (but atleast VSA won't kick in and throttle down power)?

Thanks.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Just MHO, but VSA is there for your safety. In any conditions, it should help with traction. It can't help if it is off.

subbuzz

If your stuck in snow turn the vsa off and go for it but in all IMO vsa/abs there so you don't lock up and post an accident thread.

SouthernBoy

Under conditions where you expect to have sustained wheel spin, you are better served to turn VSA off for the reasons you have stated.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

Quick note, if your car is stuck in snow it will need 1 foot at most be cleared behind the front tire, reverse over the cleared area and gas it, tl is a monster truck

it seems the way you describe "the line", you are launching as in racing during conditions you shouldn't, if you are reffering to normal driving and accelerating from a stop your best bet is to let off the gas when the vsa light blinks

blkaspec

this is sooo true. two days ago i really got to put my tl to the test, it was really crappy here. a thick slushy mess. anywho, i found it was way better to let off the gas whenever i saw the vsa light. if i didnt i discovered that the car would rather spin in a 360 or drift to one side rather then go straight, but if you let off the gas and alternate gas no-gas, then the car handled great. and i did try to do this without the vsa and i had little to no control at all. i will only turn if off in an "emergency stuck" situation or if i am taking off fast from the line. vsa works great, but you have to get use to it in order to get the most out of it..

carguyrob

My '02 Maxima 6-spd didn't have VSA or traction control (latter on on the automatic Maximas). It was TERRIBLE in the snow. I have found that the TL's VSA really helps a ton. I totally agree with blkaspec...if you see your VSA going nuts, back off the gas.

Keep in mind that the VSA is a lot more than just traction control. It measures the yaw, speed and steering inputs and then applies the brake to any one of the four wheels to try and keep the car going in the desired direction. Even the best driver can't apply the brake to just one wheel!

gabagoo

I live in the Toronto area and I have noticed that even leaving my parking lot at work that it's almost like I have no power. You can hear the engine or feel something starting and stopping, not sure if thats the VSA or not, but I really don't like it. This last week with the awful weather I was making a right turn from a stop and it was snowy and there must have been an ice build up below the snow but it was like the car was stalling out. It's a very strange feeling. PS on servicing the Acura....Try servicing at a honda dealership.... they know what there doing and charge less!!!! Just had my B service today at Maple Honda for $213.00 including tax and that included a new widshield washer rubber for 6 bucks!!! gotta love it lol

Jimass

I live in Montreal (king of bad weather) i love the VSA if you have experienced a Traction control system on any other car you would know what im talking about. The only time you should take it off is when you get stuck in snow, it takes away 2 much power from the wheels.

My only complaint is that it's loud once it kicks in (just like the abs).

avs007

There is another benefit to VSA... When you have an open diff and the VSA applies the brakes to the spinning wheels, the VSA acts like a LSD. When the spinning wheels has it's brakes applied, the outer gear of the diff rotates about the inner gear, and power is transferred to the other wheel. The torque applied to the other wheels is equal to the torque it takes to overpower the brakes on the spinning wheel...

This is exactly how a LSD works, except instead of brakes clamping on the spinning wheel, a spring loaded clutchpack "brakes" the faster spinning side. The clutchpacks causes the outer gear to rotate about the inner, sending power to the other wheel. The torque sent to the other wheel, is the amount of torque it takes to overpower the spring loaded clutchpack.

An easy way to test, is to go up an inclined driveway.. Have one side on the pavement, and the other side on snow... If VSA doesn't allow you to ascend this incline, than the VSA is not braking the spinning wheel hard enough. (There is a demonstration just like this at the Deutch Museum, in Munich, demonstrating ESP.

shubysingh

i live in dc and a couple weeks ago we had snow (hard to believe, it was 70 yesterday)
anyways, the snow was pretty bad but the tl was amazing if you know how to drive in the snow. this was with vsa on.
makes me wonder how amazing an SHAWD tl would be