I thought, today, for a bit of fun, I would try driving without DTC. Not fully off (I wanted to get home in one piece), but "half off", so DTC was off and DSC was in "restricted" mode or whatever it was called.

OH MY GOD does it transform the car! It takes away so much lag in the acceleration and just feels so much crisper and less hesitant. I had one slight scary moment (well, not really that scary, but quite adrenaline filled) where I purposely floored it out of a 90 degree bend (no cars around, low curbs, no people in sight, very safe, etc etc). The car whipped round and slid sideways round the corner, but I controlled it (years of XBOX/Playstation drifting paid off) without a problem and it made a lovely satisfying screeching sound. The road was damp, I didn't want to (and wouldn't want to) do that in the dry as I'd need new tyres far too quickly.

If you have never switched that button off, give it a try, just be careful. In my remapped and sprint-boosted 535d, it really does turn it in to a monster.

 

Giving your avatar - must be a perfect match

 

Question ?
Can we drive with DTC / DSC off or both off in good weather n roads , OR One of them have to be on all the time ?
I have a 2008 528xi.

 

You can drive with one or both off. The first button press turns off DSC but leaves DTC on. Press the button again or restart the car and things will be back to fully on. To turn both off, you need to hold the button down for a few seconds until you see a message that says something like "DSC off". Again, just press the button briefly or restart the car to get things back to normal.

Note -- you can't use the cruise control unless things are fully on...

 

Yes, all the car is better without DSC/DTC : gearbox, engine, lag, etc.

But it is dangerous, if you decide to drive without it permanently .

 

Hi Rudy,

That's wrong ... pushing the button once switches DTC OFF but leaves DSC "partially on". That's what my HUD tells me. I know this has been discussed many times before and your explanation above was probably a typo

 

Russ is correct on this. I get the same message relayed via HUD.

 

I think both Russ & Rudy understand it but I'm not sure who I agree with semantics-wise. I don't recall the message but I think pushing the button briefly "enables" Dynamic Traction Control, which is a way of saying it "disables" traction control but leaves DSC on. It allows tire spin for deep snow (or fun launches) but it will still intervene to prevent a slide. Pressing the button for several seconds fully disables traction control and DSC.

I felt perfectly safe with DSC off while on track but would rarely run it that way on street. I have run it in DTC mode while on twisty roads to get a little more throttle control when powering out of turns.

 

Sorry guys, this is a very confusing topic that's been debated over the years here. It's so confusing that BMW even re-labeled the button to try to help straighten out the misconceptions. Rather than trying to explain things again, see if the following two pages from the manual make any sense:

DSC_DTC.pdf

 

Lol - that just confused me even more

Ok, the simple version...

Don't push anything = clean underpants
Push DTC/DSC button once for partial disable = slight possibility of small underpant soiling
Push and hold DTC/DSC button to disable everything = new underpants (possibly coffin) required