A slick trick for more go in the snow!!

[Dubs]

Bump, any idea on if this will actually work?

I have an 05 4.4

Cheers

Dubs

[ncsucarjock]

Doesn't work on my 2004 X5 4.4i. You can disable DSC, which will allow *some* more slip than normal, but not a whole lot. It might disable the stability control, (I don't know, didn't try) but it certainly will not allow you to apply power with wheels spinning. I came to a dead stop with the throttle floored on a gravely hill-climb off-road.

I have talked with my BMW mechanic, and he says the next time I want to do this, I can get out, disconnect the wheel speed sensor on the RHS of the vehicle, and it will disable DSC, as it has no clue what's going on with one wheel, and shuts down the system. So it will not limit power when throttle is applied.

Please note that I've not tried this yet, but will the next time I'm in the off-road park. (I tow my Jeep Cherokee there to play...but sometimes it's fun to see what the BMW will do...within reason...)

I'll post back in a couple months when I try it.

[HuskerX5]

Most snow and Ice ever in years here. I have used this method several times over this past winter in deep snow especially. What you mostly gain is is a little more wheel speed to dig out of a drift, or back out of one should you get in over your head. This is only meant to be done for short periods of time as the brakes are still actuating but the engine power is not being cut. Sometimes you just need the wheel speed, period. Not talking about ice conditions, wheel speed in not conducive to maintaining traction, so leave the system actuated for Ice. If you are driving in snow, and perhaps deep snow, you might have an advantage turning it off.

I have driven thousands of miles this winter and have become pretty adept at locating the button should I need less computer control. Don't get me wrong...it is a great system and saves more lives and keeps people heading in the right direction most of the time. That said, I have had to turn it off to actually get out of situations where the system just would not turn loose the power.

That said, simply, it works find on my 2005 4.4i X5.

[Weasel]

The only time I needed to turn mine off was to allow more slippage and use the differential braking simulated LSD to get me through some really bad mud holes on the way to the hunting camp... worked a treat for my needs, kept me fromm getting stuck where the chevy trucks did.

But look at post #15 for an accurate description of what's happening.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Weasel

But look at post #15 for an accurate description of what's happening.

Agreed, Vig described it well. There are two modes (DSC, and then the DTC mode with higher thresholds of wheel slip). I have used that mode when in deep snow, to get moving, and then turned DSC back on as soon as the vehicle had some forward momentum.

There has been a lot of discussion about a third mode, obtained by holding the button pressed for some longer period of time. It never had any effect on my X5. It did work on my 2002 325xi, but those three modes were also documented in the owner's manual for that vehicle. Many posters believed that this applied to the X5, but I don't believe it ever did.

[Mujahid]

Question:
Since the transfer case distributes torque/ power between front and rear differentials and the front/ rear differentials are mechanical - if DSC is switched off then does that mean if two same side wheels(FR & RR) spin(lose traction) then the vehicle will not get any traction?

i.e. although torque is being distributed front and rear, the differentials being mechanical cannot but spin the wheel with no torque since the opposite wheel is not being braked because DSC is de-activated.

thanks for your response.

[JCL]

Let's back up. DSC means stabilty control. It uses yaw sensors, steering angle sensors, etc, to determine if the vehicle is cornering properly, or if it is sliding. It uses the brakes (applied wheel by wheel) to help keep the car under control, within the limits of physics.

DSC includes a feature called DTC, dynamic traction control. DTC applies a brake to a spinning wheel, attempting to do what a limited-slip differential does.

When you turn off DSC, you still have DTC, but the engagement thresholds are changed, ie it allows more wheel slip before backing off the throttle. On my X5, it didn't turn itself off entirely, it stayed there, just not as aggressive on the intervention.

What you are asking is if DTC is turned off, and no, it isn't. Want to check? Turn off DSC, and the DTC light comes on. Churn your way up a snowy hill, with the wheels spinning. Then get out and smell the brakes. It may be difficult to find a snowy hill in South Africa, but perhaps a muddy hill would work.

You can still get the X5 stuck, it isn't an offroader with lockiing differentials, and most X5s do not have offroad tires so the tires tend to pack up pretty quickly. That is when you get to the limits of physics mentioned above. The x-drive system is designed to improve on-road performance and stability, not handle trails best left to a Jeep or Landrover.

This thread was originally started (years ago) with a suggestion that if you held the DSC button in, DTC was turned off entirely. Never worked on my X5, and it isn't mentioned in the manual. It was mentioned in my 325xi owners manual, and it did work on that vehicle. Somebody read an article in a BMW magazine, and assumed that it applied to the X5.

[Fraser]

There's definitely no 'third' mode. You either have both stability and traction control, or just traction control. In any slippery situation - snow, soft sand, mud, etc - where the vehicle is prone to yawing and/or travelling in a direction other than that dictated by the steer angle, turning off the stability control will prevent unnecessary brake applications and give you a better chance of maintaining momentum and getting you out of the sh*t. You still have traction control which, as others have mentioned, mimics the function of an limited-slip diff.

[Weasel]

I can say that the DTC helps in the mud with your foot down... if it were able to be fully turned off leaving me with open differentials front and rear I most likely ouwld have gotten stuck on the mud road to the camp.

[Mujahid]

Many thanks guy's - Once again the technical/intellectual capacity of this forum is astounding.
Here in Sunny South Africa we dont get much snow but we do have sand and I assume the traction issue is similar.