Term do you remember when this used to be popular?
Aerografia
http://photo.qip.ru/photo/45-45/3142...ge/7796539.jpg

i have seen a lot of them on the russian roads, some were nice, some were ok but the most were plain UGLY!!! lol...

did this popularity fade away? so soon?... lol..

I left Moscow in 2010 (they gave me 48 hours to pack and go!!!) and chances of me ever going back to that country are slim to none... unless their government changes again... not likely in the next 12-15 years... lol...

^^ Surprisingly it's popularity hasn't faded as much as one would think...you still see it traveling around the northern communities here in Manitoba.

Actually, DSC has nothing to do with that wheel spinning or not. Stability control only comes into play when cornering.

Pressing the DSC button deactivates stability control, and also changes the intervention point for traction control (DTC), but doesn't turn it off.

The reason a hanging wheel spins is that it takes virtually no torque to spin an unloaded wheel.

Yeah i think it died off and the wraping is the popular thing now.

A little off topic question for trmx5, can i collect fines on my american license in russia and in america collect fines on my russian license?

in the US, a general rule of thumb that you can drive on a foreign issued license between 15 and 60 days, depending on each state. In the US, they can fine you as a person, Joe Schmoe at your address for the traffic violation but, they don't really have any enforcement ability. however, when they run a check on your name printed in the russian license, they may come up with your license issued in the US, and then they have your address and other legal means of collecting and enforcing - they find that Joe Schmoe is you, and you have a valid license issued in your name in NYS or FL or whatever. in that case, you might get a fine for not producing a valid US license upon demand (in PA the fine is $5, trietery offense). I do have a valid russian dr. license that is still good for another 6-7 years but i do not use it in the US...

in russia, if you try to produce a US license to GAIshnik, and at the same time if he "smells' that you are "russian" (uzbek, chukcha, whatever...), he will milk you for whatever you are worth - i was pulled over couple of times in moscow, license plates were dirty, the car dirty, so they did not make out the dip plates, i would produce russian license and speak impeccable russian - they were confused, as in russian license my place of birth is listed as US (which is not the case), and they thought i was just using a fake ID or whatnot... in my case i had the ministry of foreign affairs (MID) accreditation, so i was ok... in your case... you are a fair game, dude... you will have to play total yanki, and if there are any russian speaking passengers, you might be doomed - i had those problems in latin america, the passengers spoke spanish and the cops would go on and on and on... they still would let me go, but you don't have the dip immunity, and they will have for lunch...

of course, this is just a speculation, and you might want to try it out... i would love to hear your story, dude!!!:D

what about this:

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...on-action.html ?

I don't know where to start on that post. There is just so much misinformation in it.

1) First, separate DSC and DTC. The button is labelled DSC. You can turn DSC off with the button. But that is irrelevant, stability control is only for cornering. We are discussing DTC, traction control, here. DTC can't be turned off. Turning off DSC does change the intervention threshold for DTC.

2) The post confuses open and locked differentials. All X5 differentials are open, not locked, in all years. They aren't limited slip, either.

3) The post refers to '03 and earlier (non xdrive) models as using a locked centre differential/transfer case. They don't, it is open. That is why you can tow the earlier models of X5 (with wheel lift equipment, not a tow sling, please) with one axle on the ground. No problem, as long as you don't exceed certain speed and distance limits (due to lack of pressure lubrication). Try that with a locked centre diff/transfer case, like a pick up truck or a Jeep may have, or any vehicle with part time 4wd. Those have locked transfer cases. What the X5 had up to 2003 was a fixed torque split, not a locked centre diff. The fixed 38/62 torque split isn't anything to do with a fixed rotation between the front and rear drive shafts.

4) The later (xdrive) X5 models also have an open centre diff/transfer case. They have a variable torque split though. It is incorrect to say that there is no centre differential.

5) There is another effect of pressing the DSC button and changing the DTC intervention setting. With DSC functioning, the X5 reduces throttle power if it can't find traction. So, if you are on ice or slick snow, and you don't have any traction on one wheel on each axle, when you punch the accelerator you won't be able to rev it up. Press the DSC button and DTC allows some increased wheel slip, and doesn't limit the throttle. That is what often helps when stuck, pressing the DSC button to allow you to try and churn you way out, with a fair bit of wheel slip. It is the feature that allowed the poster in your link to get up his driveway, because throttle wasn't being limited now and the wheel brakes could balance the side to side lack of traction.

6) It is correct that the DSC programming doesn't expect zero traction, it expects a small amount of traction, just not enough to move the vehicle.

I have been on glare ice and unable to move (due to throttle being limited), then pressed the DSC button to change the DTC settings, allowing some wheel slip, and essentially burning my way out (not too much, so as not to overheat the brakes). Works fine. It is the only time that the DSC button should be pressed, the rest of the time it is valuable and should be left on. As soon as I was moving I pressed the DSC button and had full DTC again.

When i am on the sand again, i will. Explain "engineering underpinnings".

JCL - thanks for the explanation... Theory is just that - theory... since i can't test, i can rely on somebody's account, and seemed that this behaviour was well documented in practice, if not in theory...

Mujahid - it seems more often than not, that the sales people will tell an otherwise uneducated consumer about the features of the product in terms that are not consistent with the actual processes being involved. When i say uneducated consumer, i do not intend an offense - we are educated in some areas and totally dumb in others... I could know how observe Mars and figure out the amount of propellant needed to move 2 people to the next Galaxy, but be totally stupid when my wife asks me to hang a painting on a wall... well... in my case, it is rather the opposite...

so, the sales people will put in the sales brochure one information about a feature because that information sells better, and not what the engineer told them to put down... It is too early to come up with a good example, but i am sure, it happens more often than not...