When BMW introduced the new BMW M3 and M4 models, it also offered them a couple of new tricks to wow the audience. Among those new tricks, you’ll find an adjustable traction control system that basically allows you to tell the car just how much slippage you want out of it. That’s a very nifty trick, albeit BMW isn’t the first manufacturer to offer it, Mercedes’s AMG division beating it to the punch. But how useful is it in real life?
Joe Achilles decided to test it out and see for himself. Now, from the get go, you should know that this adjustable DSC system was only created for track usage. On the road, it has no practical use, but on the track, it could, in theory, help you become a better driver and/or drifter. Joe used another new feature on the M4 to test out just how helpful the adjustable traction control system really is, namely the Drift Analyzer.
That’s yet another novelty BMW prepared for us, a system that checks out just how good you are when drifting. It analyzes the speed, angles and duration of your drifts and then gives you a rating, based on those three factors. Of course, having an adjustable traction control system to help you out should pay dividends, right? Of course, especially if you’re a beginner. That’s because if you completely turn off the DSC you’ll have to deal with all the power delivered at once on the rear axle. That might soon be a bit too much to control.
On the other hand, keeping DSC on will simply cut the power to the rear wheels whenever the car feels slippage. Yet again, not ideal. But does the new system work? That’s what you will find out by watching Joe and Mischa in the video below, as they try to figure it out themselves as well.
