DCCD - Friend or foe?
 

I was out in a mates sti2 the other night and it occured to me that he was able to put the power down much earlier during a coner than I can in my version 5 type r. I would have found myself swapping ends if I had tried it.

I used to have a classic uk and when I made the switch to the type r I found myself having more that a couple of scares trying to drive it in the same fashion but learned to adapt. Now I'm wondering if I really learned to drive it or if I learned to back off more.

Don't get me wrong, the DDCD feels way more fun and maybe it's just a case of the older I get the faster I was. Another thing to consider is that the uk was my everyday car, I barely get to drive the type r. Oh, and it's running over twice the power.

I'm just interested in other people opinions.

I prefer the normal UK Impreza set up after having 2 cars with dccd. You have to be that much better a driver or braver to get more out of a dccd set-up. I'm no fantastic driver, so for me I didn't like the dccd set-up and found the 50-50 splits of the normal cars suited my driving better. Some swear by dccd but I suspect the majority of them would be slower on the road than if they were in a 'normal' Impreza. That's in the dry, in the wet it's even worse.

Fine if you're a very good driver and do track work, but for the majority of drivers it's just a gimmick. A gimmick that can make you slower and dangerous!

Why did Subaru do it then?

I am about to sample the delights of dccd on a track in serious competition in 7 days time after busting a gut fitting it.

Better not be a gimmick.

Its not a gimick, it acutally reduces the understeer, it also gives you the option of changing the way the car handles to suit YOUR driving style, though its a little hard to master (in manual mode) the latest A-DCCD cars do it all for you, removes the fun? well no, but you get to feel it more when its changing the balance of the car :) and you can always turn that off :) but you need to have a good "play" with it on an open airstrip or a track to get use to it and find how you like to set it up.

Tony:)

I have added a tight plated rear and a loose plated front diff at the same time as the dccd, so quite an adventure at racing sppeds.
On the road it just feels more pointed and very focused.

Graham

I was under the impression that the DCCD was put onto the STI RA AND STI type R because they where designed to be converted into rally cars.

light weight panels, glass, wish bones, stronger engine internals, minimal sound proofing, roof vent and DCCD.

With the DCCD being fitted for gravel and other loose surfaces.

I too find myself having to wait that little longer to put the feed the power back in around corners.
It also feels very light at the front end at high speed with the diff fully open.

It is a gimmick for the majority of drivers, if you read what I said in my previous post.

Of course it reduces understeer, by providing bags of oversteer. Fine for very good drivers or track kings, not so good for the average bloke on a wet B road.

Why did Subaru do it? Subaru do a lot of things to cars, some good some bad doesn't make it the Holy Grail. I'd imagine it was primerily aimed at rally drivers and competition cars, and a sop to the bling bling bar braggers ;)

With the introduction of auto selection the diff control system is much more manageable for the masses, and I'd imagine that in 90% of cars this is set to auto 90+% of the time.

You could also use the handbrake on a DCCD equipped car, which aided in slides on gravel etc, where as you can't do that on a none equipped car without knackering the diff ;) but your not really suppose to leave it on the rear one, one or 2 in is better for balance :)

Tony:)

Only the Type RA (race altered) are designed to be converted into rally cars, the type R (retna after the name of the 2 door shell) isnt, hence the reason type R's never had engine oil coolers etc ;) though you could get some 2 door type RA's but they are pretty rare and 2003/4 rally cars were based on the standard STi and not the Spec C.

Tony:)

why did subaru fit a bright button >?


;)

That IS a mystery!

I like the pre 05 sti's with the suretrac diffs and no dccd, you need to be brave though.

If you're getting too much power oversteer, then you need to increase the locking of the DCCD. I too have had a couple of big oversteer moments in the wet when I first got the car, but that was with the diff fully open.

bright button? is that the little tiny button next to the dccd? what the hell is it for????? i thought it was fitted by the previous owner for something or other :wonder:

Playsatan I think is broadly right.

My thoughts

Non DCCD for fast road driving - you can definately push a non DCCD car harder more safely. I always make a point of getting the 50-50 split for my road scoobs.

For competition - then Yes. You can fully expliot its potential. Hill Climbing etc etc then yes DCCD would be the way to go.

Steve

yes yes yes but what's the bloody bright button for??????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????:wonder:

It is a small rocker switch on top of the steering column/indicator housing right in front of the dash dials.

Graham

Trouble is you can feel the car skip around bends when you increase the lock on the dccd.

But i have a little button near the dccd its about 6mm square and it has a little embossed light symbol on it with small rays coming off it as if it turns something on and off but its very small in black rubber and it clicks on and off but nothing seems to happen :wonder: is this not what they are:cuckoo: on about?

Don't know what that is!

seems strange to me




:)

I can definately feel the car has less understeer going around wet/slippery roads as the DCCD is moved forward.

Post a pic up for us.

i have one on my classic all it seems to do is make the clock display brighter when switched on

JDM's have an equivalent to the 'bright' button (i.e. button that appears to have no use whatsoever). It's located on some imports near the handbrake and is labelled AP?!?:freak3: I think 22B's may have been lucky enough to have them?:norty:

Spooky you should bring this up, the dccd that is, not the bright button :D
I've been thinking about this recently after i had a shot of a similar powered uk car, i'm not convinced that the dccd makes for a better road car. Granted it does give you a good shove out of a corner which does feel really good if you get it right, ie just trying to step out ever so slightly just as you straighten up but over cook it and it's a whole different story. Maybe i'm just not a good enough driver to get the most out of it but a viscous centre diff just feels much more predictable and not being able to mess around with the diff means it's easier to learn. Being able to adjust the dccd to suit conditions is all very well being seeing as it's infinately adjustable it's almost like learning a new car every time you tweek it.
Granted i've not driven my car for a while so i'll need to wait till it's finished and then refresh my memory as to how it behaves but from driving my mates car a few weeks ago i could be tempted to put a std tail case on it and swap the rear diff for a 3.54.

Kenny

Having driven my hillclimber in anger this weekend, I really wonder what all the fuss is about. Stikes me it is just another complication that gets in the way of going quickly.

Will continue though to see if I can make some progress, but I'm dissapointed to be honest.

Graham

I'd say that was a pretty good was to sum it up, Graham.
It can be adjusted so much how do you know whether you had it in the ideal position for the hill you just went up, or the section of b road you just tackled? There's a lot to be said for simplicity, just get in it and drive it.
The more i think about this the more i'm swinging towards the idea of trying a normal centre diff.

I tried it in 3 slightly different positions, and Rob set his more extreme on the same day.

If you imagine fully open is '0' and locked is '10' on the dccd wheel (I dont have the dash lights)
I ran first at '3' and the rear end was dramaticly loose, heaven knows what '0' would be like at hight speed corning.
Then tried 4.5 and it was much better
Then tried 5 and snapped a rear halfshaft which was not the dccd 'fault'

Rob ran his at 8 and loved it for the hillclimb run, but sets to open for parking etc.
All this set here/set there for this and that is just messing about to me: I'm old skool and like simple is best and this car is not simple anymore to my mind (i am as old as Rob's Dad!) so maybe it's me.

Unless it gets better this year it will ALL be out and I'll fit a ppg into my Sti V3 box and sell the Type R /front lsd/dccd controller as a package, or a 6 speeder.

Graham.

I went for a test drive of a GX Sport a few years back with a main dealer. We discussed the DCCD and he said they'd been disabling it on a lot of the STi cars they sold unless specified otherwise by the customer, as a lot of people were fiddling with it without really understanding it and sending their lovely new STi cars flying off the road.

I like the simplicity of my UK set up (didnt get the GX Sport thank god, got a lovely low mileage Turbo2000 MY99). The car is not as good as an STi but I dont want the temptation to fiddle with something that alters the behaviour so much.