Hypothetical Question: SKS or VSC

I could care less about the SKS.. I'm one of the people that really dislike the power button on the HSD Prius.. I love the keyed ignition on my Classic (and the fact that it's twist-and-release to start and I *don't* have to hold down the brake pedal) and am plenty happy with the remote control buttons to lock and unlock the doors. I use automatic proximity badges at work to unlock doors, so the SKS has no novelty for me..

On the other hand if you had asked Nav or VSC, I would definitely pick the Nav- the SKS is a convenience only, and the VSC is safety only, where as the Nav is both- it can guide you to gas/emergency services/etc and in every day situations, it can guide you around traffic jams to the mall and tell you what exit to take to get to cousin Jim's place..

 

I have my doubts VSC helped you here. It seems like it prevents oversteer or understeer and really only keeps you from spinning. Knowing you had it could have made you less timid about yanking on the wheel, but it seems to me like it only would make you turn less than you attempted.

I'm no expert, but I did drift around a snowy corner and VSC didn't do anything to keep me from drifting all 4 wheels at once.

From my posts here, I almost sound like I'm against VSC; I'm not, I love it. I'm just not feeling the "velcro" adhesion or that it's the end-all super safety feature. Doesn't mean I wasn't passing everyone in the fast lane coming down the pass. I just didn't want that 18-wheeler who also thought he was God's gift to snowy roads passing me.

 

SKS is, in the final analysis, a toy.

I will never own another vehicle without VSC.

 

I wouldn't have bought it.

VSC was an absolute requirement for any car I was considering.

 

Interesting.. coming from a guy who flew a kite in a lightning storm.

But I have to go with SKS. VSC is only really needed if you want to keep the stock tires.

 

From what I've read on VSC, it's the most important safety feature to show up on cars since seat belts (side curtain air bags are also getting very high praise from the safety community).

My Audi had VSC. I would not have purchased a Prius had VSC not been offered. (seems stupid to take a step backward on safety).

On the 2004 Prius it was available only on the two most expensive option packages. I hope, considering the fact that Prius has increased in price, that VSC and side curtain air bags have been made available to more buyers now (both should be standard in my opinion).

P.S. Regarding the writer who drifted in snow with VSC being of no help .. I suspect that writer's Prius is not equipped with this option. Of all the VSC stories I've read over this past few years, this is the first that stated that it was of no help in a sideways sliding situation.

 

His dealer has 350 reasons that say that he does. If the VSC had been quick enough, I suppose it would have prevented me from turning as sharp as I did. But once all 4 wheels start drifting together, I suppose it could have tried to line me up with the way I was sliding, but I'm actually quite glad it let me scoot up to the gradual bank sideways with only my tires coming into contact with it, instead of ramming it head on.

 

i would rather have the SKS. VSC is differeant thant he traction control. traction control is standard and most likely what you can get to kick in with the stock tires under almost any semi slippery consition. If you fly around a corner on those tires you'll wish you had the VSC. It corrects wheel patters and adds brakes to certain points. If you get a BT Tech stiffening brace and goodyear comforthreads, you can get the VSC to work without engaging the traction control. the end result is a car that flys around corners but doesn't get the engine shut off, just the VSC kicking in to changing your skid direction.

Even right now with the brace and tires, i would pick SKS over VSC.

 

VSC won't simply put you in your momentums direction. It looks at the wheels turning patterns along with your stearing direction. it would also let you semi accelerate if needed. I've did many donuts at high speeds in the prius to know that VSC helps a great deal. it allowed me to stop on ice and still turn in any direction i wanted.

Lemme explain. it's a half of a block right hand turn. the reoad is downhill through a valley. the water that has completely covered the road is frozen. there is a little breakage to the ice but not much.

when i hit my brakes the car goes into a slow controlled stop. i can choose by pointing the wheel which direction i wanted to go. even though i was on ice, the breakes were working tobether with the steering wheel to point me in any diretion i wanted. strait, slight right, sharp right, or swerving back and forth. it would act the same every time. speed never did really matter.

 

SKS is indeed a tremendous convenience, contrary to what one poster above asserted. Not having to reach into your pocket for the fob when it's 30 degrees below zero (which would require removing your gloves and freezing your hands) or when you have both hands full of grocery bags, is wonderful.

But my life is worth more than any convenience, no matter how great, and VSC is a tremendous safety feature.

Note: I do not use VSC. My car uses it. And it has used it on several occasions. Has it saved my life? We'll never really know. But it may have. We all take risks, and life is a risk. But it's silly (to avoid using stronger language) to do without a safety feature when you have the choice.

And I sure hope I'm never on the same road with jeneric, who intentionally created the conditions where VSC would kick in while driving over a mountain pass. If your VSC does kick in, it should be taken as a warning to drive more slowly! Jeneric also asserts that ABS does not prevent accidents because "people count on them and drive closer." Well, let me tell you, I don't! When conditions are slippery I drive farther back. ABS does NOT stop you faster. All it does is prevent you from losing control due to brakes locking up. You still need more space to stop when the road is slippery.

 

Anybody know the relative usefulness of VSC in rain vs ice vs snow ?

We have all three locally, so I consider VSC to be a no compromise feature, but if you live in a locality where conditions are safe without it (if such a thing exists), then no reason to pay for it.

I add my voice to the earlier poster who thinks side airbags and VSC should be mandatory, along with ABS and seat belts. Safety should not be a high end trim choice. My earlier paragraph may seem to contradict this one, but the majority of people will certainly benefit from VSC, and industry has a peculiar way of driving costs way down, when faced with an obligation to equip their production with an opton across the board.

 

I agree!

 

I love the SKS, it is a cool feature.
I ordered my 06 without VSC on purpose as I personally dislike the system.
VSC systems remove control from the driver and are an unfortunate attempt to try and replace proper driver training with electronic band aids. A skilled driver can navgate an emergency manuever more quickly without VSC than with it....

I also dislike it's early intervention when driving my cars briskly on mountain roads, or just trying to flick the back end around to try and maintain momentum and have some fun.

Take the money you save by not getting VSC and invest in some proper driver training, Skip Barber makes a nice program.

Just my 2 cents.
Mike

 

In my opinion, no driver can react as fast as a modern microchip. But that's not to say anything against good driver training. Ideally, we'd all take driver classes AND have all the electronic safety features. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

I agree with your concept that a skilled driver is the single most important safety feature, and that there can be no substitute for one. Also we should not drive with the attitude that VSC will save us in any situation, like an earlier poster mentioned, anti-lock brakes havn't reduced accidents because people they can stop on ice as well as dry pavement. Much like up here in the north, we see more SUV's ditched on a snowy day than cars because so many of their drivers think $WD = invinceable.

VSC does however add what even the most skilled driver cannot do, that is to apply aach wheel's brake independantly, and with reaction times in the milliseconds. This gives the skilled driver a tremendus advantage over non VSC equipped in an emergency. And for a not so skilled driver, it may save him from disaster.

My vote - VSC.

 

ABS does stop your faster than locking your brakes. High school physics: You lose a lot of friction once you start sliding.

From our great wikipedia:

Code:

Braking distance from 80-0 km/h:  
                     locked wheels       ABS 
dry pavement           45 m              32 m 
snow                   53 m              64 m 
ice                   255 m             404 m 

As far as me driving like an idiot, there weren't any other cars around and I prefer a little experience with extreme conditions when it's safe, to no experience with extreme conditions when it's not. They made us lock our rear wheels in motorcycle training as well. I think I mentioned watching a lady fishtail her SUV around and land in a ditch backwards simply because she remembered someone telling her to "pump her brakes" when she started sliding. I know how easy it is to quickly lose control.