I'm thinking not, but is there any way to add DSTC to an S80 that only has STC?

 

You're thinking right. It's not feasible.

 

does anyone know the difference between the two? to be honest, i normally drive with my stc off anyway unless its raining or im on the interstate.. i quite like cooking the tyres in the turns

 

I usually turn it off as well. To me its hindered more than helped.

If I need to press on the gas to get the hell out of the way or get the car moving quick for whatever reason.. it cuts the throttle and takes too long to get power back. If Im dodging a truck coming at me it may just take up that precious half second I need.

Its reaction time is really too slow to be effective. I mean in the rain/snow its great but dry conditions its a royal PITA.

 

I've never had a problem with the STC and since it turns itself on automatically each time you start the car, one can only guess that's for a reason. Do you guys also try to find a way to disable your ABS too?

 

well you have to understand the volvo mentality.. make you safer no matter what it takes..
in the 5 other vehicles my family has, none have stc and I never found myself needing it..
When I just want to cruise around or if its wet i leave it on, but it really hinders whatever fun you can have with an s80 because it wont allow any tyre slip, itl cut your throttle almost instantly..

for the record, i like ABS, after going back from the s80 to my 97 JDM accord without it, its missed much..

 

as far as i remember STC regulates the power applied to the drive wheels where as DSTC regulates power and applies brakes when needed... i never drive with it off, but i will try it today, i think it depends on the quality of your tires as well, when i had my worn winters just a few weeks ago it STC would turn on in a sharp corner when the wheels slipped, i now have good summer tires on and in does not do it in the same turn on the way to work...

if you drive and your STC / DSTC turns on all the time, that means you are turning and accelerating too fast, slow down and that wount happen

 

life travels fast, so why not drive fast?

 

Well... I quite like accelerating, whats the point of the power if I cant get to use it.. and NO I dont routinely break speed limits.. I just like getting up to the speed limit in the minimal time.. I have great tyres but the STC is still too invasive with cornering on the throttle and sometimes its slightly unpredictable, when I expect 1st to go up to 6000rpm, stc cuts in and bring it down to 4000, and pulls the car back in line.. the opposite of what I was expecting..
to each their own, its a nice feature to have, but i would never use it 100% of the time..

 

Here is why you need it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3m24bjkfg0

I spun out in my previous car after hitting a puddle on the highway.

DSTC will keep your car from spinning out of control. It can save your life. What they need to do is separate traction control from yaw control. I don't mind spinning my tires, but I do mind losing control on the highway.

 

well as I said, i run stc while on highway or if it is even slightly wet.. but when im around the city, i usually have it off.. no real risk involved there, just a little more fun

 

STC doesn't provide yaw control (going in a direction you didn't intend - rotation) so having it off isn't that big of a deal.

Though STC (a traction control of sorts) could keep you from shifting sideways into someone (by cutting power) when the road is wet while you accelerate from a stop. And even then, its effectiveness isn't that great. It's best to just not use a heavy foot when the road is slippery in those situations. With STC on, I still shift sideways if the wheels start spinning.

I test drove a V6 Accord and traction control was intrusive on dry pavement so I turned off VSA. But I wish I could only turn off traction control and not the stability control part.

On the Scion xB, if you press the VSC button, it only disables the traction control temporarily and reactivates it once you get up to speed. You have to hold the button down for a few seconds to disable the stability control.

Anyway, stability control is so important that all cars in the US will have it by 2012. To me, it's as important as ABS. It does things no person could do (unless you had 4 brake pedals - one for each wheel - or some way to activate individual brakes).

I think if all cars had stability control, people would no longer skid off the road...but as it always is, the more idiot proof you make something, better idiots come along.

But I noticed that the new Volvo's don't even have a DSTC button. Could it be that you can't turn it off without some strange combo of motions?

On the Camry with VSC, there is no VSC off button. You have to do some combination of brake pedal presses and parking brake activations to turn it off (in case you get stuck in the snow). I guess they think it's a safety feature that shouldn't be defeated. I still would rather have one button for traction control (the T in STC) and one for stability control (the D in DSTC). You'd only need to turn off DSTC if you were drifting or wanting to slide in corners. Most people should leave it on.