Camry's VSC in Action

Share your experience with your Camry's VSC, Vehicle Stability Control, in action.

Understeer:

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Last winter I was driving my '02 Camry SE V6. It was a night of rain and slippery roads. I had my OEM tires, Bridgestone Turanza summer tires, on. These tires are not too great in winter. I negotiated a left turn a little too quickly, and the car started understeering (tracing a curve shallower than that which the front tires want to follow).

The Skid Indicator started flashing and beeping. Next thing I heard was the ABS pumping the brakes. The front was adjusted to the correct heading, but the rapid adjustment caused the rear to swerve to the right. Again the system kicked in and stablized the rear.

I continued driving as if nothing had happened. I would say the car deviated off course (sideways) by only inches before it recovered. I was really impressed.

Oversteer:

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Another time, I intentionally tested the system on a secluded dirt road. I was doing about 40mph. Turning the steering wheel slightly to the left, I raised the handbrake all the way up to induce a rear-end skid. Again flashes and beeps from the dash. Reflexively, I tried correcting the skid myself, so I rapidly turned the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. The car responded a little too rapidly, and the rear started skidding in the opposite direction of the original skid.

The VSC kicked in with surprising agility recovered the skid.

The VSC system manages both the brakes and engine to correct a skid, but you don't really notice the engine revving as you do the ABS pumping.

By no means do I recommend you intentionally inducing skids. Nonetheless, it's nice to know that this system is there if you need it and can help save you in case of lost control.

--Ibrahim

Reply to
Ibrahim
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Sounds like you're having too much fun. You're screaming at Toyota for a Camry AWD, aren't you?

Reply to
Thomas

AWD would really come in handy in the Midwest's winter. But what I really want is a Camry that breaks the 250HP barrier. A prettier looking engine wouldn't hurt either.

I felt "betrayed" that after I bought the '02 192 HP, they came up with the 210 HP the following year.

--Ibrahim

Reply to
Ibrahim

Ibrahim,

192 HP is quite sufficient power to comfortably pass vehicles and trucks in the highways. In terms of AWD, I would HIGHLY recommend you look into a set of dedicated winter tires for the winter. I have a set of Nokian Hakka 1's on my 2002 Camry LE V6
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and had no issueswith handing or braking in the winter. In fact, the Camry handles betterthen some SUV's on cornering because of the lower centre of gravity. If aggressive winter tires are not what you would like, I would suggest you go with a set of Nokian "All Weather" WR's
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. These tires arequieter then the HAkka 1's and should offer excellent snow and ice tractionand both tires are Severe Weather Rated. Here is another review on the WR's:
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A good set of winter tires will give you the confidence you need on snow covered roads.

Reply to
Car Guy

Car Guy;

Thanks very much for the advice. Also, after much research, I managed to find a set of Ultra High Performance All-Season tires (VR speed rated). I purchased them online for my V6 SE. They are the Continental ExtremeContact.

They are the only tires I could find that got good reviews both for performance and snow traction.

So far they are doing great in dry and rain. Still waiting for their first winter.

Check out this link for more:

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If the link is wrapping, please copy it line by line to your browser's address bar with no spaces.

--Ibrahim

Reply to
Ibrahim

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