As the title suggests is DSC the same as traction control? I have a 07 i6 and went and did a bit of off roading today, i turned off the dsc and popped it into sand mode but upon reading the manual i am not sure i turned off traction control and whether i should have or not, cheers

It’s a driver aid to help control situations like oversteer . In some off-road situations it’s actually counter productive so turning it off will not be an issue . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Cheers, is it possible to turn off traction control then?? Thanks

DSC is Traction Control really, it limits the power delivery to any wheel that it senses is spinning. One of the side effects with it is it if all 4 wheels start spinning it can cut power killing your momentum. On icy roads if you can't pull away because of wheel slip and DSC killing the power, it's recommended to turn DSC off until moving then switch it back on again. I think in Sand Mode DSC would be automatically turned down, if not off, as you require momentum then. 
Hung like Einstein, smart as a horse.

Description from Manual

ABS System Control

The ABS module controls several functions and adjusts the operating parameters of these functions to optimize the selected Terrain Response program.

Traction Control

Traction control uses different slip/acceleration thresholds to improve traction and vehicle composure. For example, the system sensitivity is increased on slippery surfaces such as wet grass or snow to reduce wheel spin. If wheel spin was allowed in these circumstances, loss of traction may result from surface damage (wet grass) or the car being unable to move (snow) due to wheel spin.

Dynamic Stability Control

If DSC is switched off (with the DSC switch adjacent to the Terrain Response rotary control) when using a Terrain Response special program, if the special program is subsequently changed for a different program, DSC is automatically switched back on.

The DSC uses different threshold values for the selected program to automatically reduce DSC intervention, removing the requirement for the driver to disable the DSC system in order to reduce engine intervention which is sometimes induced in extreme off-road conditions. In extreme sand conditions, there may be an additional benefit of disabling the DSC function using the DSC switch in addition to selecting the sand program.

In the Mud/Ruts program the DSC system is calibrated to tolerate a higher 'yaw' threshold. This allows a greater differential between the actual and desired wheel turning behavior before DSC intervenes. This allows the DSC system to ignore the effect of ruts 'jarring' the car or adjusting the front wheel steering angle.

The Terrain Response system can alter the balance between engine and brake intervention. For example, when the sand program is selected, the DSC system reduces its reliance on engine intervention and increases the use of brake intervention to maintain the vehicles momentum and prevent it from becoming bogged down if wheel slip is detected.

Hill Descent Control

HDC is automatically switched on or off and target speeds are adjusted in response to the Terrain Response program selected. The responsiveness of the HDC function is also increased where required.

Automatic operation of HDC aims to assist the driver by switching the system on or off when it is of most benefit. HDC is only automatically switched on when the mud/ruts program is selected. HDC is not automatically selected in other
programs. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

Thanks Ian, I don’t see a traction control button on the dash anywhere so presumably this is a auto controlled feature? Does that sound right?