I found the VSA technology introduction page on Japanese Honda site here with cool animation.
http://www.honda.co.jp/tech/auto/saf...a-2/index.html
(I suppose Honda users are fluent in Japanese but added brief translation... )

1.Introduction
Vehicle Stability Assist(VSA) can control skid for turning
in addition to wheel lock by Anti-lock Brake System(ABS) and wheel spin by Traction Control System(TCS).

2.When starting rear skid, VSA is braking only a front outside wheel to prevent a spin.

3.Shows different situations by clicking 4 tabs from left to right.
Turning-1 : Preventing a spin from a rapid steering
Turning-2 : Preventing out of a course(curve)
Stopping : Braking at a curve
Driving : Braking a slipping wheel to provide power to the other wheel (This is FWD sample)

4.Honda VSA design concept is to assist only the difference
between a driver wants to control and a car is actually behaving.

Japanese TV Ad for VSA
http://www.honda.co.jp/HDTV/safety/cm-deer/

2nd page
http://www.honda.co.jp/tech/auto/safety/vs...tail/index.html

5.VSA to control by braking. SH-AWD to control by driving.
VSA to stabilize a vehicle. SH-AWD to turn better.

6.VSA mechanism (How does it work?)
4 tabs from left to right are
Turning-1 : Preventing a spin from a rapid steering
Turning-2 : Preventing out of a course(curve)
Stopping : Braking at a curve
Driving : Braking a slipping wheel to provide power to the other wheel
VSA Components:
(Top left to right)VSA Indicator, Steering Sensor, Yaw Rate/Lateral G sensor
(Bottom left to right)VSA Modulator(to control brakes), ECU, Wheel speed sensor(to detect wheel spin)

7.VSA prevents out of control situations
A circle indicates the control boundary protected by Boundary Top=TCS, Bottom=ABS, and Sides=VSA.
The circle inside is vehicle stable area.
3 tabs from left to right are
- Normal(dry condition)
- Rain
- Snow

You got it?

 

sweet!! so this is how the 06 s2k's operate eh?

 

cool, thanks for the post.

 

does anybody actually have a review of the VSA technology of the S2k by "TESTING" it?

 

A must have to look on the next group drive

 

I think VSA on the S2000 is a good thing, there are lots of wrecks that I think would have been avoided if the car was equiped with this new system. As long as it can be switched off at the track it shouldn't be a problem.

My only question is does it back off the throttle if you spin the rear tires in a straight line? It seems that VSA only activates if your starting to slide off course.

 

Yes it kills the throttle when it slips, thanks to drive by wire =]

 

I "tested" it last weekend. It was raining most of the weekend so I got curious about how easy it is to break traction when its wet. I took it to an empty parking lot and did slow tight turns and punched the gas midturn. We all know what happens with the VSA off. But with VSA on as soon as I felt the back end start sliding out the VSA indicator started blinking and the car went back in line. If I were going faster it probably would let me slide a bit more before bringing it back in but since I was going slow it was almost immediate.

 

So would you say it's not intrusive at all? It'll let you slip your wheels still, right?