Mazda Speed 6. Manual - part 11

04 BRAKES

46

Braking System Modifi cations

Larger brakes:

Front- 12.6” (vs 11.8”) ventilated discs 
Rear-12.4” (vs 10”) solid discs 

ABS

Anti-lock 
Braking 
System

Maintains steering control by preventing wheels from 
locking during braking

EBD

Electronic 
Brake Force 
Distribution

Prevents rear wheel lockup by maintaining optimal 
distribution of braking force front to rear

BAC

Brake Assist 
Control

Monitors build of brake pressure with a pressure 
sensor inside the HU/CM.  During hard braking it 
assists braking by building additional pressure using 
the ABS pump

DSC

Dynamic 
Stability 
Control

Monitors vehicle speed, steering angle, G-force and 
Yaw and adjust braking on individual wheels to help 
maintain the vehicle on the correct line through turns

TCS

Traction 
Control 
System

Detects drive wheel spin and maintains traction 
by cutting engine torque or applying braking to the 
slipping wheel

ABS and EBD have been around and BAC is simple to understand.  However, DSC 
and TCS are relatively new so we will cover these functions in detail.

With DSC and TCS, the HU/CM determines the direction the vehicle is headed 
and reduces engine torque and applies the brakes individually to keep the vehicle 
moving in the correct direction.  

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DSC
DSC is designed to help correct understeer and oversteer.

Understeer 
Is described by drivers as plowing or pushing.  Understeer occurs when the vehicle 
moves further to the outside of a turn than the driver intended and the driver must 
slow the vehicle and increase the steering angle to correct the vehicle direction.

Oversteer 
Is described by drivers as fi shtailing or spinning out.  Oversteer occurs when 
the vehicle moves further to the inside of a turn than the driver intended and the 
driver must slow the vehicle and decrease the steering angle to correct the vehicle 
direction.

Direction of travel is determined by inputs from the steering angle sensor and the 
combined sensor.  The combined sensor measures yaw angle, and forward and 
lateral G-forces.

Yaw Angle = the angle of a vehicle’s travel compared to its heading angle. 

Heading Angle = angle by which the longitudinal axis of a moving vehicle 
deviates from its true direction of travel.  

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48

↕

Forward G-force

↔

Lateral G-force



Yaw Angle

04 BRAKES

49

Combined Sensor
All combined sensor readings (yaw, forward and lateral G-force) read 2.5 volts 
while the vehicle is at rest.   The voltage of each sensor in the combined sensor will 
increase or decrease as the direction of vehicle travel changes.