So, I'm on my second 996, but the first with PSM...first car ever with any kind of electronic driver "aid" in fact. I'm several months in now and something interesting is happening.

The weather is starting to turn, and on my commute home I occasionally find myself all alone on some wide, wet twisty bits.

A few times since I've had the car I've invoked the PSM...better to find out how it behaves under controlled conditions I figure.

Just the last couple of times now I've started experimenting with driving right *through* the PSM if you know what I mean. That is to say, I'm letting the car step out, and letting the PSM straighten the car, but I'm not letting up on the throttle so when the PSM let's go the throttle is where I want it to be to just carry on carrying on heading very much in the direction I want to be heading.

It's kind of cool. The trick from my perspective it to learn exactly how the system behaves, and how to exploit it.

Interesting stuff, and before the flames start let me stress this is being done under zero risk conditions with respect to other traffic...ie there is none. I'm old enough to know that things can and do go wrong, learned that the hard way when I was young.

Anyone else play with their PSM?

 

Just make sure not to play with PMS, that's REALLY dangerous.

 

I've done that a little bit on rainy days. I'm looking forward to learning more about it when it starts snowing.

 

I've noticed it's much more "lenient" than Audi's ESP. It seems to allow a few degrees of yaw and a fair bit of wheelspin.

It's pretty impressive so far. I did a hard braking turn into wet leaves and it pulled the back end right down flawlessly.

Also looking forward to snow.

 

I had it turn on for me last night. I took a 90-degree corner and hit the throttle in the pouring rain. It let the wheels spin for a bit that grabbed the pavement for me to go.

I'm surprised how this car doesn't lose its composure at all. Even on the track you really have to try to get the back end to come around for you on purpose.

 

I like taking the PSM off and having some fun; although, the PSM is always lurking in the background and will re-engage.

 

LOL!!


Though the PSM get's a bad wrap sometime from the purests, I quite like it. Porsche has always had a history of the tail swinging out due to it's rear engine, though they really did some good engineering in the mid/late 70s to correct a lot of it. I think if the 911 were a mid-engined car (I won't even say the B word), PSM wouldn't (need to) play nearly as big a roll.
Personally I don't think it gets in the way, but I do like taking it off every so often just to play with what the car will do otherwise. It will come back on, like russo says; no way (that I know of) to turn it off permanently. But for me, I would never want to.

BTW, Jasper, I envy your ride home in the twisties!! I don't get any of that out here in San Diego on the way home, unless I go looking for it.

 

Don't envy me too much. The free form bit of my commute is pretty short and sweet.

Overall there's not *that* many roads up here in the Great White North that you would be envious of.

Nevertheless, you make the best of what you got. The countryside has other benefits that more than make up for the shortness of good driving roads.

I haven't yet turned off the PSM and then had it come back on. I'm 5 or 6 months in with this car so still learning the limits.

 

Well, my folks retired up the WA state about 10 years ago, and I LOVE it up there. I might just move up there within the next 5 years. We'll see. I love the rain, so it figures. So I still envy you. Ha!

As to the PSM turning back on, I'm pretty sure that all you have to do is step on the brakes and it'll reactivate the system. I don't think any of the car's positional sensors (yay, steering, etc) need to be at some extreme value for the brake-reactivation to work; just tapping on them should do it.

 

Well, no I've tested that. I've autocrossed the car three times and always turn the PSM off because it fights back. I thought the PSM would switch itself back on if the ABS kicked in, but that was not the case.

Many autocross laps later, including a half dozen+ in the rain, ABS lock ups, impending oversteer (but no actual spins) and the PSM hasn't turned itself back on yet.

ALSO - I was with a buddy in his car once and he turned off the PSM and gave it *WAY* too much right foot in an off camber uphill hairpin in the rain...like way too much. I don't know if the PSM turned back on or not, but it wouldn't have saved him. That car car spun around faster than either of us could say whoa! and he cracked the outside wheel on the inside curb. I'm talking a 200 degree spin and fast.

So - gentle gentle catch a monkey lads.

 

Interesting! Maybe you have a GOOD software bug in that you can turn it on and off at will! I'll have to make sure that mine is turning back on too and pay more attention to the little light.

Scary times when you're with someone and they loose control!! Well, not the "scary" part when you worry about YOUR car getting wrecked! Haa!

 

LOL, never have heard that one.

I was under the impression after activating ABS the PSM would come back on. After playing with it at a Auto X it definitely does not.

That spin btw, was fast, wish I had a camera on our faces, priceless. Laughing now. Lesson learned.

ps.
a new wheel is damn expensive.

 

I've had fun playing with the PSM on the track - in the dry and in the wet! You can actually use it to help battle understeer. If you keep holding the steering wheel at the arc you want, the PSM will work hard to rotate and align the car to that trajectory.

It's also fun to feel the "progressiveness" of the PSM. First it play with the brakes - then, if it's not satisfied, it goes after the throttle.

I must say, however, that I've found it more rewarding to alter my driving style and line so the PSM doesn't engage on the track. This has increased my smoothness and actually improved my lap times.

It's like ABS and threshold braking - ABS can teach you how to stay just shy of it and maximize deceleration. Staying just shy of the PSM will teach you how to maximize the grip of the tires in your transitions.

Just my 2 cents!

 

PSM only re-activates when you exceed a certain slip angle and touch the brakes. It will then reactivate, try to fix you and disengage after your going more or less straight.

The only place this can be an issue in Autocross is if your trying to get the tail to rotate heavily during trailbraking. The amount of rotation you get is never what you want. Or, if you TTOS to wide and tap the brake it will kick in to save you. It's fairly good and certainly much more forgiving than the BMW system which steps in way too early. I've had driven a friends 02 with PSM and had it kick in on me when I went around an off camber and was trying to rotate the car a bit. It felt a bit odd (abrupt) where as my car let me do it (99 with LSD- no PSM). On the track, I can see where this can be a nice safety net.

I suppose you can spin a PSM car as a guy I know did with his I suppose as long as you don't hit the brakes.

Do you guys notice coming out of tighter corners in Autocross that you will briefly openening up the inside wheel? That was something I noticed more than the PSM when driving my buddie's 02.

 

I keep it on track events. ONly a couple of turns that i've experienced that invoke it. Otherwise, it's always driver problem and it's pretty hands off as far as driver aids go.

The new 997 GT3 PSM is so refined that race drivers are saying they get better times with it on than off; that is, it's tough to defeat.