Re: PSM or TC on GT2/GT3?
Lots more good posts from both sides of the argument, but it's Keith that I think really nails it on the head. It seems like allot of people want to be able to maintain a sporty driving demeanor in their street driving while having a safety-net to rescue them in case a situation like the following happens.....
I would think that giving yourself proper trailing distance between the car in front of you, especially while taking a corner at 70mph in a 911 might be a good start so you hopefully never find yourself in this situation. If the above happens on a straight road, PSM isn't really going to help your straight line braking performance either. Some people don't mind driving defensively while on the street, others prefer a car that is more 'weapon like', that lets them go faster on the street & track while helping them if situations arise they didn't plan for. I would agree that most drivers out there that we share the roads with are very lacking, which makes it all the more important that we drive in a somewhat defensive manner while on the street, taking into account everything from car dynamics, road conditions, and our fellow stupid drivers that we are forced to share the road with. And as Keith already pointed out, the limits on Porsche GT cars are much higher than those of most cars on the road. If you want to take the cars to the edges of the envelope while on the street, so that there is no margin for error if something unexpected happens, that's your choice, but hardly a wise one.
As for using PSM to learn a new track, I liked the theory, at least according to Porsche's literature, but even a system as good as PSM isn't perfect (It probably never could be, sadly). It will always be forcing you to drive its way, which most of the time is fine and dandy, but fails to let you do some very necessary things at some corners. And one must take into account, that the later a stability program is programmed to react (slip angle) the harder it will come in on the brakes when it decides you have exceeded the limits, all to often making you wonder if you would have been able to handle the slide by yourself. This very fact of giving you the confidence to approach the limits and often making you question if you would be able to handle exceeding them is why I dislike PSM as a training tool for A GT series Porsche.
Quote:
Having to suddenly swerve at 70 mph on a cambered wet road to avoid that refrigerator that just fell off the back of the pick-truck ahead of you and keeping the back end pendulum from exiting the road first is something else completely.
I would think that giving yourself proper trailing distance between the car in front of you, especially while taking a corner at 70mph in a 911 might be a good start so you hopefully never find yourself in this situation. If the above happens on a straight road, PSM isn't really going to help your straight line braking performance either. Some people don't mind driving defensively while on the street, others prefer a car that is more 'weapon like', that lets them go faster on the street & track while helping them if situations arise they didn't plan for. I would agree that most drivers out there that we share the roads with are very lacking, which makes it all the more important that we drive in a somewhat defensive manner while on the street, taking into account everything from car dynamics, road conditions, and our fellow stupid drivers that we are forced to share the road with. And as Keith already pointed out, the limits on Porsche GT cars are much higher than those of most cars on the road. If you want to take the cars to the edges of the envelope while on the street, so that there is no margin for error if something unexpected happens, that's your choice, but hardly a wise one.
As for using PSM to learn a new track, I liked the theory, at least according to Porsche's literature, but even a system as good as PSM isn't perfect (It probably never could be, sadly). It will always be forcing you to drive its way, which most of the time is fine and dandy, but fails to let you do some very necessary things at some corners. And one must take into account, that the later a stability program is programmed to react (slip angle) the harder it will come in on the brakes when it decides you have exceeded the limits, all to often making you wonder if you would have been able to handle the slide by yourself. This very fact of giving you the confidence to approach the limits and often making you question if you would be able to handle exceeding them is why I dislike PSM as a training tool for A GT series Porsche.
Valentino is as wise outside the track as he is inside... "the doctor" is the greatest! 
