Is PSM a Necessity?

I wouldn't leave home without it!

[bigb]

I gave this a great deal of thought when I was buying my car. In the end, I ended up getting a car without one. Why? I liked everything else about that car, and I live in san jose and these cars grip well (much better than a mustang I owned years ago ). However, as CJ said, it is an option, so its good to be with it than without.

To answer your specific q about PSM being a necessary option or not, again quoting CJ, it'd depend on the weather and the kind of driving you do.

[markk]

I ordered my new BoxsterS explicitly without it. It's my fun car and that means I would disable PSM anyway.

Don't regret it. In 7 years, 61k km I've never missed it. Apart from one scary moment exiting a highway and going sideways without doing it on purpose. As I do a lot of drifting for fun I did the right thing:kept throttle, countersteered the right amount (not too much preventing a counterspin) and got the slide. However it was scary as hell. It really got me by surprise.

Neccesity NO. But daily driver, not too experienced with RWD cars, or rainy climat then having PSM can't hurt you...

Mark.

[Uncle Bob]

Option or nor, when I considered my wife would be driving the car, I found I can always turn it off, that's easy. Turning it on when it ain't there....darn hard to do!

PSM actually stands for Please Save Me

First I do not know the limits of PSM. I wouldn't do anything blantantly stupid like cranking the wheel 180 at 100mph attempting to drift it...


Over the last few days, I've been purposely trying to fry my rear tires since I need to replace them anyways and practice some skid control at the same time. They were getting bald on the inside and one has a patch so that was my excuse for driving like a mad man in a big deserted parking lot for my stunt driving :dance: .


PSM is simply amazing. At speeds below 50mph (parking lot wasn't THAT big) , I could never get the car to spin! I did get it out of shape somewhat, but PSM would dutifully kick in and save me and point the nose in the right direction while simultaneously scrubbing off speed. Many times it did so without my being able to detect the edge or limit of adhesion, especially in the wet. As I honed onto that limit envelope I took off PSM and had some really wild rides. Attempting my impression of Tiff Needell, I easily found myself doing 180's and 360's without much provocation (bald tires) and overcorrected some slides. Saving the first slide too quickly often resulted in me spinning in the opposite direction. It made good learning for fast wheel manipulation, hand over hand steering vs. shuffle steering etc... (once at an auto-x years ago I rode in a 944 and this guy could drive like a MOFO! I mean I thought he over cooked just about every single corner but he would alway maintain control AND be fast! For months I made a dedicated effort of making shuffle steering a habit where ever I went, and I noticed he did the let-the-wheel-slip through the fingers routine like so many of us do intuitively when we first started driving. What I had just broken the habit of after doing it for years. When I asked if that was the "correct" and accepted race method for steering he responded, "it works for me". Anyhow back to PSM...


PSM was so good, I considered running the tires down to the cords, but decided that hydroplaning was not something I wanted to experiment with and although PSM was doing a stellar job, I don't know what it would do on ice.


For me, PSM is a must have. It's a no-brainer, much like the S decision. I believe that in 10 to 20 yrs all cars will be equiped with such. Like ABS, for 99.9% of drivers, I don't think you can beat it. On the track, under a controlled environment, I do however believe it will slow down an expert driver a little.

[yellowboxster01]

I don't have it, not really a necessity but, it's a nice feature. Sometimes I wish I did, I think when winter hits I'll wish I had it. As far as track use, most people I know with it turn it off on the track.

[fatmike]

[QUOTE=boxsterz] PSM is simply amazing. At speeds below 50mph (parking lot wasn't THAT big) , I could never get the car to spin! I did get it out of shape somewhat, but PSM would dutifully kick in and save me and point the nose in the right direction while simultaneously scrubbing off speed. Many times it did so without my being able to detect the edge or limit of adhesion, especially in the wet. As I honed onto that limit envelope I took off PSM and had some really wild rides. Attempting my impression of Tiff Needell, I easily found myself doing 180's and 360's without much provocation (bald tires) and overcorrected some slides. Saving the first slide too quickly often resulted in me spinning in the opposite direction. It made good learning for fast wheel manipulation, hand over hand steering vs. shuffle steering etc... QUOTE]



Yes, PSM was a definite must have for me. I'm actually surprised by the mixed review so far.

Unlike systems from other car manufacturers, PSM is very unobtrusive in day-to-day driving. For example, the BMW system kicks in all the time and will drive you nuts.

Something to keep in mind, mid-engine cars (the Boxster is my 3rd) have a nasty tendency to get very squirelly after you pass their handling limits. Read BoxsterZ's experiences again. He does a great job of describing how difficult a mid-engine car can be to reign-in when your sideways.

Unless you are a rare driver capable of intuitively staying on the throttle during the chaos & steering out of it -- get PSM.

Then again, if you were this type of driver, you probably wouldn't be asking the question.

[djomlas]

i dont have it, and i drive in rain and snow.
never really noticed that i need it, so whatever...

but then again, none of my cars had any traction control of any sort, so i dont want it to start with

Originally Posted by fatmike

I'm actually surprised by the mixed review so far.

You know it's funny. It's the same as the S arguement. There is no denying that this forum is home to two camps of owners (of which neither is right, but I have a preference for). Those that find PSM less of a necessity are inclined to one of the three:


a) Those that are wondering probably don't take their car to the edge given the opportunity. Let's face it, many boxsters are garage queens, reserved for boulevard cruising replete with shiney painted calipers.

b) Those that do push it, yet find it unimportant never experienced driving WITH PSM and frankly don't know what the're missing.

c) Those fabled few that can skillfully balance the box on the razor's edge who have been lucky enough not to wreck badly, yet. Sooner or later you will want PSM, because inorder to be an expert at the limit, you have to surpass it once in a while. PSM allows you to do so without the controlled track condition.



Before you flame me, have a buddy shadow you in a PSM boxster. My guess is, a like wise skilled driver would run circles around the non-PSM car. Moreso if roads are wet. If you know the road well, you might be faster without PSM. If however you were pressed to do so consistently say 10 times, chances are the one time you cross the limit may result in a serious wreck without PSM (I'm thinking of those Mt. twisties). With PSM, you wouldn't "lose control", worse case is you'd be slower...