GUMBALL RUN..CRASHING GOOD TIME!

[grant3]

It's probably an old series, but this week I spotted the GUMBALL Rally on satellite (on Extreme sports).
Watching last nights episode (it's all repeated on Saturday)in Morocco a guy rolled his Viper.......
This was a sobering thing to watch, he had to brake hard on a bumpy road, the car jinked sideways/bottomed out at high speed & in a split second the car was flipping end over end!!
This is why I like my Porsches with PSM, ok I think I can drive, I've taken a few courses and I conceed the Vipers handling is not highly thought of, but this was a guy who knew the car, had driven thousands of miles at high speed & in a spit second he could have been dead!! For all you gung ho anti-PSM guys out there take a peek at the repeat, it's only a few seconds long but sobering none the less!!!

[GreigM]

I entirely agree Grant - there are many out there who's chest wig will be sprouting in rage at what you said, but I'm a firm believer in PSM. In fact I think it's the only thing stopping my GT3 being a perfect car. Fair enough turn it off on track, but if you have to drive on slippy/greasy roads then it is a simple safety mechanism.

If I thought it wouldn't screw my warranty I'd be getting Racelogic's Traction Control system fitted to the GT3 - not as good as PSM and wouldn't stop the viper crash (as it was nothing to do with throttle) but would help in some situations.

There will be those who will come on and say that a good driver can do everything that PSM can, but its simply untrue. PSM is best in the situations where the driver wasn't expecting the car to react how it did.

Unfortunately there will also be those who use PSM as a drivers aid and will corner too hard expecting the PSM to sort it out - this I don't agree with, you should only use it as a safety device.

[GuyR]

Totally agree. I'd love to have PSM fitted to my GT2 for normal road-driving, especially when you get an unexpected wet or greasy patch on the road.

That said, it would have to have an off-switch for track-use (and not the off version fitted to 996s currently which does not fully turn-off the PSM).

Guy

[aceparts_com]

Possibly a silly question, but Guy, were you at bedford on the 11th Dec?

[simonharrod911]

One of the best drivers I know once said :

"You can't drive a 911 anywhere near it's limits on the road. If you do you're risking too many lives."

After 5 years of driving them I thought I understood them. All it took was some unexpected mud coming out of a corner(and too much speed) and I ended up on the roof of my 1 month old 993 C2S.

[domster]

And PSM can't alter physics... the Viper may have flipped anyway... who knows?

[simonharrod911]

domster said:

And PSM can't alter physics... the Viper may have flipped anyway... who knows?

Couldn't agree more. No doubt these devices are useful, the DSC in my X5 has got me out of trouble three times late breaking(crap driving) into a corner in poor conditions.

However they should come with a health warning and words to the effect of Domster's post.

[GreigM]

domster said:

And PSM can't alter physics... the Viper may have flipped anyway... who knows?

Although from the description of the crash the accident occured because the tail broke loose under braking - this is one of the things PSM is VERY effective in controlled. I agree it won't stop 100% of these incidents, but even if it stops 50% its worth it.

[wedgepilot]

domster said:

And PSM can't alter physics...

Reminds me of this month's 'evo' and what happened to the Mitsu fast fleet car. Every inch of those things is laden with computerised three-letter acronyms, yet a simple greasy roundabout sent it sideways into a lamp post.

[scotty]Ye cannae change the laws of physics![/scotty]

[jdh1]

Alternative view is that PSM etc give a false sense of security/invincibility. At least in my GT2, I know that if I mess it up, there's no safety net. Makes you think what you're doing a bit more.

[nel]

jdh1 said:

Alternative view is that PSM etc give a false sense of security/invincibility. At least in my GT2, I know that if I mess it up, there's no safety net. Makes you think what you're doing a bit more.

I'm with you on that - in the same way that ABS systems tend to make drivers less cautious about braking distances. I'm a specialist in offshore safety and risk, and it's always the same old story. The more you put automatic safety systems in place the more complacency you develop, and hence the less the operators apply their grey matter. It's always the human factors that are the weak link in the equation.

Enough of this - I'm supposed to be on holiday so this is far too serious. Skaal!

[DanH]

I don't think vipers have very good handling/damping anyway.