403portside

It's wet today in the bay area and I decided to take a turn a little faster than normal. Half way through the turn I floored it to see how the car would react. Well the car reacted. The rear slid to the outside of the turn and it felt like a good 3 to 4 seconds before I regained control of the car. Harder than my previous 3 series to get back into control. What was really surprising was that I don't recall any intervention from PSM. Would I see a light on the dash?

And yes I'm sure I could use a drivers school to learn how to better handle my car.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

ADias

Several things at play. Two come to mind:

1 - PSM does not save you every time. If there is no grip, it cannot do anything. With severe oversteer, PSM only recovers if there's grip. Appropriate counter-lock may do it if grip is regained.

2 - PSM can be defective (you may want to check that).

Be careful. Respect the car and remember, the hallmark of a champion is smoothness. A smooth driver prevents slides, does not provoke them.

403portside

Thanks ADias. Does the PSM logo light up on the dash when it intervenes?

Alan C.

I thought this thread might have been about x wives. I lost mine on both my x and xx.

signature65

I dont think the light illuminates.....I have gotten sideways plenty of times and can def feel the PSM kicking in and never saw lights.

The PSM is pretty advanced, it lets some wheel slip before kicking in, letting us have our fun

ADias

That too. Especially if he was in SC Sport mode.

kisik

Yes, PSM does light up with some sounds. I was drifting a few times on my last DE event while I was "learning" trail braking. Carried too much speed, down shifting and turning in the same time. Too much to ask. One SMOOTH thing at the time. Still learning every day.

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MY05 C2S 6MT

Hella-Buggin'

If you lost traction then it may have been kicking in and just had nothing to grab onto. I've had it kick in during AX but on dry pavement and it was pretty obvious when it did.

rijowysock

light comes up for the traction control... the same light that comes on when you click PSM off...

go where its wet, floor it.. you'll see it pop up.

it takes a little bit for it to kick in, sounds like by the time it was slipping you tried to correct... also rear engine weight causes the *** to slip a little easier.

Edgy01

Recall that a 911 is nothing like a BMW. The challenge to a 911 is all that weight out back. Even with all the electronics and the seriousl wide tires back there you must remember that 60% of the weight of these cars is back there. It's actually a good thing to go play with these things first in a relatively controlled area to learn your limits before you get on it in a less controlled area.

Enjoy the special characteristics of these machines!

RonCT

You will know when it kicks in and yes, the light will come on. The system allows you a lot of leeway, unlike the BMW (I have one as well). Easy test - go into an empty parking lot next time it's wet and experiment - learn the limits.

Spiffyjiff

same here - i def know when it's working, not to mention it's saved my *** a couple times but i have never gotten a light or sound. even when i (deliberately) left it on for the skidpad once...no light, but obvious intervening.

i know the light/bulb itself works because when i toggle PSM on and off, the light goes on and off as well.

atr911

I realize mine is working when I replace my rear pads three times for every set of fronts.

997_rich

I may be wrong here but.... PSM doesn't know when you're slipping sideways so it cant' correct, it only knows when the tires are slipping rotationally that's when you start to get correction. So if the tires don't seem like they're spinning (only sliding 100% sideways), it probably won't kick in. Usually you get a bit of both at the same time but not always.

StanThePorscheFan

PSM, not PMS