ABS - better on or off

[szejok666]

I' ve been playing Gt series since it's beginning, and since I remember I wanted option to turn ABS off. Now when it's available I started to wonder how does it affect driving and lap times. I'm using DS3 controller and analog sticks, both for handling and acceleration/braking. I made couple of laps on the Nurb' in '98 BMW M Coupe to find out is it better do drive with ABS on or off. I switched off all assists an used manual gearbox.

Here's my thoughts:
With ABS on (set on 1) the driving is pretty much like the previous GT games, but a little bit worse. I had a feeling, that this exact car brakes less than in GT4, also the steering during braking is more numb, but I've managed to drive with quite a good line. Done few laps, saved ghost.
With ABS off it's different story (that's a surprise). I don't know is this for sure, but I think without ABS car brakes better (even with lock up wheels). Of course, only on dry surface. Also, the most noticeable fact is the braking is more sharp, lively, car reactions are faster. But the problem is to maintain efficient driving line and rhythm of the race. Also, braking and turning at the same time is very, very difficult. It can help to set a car for a corner perfectly, but mostly it causes losing control and ending in a tree

Comparing with the ghost, on sections, where I kept the line quite good (but not perfect), without ABS I was a little bit, sometimes much faster than with ABS on. But I kept losing all the advantage by doing even small mistakes.
At the end I was 4-5 seconds slower on a lap without ABS. But I think, with a lot of practice I could be faster, even much faster.

And I wanted to ask - how do you prefer, which option is better, when car brakes better? Did someone make a test of braking with/without ABS in the game?

 

[Morphisor]

For most cars, ABS on is the fastest....
For the simple reason that the balancer is utterly crap.

I try to race without ABS on as much cars as I can, but there are some where the rear end will spin out on me EVEN with rear brakes set to 0...

 

[THEPUNISHER]

With steering wheel g27 g25 , etc i think its better but its hard to get used to it .

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

I always drive without ABS now. There's pretty much no difference in speed, If you set your brake balance right, don't lock up and try not to brake too much when turning. Although in some 4WD you can brake and turn to slide the car through certain turns which can be much faster.

 

[G219]

I try not to use ABS at all either. It makes me concentrate more on stability and braking points. With ABS on I can just slam the brake pedal almost anytime (G27). I'll put it on 1 if I need to be competitive online though.

I haven't messed with brake balance settings yet, though I imagine I should.

 

[isildur]

Depends on how you like to drive. I like mine at 1 most of the time with a DS3. I have also gone zero and up to 10 depending on car and track.

 

[Fobia]

Depends on car...

I race online without ABS and offline I can usually match my ABS 1 times without ABS.

 

[QB1o]

Did someone make a test of braking with/without ABS in the game?

The license test that needs you to stop on the checkered flag lets you see how much quicker you stop with ABS off.
With ABS off, even if you lock the brakes up you'll stop in less distance.
If you brake perfectly without locking up you stop in less space again.

For most cars, ABS on is the fastest....
For the simple reason that the balancer is utterly crap.

I try to race without ABS on as much cars as I can, but there are some where the rear end will spin out on me EVEN with rear brakes set to 0...

If you're using a wheel and pedals then rev matching with heel-toe settles the car and reduces the tendency to pitch the car into a slide.
If you don't use a clutch you can probably get a similar effect from left-foot braking with a little bit of accelerator or on a dualshock by using the square and x buttons.
To do all of it perfectly takes serious practice, though.

Check out this awesome video of Walter Rohl being just awesome.
Enjoy!

Walter going fast on youtube

edit: better quallity video here showing Walters footwork

http://youtu.be/wdy8CG09rSU

 

[szejok666]

For the simple reason that the balancer is utterly crap.

It's been discussed many times on this forum already. For me, it's nothing wrong with default brakes setting and the balancer. With brake pedal to the floor brakes on front and rear wheels lock in almost same time, so it gives rather natural feeling I think (If the balance 5/5 in GT was equal to 50%/50% in real life, rear wheels in game would lock much faster).

With ABS off, even if you lock the brakes up you'll stop in less distance.
If you brake perfectly without locking up you stop in less space again.

So my assumptions were correct.

heck out this awesome video of Walter Rohl being just awesome.
Enjoy!

I've seen it, Great driver and mighty S1 Quattro
Check Ari Vatanen in 405 T16

Vatanen on Pikes Peak

 

[Cosbuster]

On for new cars, off for older ones.

 

[Suzumiya]

The reason I use ABS is that there's always THAT guy that thinks it's cool to start a huge pileup in NASCAR rooms...
But I might start to not use ABS, sounds like there are a lot of advantages to non-ABS to ABS users.

 

[QB1o]

For the ice and dirt tracks, ABS off is a million times better also.

 

[szejok666]

For the ice and dirt tracks, ABS off is a million times better also.

Agree, rally licences and challenges were easier for me without ABS.

 

[chriz00]

If you have wheel/pedals, then ABS off is the way to go! 👍

Having ABS off allows you to "threshold" brake, in other words, braking before the wheels lock up...this is a great challenge, makes driving in GT5 much more rewarding when you've learned it.

I suggest, if you have the DFGT, you do the "bungee cord" mod to the brake pedal to get more resistance.

This makes braking with ABS off much more controllable.

 

[JaySin85]

Im not good enough to go without all the time. I do try it at times though. I like how I can more easily get the car to how I want it with abs off. Especially with understeery awd cars. Not consistent enough to be competetive like that though.

Definitely lets you "feel" the car out more.

 

[zedextreme8177]

I turn it off for cars which don't have it in real life(or only have it as an option). Otherwise, I keep it at 1

 

[JDMKING13]

If you want a realistic driving experience with GT5 ABS has to be set to 0 and you have to adjust the brake balance. ABS 1 In my opinion makes braking way to easy there is something else keeping the car to stable.

 

[Elconio]

I have g25 and drive almost always with abs on 1 because i dont have force feedback in the brake pedal and mostly drive streetcars in the game wich have abs in real. Ín real life you can feel in the pedal when you are close to grip limit or wheel lock up.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Currently in the Toyota 86 GT Time Trial, one of the best pad players in the world is ranked number 2 without using ABS. No ABS for sure does not hold people back much if it did and might be equal to ABS on 1 or even have an advantage in certain situations. Never tested it though personally.

 

[GTP_ken_b]

With steering wheel g27 g25 , etc i think its better but its hard to get used to it .

What do you think is better with the G27/G25? with or without ABS?

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

With pad online since I tend to do clean racing, without abs it's nearly impossible. I've been in so many race where I had to step on the brake (figure of speak) because the guys ahead of me surprise me with his braking point. Happen a lot, really. So yeah. If I'm doing time attack or other stuff where I'm alone on the track I turn it off cause it's generaly faster. I never use full braking force wiht abs to 1 tho, except when I'm surprised.

 

[JDMKING13]

With pad online since I tend to do clean racing, without abs it's nearly impossible. I've been in so many race where I had to step on the brake (figure of speak) because the guys ahead of me surprise me with his braking point. Happen a lot, really. So yeah. If I'm doing time attack or other stuff where I'm alone on the track I turn it off cause it's generaly faster. I never use full braking force wiht abs to 1 tho, except when I'm surprised.

Oh how it chews your tire grip! I really want to use ABS1 because I like to keep it realistic as possible but the braking in my opinion feels dull and to forgiving. This is why I run low settings such as 1-0(Miata) 2-0(EVO9) 3-1(ZR-1) makes the car feel alive while braking.

 

[Ravicale]

I use ABS, I have a habit of partially braking then tapping the brakes at the apex of the turn (damn you GT1, and same to my suspension setups that give extra push when I tap it).

 

[chuyler1]

I think with the proper setup, ABS=0 is faster than ABS=1. I couldn't gold the final braking license test until I turned off ABS.

The problem is, ABS=0 requires tuning from the ground up. Since I'm just discovering ABS=0 it is a new learning experience for me.

I will say one thing though, depending on your equipment, adjusting the brake balance is a must for even stock cars unless you plan on using less than 25% of the brake travel. You might get away with 5/5 on a race car with RH-RS tires, but with CS-SH tires the brakes are just too sensitive and the rears will lock up if your wheel isn't perfectly straight.

I have already found more speed in FF cars with ABS=0 so my next project is to take one of my fastest 450pp FR cars and see if I can coax even more speed out of it.

 

[Morgoth_666]

The lowest I ever go with the pressures is 4/3 on CMs or heavily worn sports tires. Any lower and it seems like you can put the brake on the floor and it takes six miles to come to a stop from 60 mph. Although I never use more than about 80% brake(sometimes less) for more than an instant, except in a few cars that can somehow handle much more than their peers.

 

[CarBastard]

I drive with ABS at 1 because I find it unrealistic to turn it off. First of all, GT5 is a mess when it comes to brake balance, and second I don't get any feedback at all from the pedals telling me when I'm at threshold and when I'm locking up. The only feedback you get is the loose steering and the tyre screeching noise, which means you've already locked up and are on your way to the armco going sideways with no grip. If I had one of those fancy fanatec pedals with a load cell and a vibration motor that rumbles when you're nearing threshold and when you lock up, then I might consider it 👍.

I have g25 and drive almost always with abs on 1 because i dont have force feedback in the brake pedal and mostly drive streetcars in the game wich have abs in real. Ín real life you can feel in the pedal when you are close to grip limit or wheel lock up.

I agree with you man who has my same point of view but in less words.

 

[chuyler1]

Morgoth, I'm assuming you have a nice wheel/pedal setup. With the DFGT, the feedback is so poor that I basically tune so I have to use 90-100% of the brake travel for every corner of a track. It's just too difficult to feather the 0-15% travel required for safe stopping if the BB settings are high.

 

[shirakawaa]

Morgoth, I'm assuming you have a nice wheel/pedal setup. With the DFGT, the feedback is so poor that I basically tune so I have to use 90-100% of the brake travel for every corner of a track. It's just too difficult to feather the 0-15% travel required for safe stopping if the BB settings are high.

0-15% brake travel? Not even with comfort tires and 10 of front brake strength I have to press the brake pedal so little to lock up tires. Don't you calibrate your pedals each time you start the game?

 

[tomisnic]

I use ABS-1 on just about every car except for rally and NSCAR cars. I'm still trying to master the racing line (braking and turn-in points). I switch to manual transmission and turned off the racing line a few months ago.

Even though I drive most cars with ABS-1 and everything else off, I don't really agree with this method of driving. I believe each car should have its own settings based on the car's actual (real life) features. Older cars (don't ask for an exact date) should be driven with all aids off, including abs, but newer cars should be driven with ABS on and some even with traction control.

 

[chuyler1]

0-15% brake travel? Not even with comfort tires and 10 of front brake strength I have to press the brake pedal so little to lock up tires. Don't you calibrate your pedals each time you start the game?

There is no calibration for the DFGT. Just push the pedal to the floor once and its good to go. But yeah, on CS tires if you so much as touch the pedal while turning with BB at 5/5 the rear end will step out. Not very realistic. I really don't understand why cars in stock form (including 5/5 BB) are undrivable with all aids off. Occasionally I race in spec lobbies with cars from the recommended garage. I have to adjust the BB on the starting grid or down the front straight. I feel bad for the drivers that don't. They usually end up in the grass on turn 1 and exit out before the end of the first lap.