Faster with ABS OFF?

  • Thread starter Ben Hunt
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Ben Hunt

Ben Hunt

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United Kingdom
United Kingdom
I've just taken the plunge and turned my mild ABS to off, and I'm definitely feeling like it's changed the way I'm driving already. 3 observations...

1) To avoid locking up, I'm starting to brake earlier and more gently. Braking earlier is something I've generally identified as helping me drive more smoothly and quickly, but I'm not sure it's helping yet.

2) It feels a bit like the greater emphasis on braking control is helping me carry the *right* amount of speed into a corner. With ABS, you can cut it later and just stamp on the brake hard without too much worry of spinning out, but... I think it may be easier to scrub off too much speed when you're cutting it fine.

3) There are definitely times where I can see potential for sliding the rear end out using the brakes, particularly with BB set to rear. (I've been having a lot of fun with this driving the Alfa 4C at Interlagos... I'm WAY off the pace, even at DR:C, but it's a delight to drive!)

Question: Do you feel that turning ABS off has made you faster? Not just a better driver, which makes sense, but lower times?
 
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Do you mean ABS? TCS doesn't affect braking much if at all...

EDIT: to answer the question, I find myself faster with TCS off. I find myself slower with ABS off, though - mainly because I'm using a DS4 not a wheel.
 
Pigems
Yeah, ABS default is fastest. The brakes lock up way to easily in this game to be consistently fast with it off. :)
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Agreed. As a pad driver, my experiments with ABS off have only led to fatal lock ups and intimate interactions with the barriers. It takes a great deal of finesse to get the advantage out of having ABS off, a level of smooth braking that's practically impossible with the left trigger. Consistency is as important as outright pace IMO, and it's far easier to hit consistent braking points with ABS.
 
MaxAttack
Agreed. As a pad driver, my experiments with ABS off have only led to fatal lock ups and intimate interactions with the barriers. It takes a great deal of finesse to get the advantage out of having ABS off, a level of smooth braking that's practically impossible with the left trigger. Consistency is as important as outright pace IMO, and it's far easier to hit consistent braking points with ABS.
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Agreed, It’s practically impossible with a wheel as well. If you watch any of the top ten replays each week they are all using ABS default 99% of the time. The odd time you see a yellow dot(ABS weak) in a replay but it’s not very often and you rarely to never see if completely off in a top ten replay. :)
 
Theoretically yes, but currently there are some limitations in GTS with inputs...plus there is the fact that most are playing with Dpad .
 
MaxAttack
Agreed. As a pad driver, my experiments with ABS off have only led to fatal lock ups and intimate interactions with the barriers. It takes a great deal of finesse to get the advantage out of having ABS off, a level of smooth braking that's practically impossible with the left trigger. Consistency is as important as outright pace IMO, and it's far easier to hit consistent braking points with ABS.
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Not like with a pedal it goes much better, you need robotic consistency with the foot to get it right every single lap and that’s without tyre wear. Don’t know why PD can’t ever get brakes right.
 
Having a stiff brake pedal or load cell makes running with the ABS off easier. I have a rubber cone under my brake pedal and it really makes a difference. I generally turn it off if a car doesn’t have ABS in the real world. In sport lobbies I usually use default or weak depending on the car.
Driving with it off does teach you to respect the bakes. The one thing it has taught me is, not to bake and turn at the same time. You get those moments when you’re locked up at the turn point and the car won’t steer, then the moment of epiphany comes when you release the brakes and the car begins to turn.
I wouldn’t say it made me faster though, I just enjoy it more.
 
Has anyone tried using a CronusMax to make 100% braking some other percentage to find the limit of braking traction? In Forza, with an Elite controller, you get magic braking, it gives you about 75% with the trigger lock, which lets you hit the point just before the wheels would lock up, every time, with ABS turned off. Or does a fixed % not work in GT Sport, is the braking traction limit a variable % depending on things like speed?
 
With the horrendous brake model in this game, you have to keep going back to ABS on.
Every time I turn it off just to fool around, it introduces instability to cars that just seems like it shouldn't be there. That leads to fooling around with the brake balance and in the end, it was a waste of time and on goes ABS again. Last car I did this to was the 4C Gr.4. This car is a great example. ABS off and you'll loose stability in braking zone especially while making any steering input. The rear always wants to spit out. Turn ABS on, the car behaves like a complete different car. Something's off in the physics with this game in that regard.
 
Beezer215
With the horrendous brake model in this game, you have to keep going back to ABS on.
Every time I turn it off just to fool around, it introduces instability to cars that just seems like it shouldn't be there. That leads to fooling around with the brake balance and in the end, it was a waste of time and on goes ABS again. Last car I did this to was the 4C Gr.4. This car is a great example. ABS off and you'll loose stability in braking zone especially while making any steering input. The rear always wants to spit out. Turn ABS on, the car behaves like a complete different car. Something's off in the physics with this game in that regard.
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“ABS off and you'll loose stability in. braking zone especially while making any steering input.”

You should be braking in a straight line.
 
Right. You should be.
But on any instant when you don't like being in traffic or trail braking, it introduces a level of mayhem that seems a bit ridiculous.
 
Beezer215
With the horrendous brake model in this game, you have to keep going back to ABS on.
Every time I turn it off just to fool around, it introduces instability to cars that just seems like it shouldn't be there. That leads to fooling around with the brake balance and in the end, it was a waste of time and on goes ABS again. Last car I did this to was the 4C Gr.4. This car is a great example. ABS off and you'll loose stability in braking zone especially while making any steering input. The rear always wants to spit out. Turn ABS on, the car behaves like a complete different car. Something's off in the physics with this game in that regard.
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Having ABS on also activates a stability assist that can't be turned off or adjusted. Cars don't rotate into turns (turn-in, not spinning out) as easily with ABS on as they do with ABS even on weak, nevermind off. But yes, the downside to it is the poorly modeled braking physics in the game.
 
iFerrari
Not like with a pedal it goes much better, you need robotic consistency with the foot to get it right every single lap and that’s without tyre wear. Don’t know why PD can’t ever get brakes right.
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That's another factor with turning ABS off... Surely ABS will help protect your tyres, or at least help them to wear more evenly. I don't know if GTS has a "flat spot" feature, but I've certainly locked up a few times.

Update: Switched the bastard back on to normal setting, and also switched to the Gr.4 GT-R, and posting much faster times at Interlagos.
 
Leggacy
Having a stiff brake pedal or load cell makes running with the ABS off easier. I have a rubber cone under my brake pedal and it really makes a difference. I generally turn it off if a car doesn’t have ABS in the real world. In sport lobbies I usually use default or weak depending on the car.
Driving with it off does teach you to respect the bakes. The one thing it has taught me is, not to bake and turn at the same time. You get those moments when you’re locked up at the turn point and the car won’t steer, then the moment of epiphany comes when you release the brakes and the car begins to turn.
I wouldn’t say it made me faster though, I just enjoy it more.
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That's one thing that really yanks my chain about the GT series... How it will let you turn ABS/TC on for cars that never ever had it in the real world. Why the frig should you be able to choose driving aids for a Ferrari Dino or Jaguar XJR-9 FFS?!
 
Another consideration I've noticed is, after switching ABS back on, on the first corner of the first lap at Interlagos, I immediately piled into the back of the bastard in front of me who braked earlier. So having ABS off also puts you at risk of getting rammed from behind.
 
Leggacy
“ABS off and you'll loose stability in. braking zone especially while making any steering input.”

You should be braking in a straight line.
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No, you should be trail-braking, which requires steering input under braking all the way to the apex. Stability under braking is crucial, and is part of the reason why ABS in this game is so OP, because there is so much of it.
 
ARTAsean
No, you should be trail-braking, which requires steering input under braking all the way to the apex. Stability under braking is crucial, and is part of the reason why ABS in this game is so OP, because there is so much of it.
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You don’t need to trail brake every corner, it works best in slower corners. With the ABS off the brakes are a bit grabby at low speeds, a harder brake pedal makes it easier to judge.
 
I personally find it harder to drive with ABS off in GT Sport, & I'm pretty sure it makes me a slower driver. Turning ABS off in GT6 felt great, & was comparable to a track day experience I once had. However, turning ABS of in GT Sport feels very wrong & the cars don't behave realistically. So, I keep it set to default.
 
GTPorsche
Or maybe it's because recently people have been proclaiming some rather preposterous statements in this sub-forum.
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It's a video game forum pal, nothing to lose composure over--sometimes you have to remember that.

VBR
However, turning ABS of in GT Sport feels very wrong & the cars don't behave realistically. So, I keep it set to default.
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Agree. Think the one thing that could cure this is the ability to dial in the brake pressure. Moving the bias forwards helps to tame rear lock-ups--usually the inside rear tire--but fine tuning with pressure would be an interesting option to play with.
 

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