Because it decreases the skill required of the driver. Im sure there are some racing series that have it, but F1 (and the junior formulae), Le Mans, WEC, NASCAR, etc all dont use ABS. Its similar to how F1 banned active suspension in 1994. It's a great technology and provided a huge advantage to teams (namely WIlliams) running it (when it worked right) but was banned as it (among other reasons) decreased the skill required of the driver.

Also older cars did not have ABS and driver could easily lock-up wheels. That of course can increase breaking distances, does cause flatspotting and generally reduces control of the car.

So there is definite benefit to having it over not having it and it is considered assisting the driver.
Simple.

ABS prevents the wheels from locking allowing you to brake hard without breaking traction, still being able to steer. It aids the driver in controlling the car under braking, reducing the need for careful brake control. It's the same with Traction Control, it prevents wheelspin and so reduces the chance of you wheel spinning and/or losing control of the car through excess throttle/loss of traction. so it reduces the level of precision and control needed on the throttle pedal.

They are driving aids, some cars are designed to be used with them though and ABS is especially nice. If ABS was suddenly allowed in Formula 1 there would be ABS on the cars before this season was finished.

If you're talking about the ABS in the "Assists" section, then yeah, it's an assist, if you turn it off the cars that normally have ABS will still have it, unless you manually turn it off.

I personally use factory ABS setting and TC off, but I think TC on factory is just as valid. If you're driving it like the real thing then it's all good. Even so, nobody will think less of you if you use the driving aids, they are there to be used and if you have a better time with them on then do it.

I just leave ABS set to factory....

GT3 cars are pretty much the only major racecars that use ABS. In cases such as the GT2 cars you can actually brake in a shorter distance if ABS is disabled. This is due to the fact that the ABS systems cut the braking strength a lot sooner to prevent lockups while using no ABS allows you to get just that bit closer to the lockup point. Getting the sweet spot is probably one of the hardest parts of racing that there is. You are guaranteed to see drivers locking wheels in F1, LMP1, and GTE cars. Your best bet to go fast in AC is to use factory settings. Traction control can also help with certain cars like the LaFerrari on street tires because it cuts the hybrid power if there is wheel spin.

F1 especially because they don't allow either ABS or TC.

Originally posted by werewolf1326:

Why is ABS considered an assist?

Because it's an assist.

Nothing wrong with assists as long as you don't mix players using assists with players who don't use them.

It like traction control and dsc are meant to help ♥♥♥♥♥♥ drivers not kill themselves. They however are a pain in the ass and serve no purpose to good drivers and if anything makes driving more dangerous. ABS only improves braking performance at LOW SPEED (below 50km/h). Traction control is only of benefit for those to want to drive hard but not wear out the tires. DSC? well ♥♥♥♥ you might as well get AI to drive your car for you. REAL DRIVERS do not need that ♥♥♥♥. It just adds significant cost and in most cases decreases performance.

Originally posted by DR_JDUBZ:

It like traction control and dsc are meant to help ♥♥♥♥♥♥ drivers not kill themselves. They however are a pain in the ass and serve no purpose to good drivers and if anything makes driving more dangerous. ABS only improves braking performance at LOW SPEED (below 50km/h). Traction control is only of benefit for those to want to drive hard but not wear out the tires. DSC? well ♥♥♥♥ you might as well get AI to drive your car for you. REAL DRIVERS do not need that ♥♥♥♥. It just adds significant cost and in most cases decreases performance.

Oh, look, another arm-chair Senna.

Traction control is standard in GT3 cars, and (I think) some GT2 cars, they're not exclusively for "♥♥♥♥♥♥ drivers".

I bet you're one of those people who wishes F1 was like in the 60s and 70s, where 2 people died a year, at least.

ABS = OFF everything else is for wimps :)

Traction Control and ABS have their place, especially when half of the AC roster contains cars built for the road, rather than the track. Those things aren't really designed to comfortably grind to a halt from 270km/h on a regular basis.

Generally speaking I always use ABS for road cars.
As for track cars, I usually default to whatever the real-life competition allows and work from there.

Sometimes TC makes you go faster, sometimes TC makes you go slower.
Same goes for ABS.

If you've got the confidence and experience under your belt to disable all of the assists from the main menu, then as far as I'm concerned, you're allowed to use whatever 'in-car assists' you want and it's fair.

i play with everything off except for 100% stability control. Gotta have stability.