i was just in my first accident and it got me to thinking.

Well first of all i guess i should state that # 1 i am ok, my girl friend is ok, and the other guy is ok.... #2 the CRX is ok and #3 his chevy pos is ok. now on with my thoughts....

As far as i know the CRX and all the EF model hondas do not have Anti lock brakes. I understand theconcept of antilock brakes and wanted to know if there is anyway i could maybe put them onto my CRX.

What happened today was (in short) i was on the way to the mall to buy some stuff and the guy in front of my slams his brakes so i start to slow down kinda hard, i look in my rear veiw to make sure that the lady behind me is doing the same. When i looked up i found that the guy in front of me had totally stopped and i was still moving so i put my lead foot on that brake with some force. And you can guess what happened from there. The wheels locked and i slid into him at about 10 MPH.

Thankfully the bumper took it like it was designed to, and the guy looks out the window at me and tells me to follow him into a near by parking lot. we looked over eachothers cars and both decided everything was fine. I gave him my cell # and told him to call if he has any concerns.


I was really mad at myself afterwards for alot of things, but my main concern was that the wheels locked up and i lost traction.

but i've got to say i'm so glad that i went to honda to get my free seat belt replacements. neither my, nor my passangers seat belts locked before, and it saved my bacon this time.

 

to be honest i hate anti-lock brakes. Everytime they kicked in on my mom's car it was pretty much the most helpless feeling ever. To have your foot on the brake pedal and the car not slow down is just... weird and i don't like it. I know ABS is usually shorter but i just can't bring myself to like it.

That being said, i don't know enough about abs to know if you can retrofit it on a crx so consider this a free bump.

 

get some nice breaks and some nice tires.

 

i was kind of wondering about the abs system myself. during the winter i was going home from my school, i was going about 30 and i started breaking for the stop sign that was about 30 feet ahead, my tires then lost all traction, i skidded thought the stop sign and ended up side ways in the middle of a T intersection... all that was before i realized my car didnt have abs

 

yeah i should invest in better tires, but still that won't stop the brakes from locking. Maybe i should up grade my brakes too???

 

well, tires and breaks both will help. but if u havent learned the trick to stopping without abs, ur supposed to pump the breaks instead of just stepping on them and hoping it will stop. abs pumps ur breaks for u at a rate of like 100 or 1000 times a second or something (dont think anyones foot can move that fast) that will help the break lockup issue. but some accidents cant be prevented no matter what u do

but what id like to know is what the hell kinda breaks do drag cars use? cause on gt4 which is supposed to be realistic, i had a drag car that could go from like 250 mph to 10 in a matter of 2 seconds.

 

i completely agree!

After driving my crx for two winters, I was using my parent's '98 Jimmy. Came up to a stop sign in the snow with a rediculous stopping distance and I hit the brakes and it just kept going forever... you're completely out of control because there's no way the car is stopping. I very nearly slid out onto a busy highway in traffic but managed to round the corner on the shoulder...
I scared the crap out of myself, have hated abs with a passion ever since...

 

the abs systems in older cars are dated and if you ask me a danger more then a help.

Newer cars ABS is pretty neat and can be a nice thing to have. I would not want to put a 88-91 ABS system in my car.

Some better tires Brembo blanks and Hawk HPS pads are what i run and stop damn well.

Also, not to be taken rudly learn when how to brake in a non ABS car can't just mash pedal you'll lock up.

I'm happy to hear everyone and everythig is ok.

 

speakin of those new systems. i was watching some auto show in auto class about this new system in a couple of years or w/e that has sensors on ur car saying how far u are behind the car in front of u and when u should start breaking when they do to keep a safe distance or something like that.

 

i hate abs as well- Ive got em on a lumina, and they suck imo. U slam down the brakes, and it just seems like u have very little control, and it doesnt even seem to stop and better. obviously, if you locked up your wheels, then your brakes are good- no need to replace them. Its your tires that slipped- mine do the same- slamming on the brakes at 60 mph, i get about 40 feet til my tires start SMOKING. ive got ebc rotors and hawk pads, so they stop good, but my shitty junk yard tires just cant stand up to it. Im sure that if I had better tires I could cut off as much as 20-30 feet of my 60-0 stopping. Thats what i would focus on if i was u- rubber.

 

i'm not usually that bad at my driving. Its just that i heard that ABS system will keep the wheels from locking. And the whole reason why i ended up hitting him was because my wheels locked and i lost traction.

So i guess it is more my tires than anything else. But yes, it was my fault that i didn't react like i normally would and went into a panic. I have reacted very well under almost all other situations where i was almost in a wreck and i always made the right choice. but this was that one time when i was too relaxed at the wheel and something went wrong.

I guess i shouldn't blame it on my CRX since i did stand on the brake and caused her to slide. But at first thought ABS sounded like a great idea. now that i heard the input i have abolished the plan.

But SS brake lines, sport pads, and maybe some cross slotted rotors are in the near future more than likely.

 

how many people spelled brakes 'breaks' in this topic? I'm not normally one to complain about grammer but jeesh people, it's not that hard.

*hopes he didn't mispell something in this post*

 

I dont get while u feel the need to upgrade your brakes. You locked them up with stock brakes, so whats the difference if u lock them up with stainless lines, nice pads, good rotors etc.? Your reaction to the car in front of u was delayed due to the fact that you were checking your mirror for a split second, meaning you didnt really start to really increase your foot pressure until later. Now if u were struggling to stop and couldnt get them to lock, then maybe u might need to do something.

Get some better tires man. After lock up, its all up to the tires. What brand and size are you currently running?

Glad everyone and the car are all good tho

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr_valentino20032000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
But SS brake lines, sport pads, and maybe some cross slotted rotors are in the near future more than likely.</TD></TR></TABLE>
like others have said, your wheels locked up so your brakes are fine. if you get tires that grip a little better you wheels will start to turn and will slow you down more. its all to do with physics, if i remember right kenetic friction is more than static friction?

 

you have a good point ^^^

i'm running cheapo 4 X $200 tires from firestone. They aren't anything great, but i never had a problem with them before. And i'm getting pretty cocky taking turns and everything. I've never had a problem before with traction.

But either way, it taught me i need to pay more attention to everyone around me rather than listen to my girlfriend ramble on about her day.

And i don't know about other people but when i'm slowing down fast its my natural reaction to look behind me to look out for the car behind me. Driving a little car makes me kinda paranoid of being crushed. So i always try to avoid getting smashed. But i guess over all it was all me....and not my car.

 

You haven't lived till you locked up all four wheel in a 67 firebird going 65mph (245 falkens on all four wheels, mind you). Luckly it was done just to guage the car's stopping power

The only ABS that's worth a damn is on high-end cars with all-wheel disc brakes. Mixed drum/disc setups with ABS sucks *** (at least on older cars). All my accidents have been because my wheels locked up, always driving a POS with pizza cutter tires. My suggestion is to make wide 205's your next upgrade. New OEM or adjustable shocks if you're really serious about wanting to stop.

 

In your case it sounds like inexperience. This is something I had known since I have been driving, but recently I took a drivers school and they teach you how to control your car on wet pavement. One of the things we learned was braking. They encourage you to lock up the brakes and control your braking in a skid. Basically if you dont have ABS and you lock up you have to pump the brakes so 1) you can steer and 2) you stop sliding and can control a stop. It was interesting and they also teach you how to control a stop while turning. If you can, try and find something like this, it was very helpful for me and a lot of the other students there.

 

when i was at Skip Barber, i got to take a neon out with ABS and without, and you can stop faster without ABS (with proper technique), and tires are the main thing.

I was almost in a similar situation, but didn't slide until the very last second (slid maybe 3 feet) i didn't hit anything, but i knew proper braking thanks to Skip Barber. it's just a mild modulationof your foot on the brake pedal. the biggest thing is to put more braking on sooner than later. the brakes like it when you get on the brakes HARD initially, then lighten up as you slow down. It was a weird feeling, but in a panic situation you can almost "slam" on the brakes at a decent speed, because the brakes/tires can handle that. applying that pressure to the brakes at a slow speed (ie 10mph) is just too much and you are overcompensating.

Most people only use 60% of what a car can do (besides exceeding it). sorry for the long post and don't want to sound mean, just giving my experience. And i too look behind me in a brake situation to make sure i'm not going to get rear-ended.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91 HONDAsaurus rex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Basically if you dont have ABS and you lock up you have to pump the brakes so 1) you can steer and 2) you stop sliding and can control a stop. It was interesting and they also teach you how to control a stop while turning. If you can, try and find something like this, it was very helpful for me and a lot of the other students there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

My dad told me to do this before I was even old enough to drive. I've only locked up once for the three years I've been driving and don't plan on doing it anymore.

 

thank you everyone for your help. I think this up coming weekend i'm gonna go find a place where i can get used to my brakes and try out all these tips without messing up my car or anyone elses.

But now that i've calmed down and feel better everything you guys are saying makes more sense and i can see it all for myself. I'm still pretty disappointed in myself for what happened and how close i was to killing another CRX. But either way, thank you to everyone. its been very helpfull

 

ya pretty much the only time i lock my brakes is at those stupid camera lights.....hehe yellows own me.Its nice and embaresing stopping sideways and having a cloud of smoke blow by u......hehe but i wouldnt want abs....

 

I don't think locking up the brakes has anything to do with how good your brakes. It seemed like in my last car (90 Ford Taurus) that had brakes going bad, I tended to lock them up more because i had to brake harder since the pads were worn.

I'm not saying your brakes are bad but I don't think locking up the wheels has to do with braking power. I'm prolly wrong tho so someone jump in if I am.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr_valentino20032000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And i don't know about other people but when i'm slowing down fast its my natural reaction to look behind me to look out for the car behind me. Driving a little car makes me kinda paranoid of being crushed. So i always try to avoid getting smashed. But i guess over all it was all me....and not my car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i do that all the time. If i'm going to slam on my brakes at a stop light i always look behind me. If there is a semi... i'm blowing that light without thinking twice.

 

I locked my tires on my car once in over 2+ years. I was on the highway so distance between cars is small at 130km/h both the cars in the lanes infront of me hit each other and slammed there brakes. Natural reaction I do the same for a split second and went into the shoulder to dodge them. Reflex's are key in driving.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by schwanginpt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the brakes like it when you get on the brakes HARD initially, then lighten up as you slow down. It was a weird feeling, but in a panic situation you can almost "slam" on the brakes at a decent speed, because the brakes/tires can handle that. applying that pressure to the brakes at a slow speed (ie 10mph) is just too much and you are overcompensating.

Most people only use 60% of what a car can do (besides exceeding it). sorry for the long post and don't want to sound mean, just giving my experience. And i too look behind me in a brake situation to make sure i'm not going to get rear-ended.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Threshold braking.

I prefer non-abs cars...however, for the vast majority of people, ABS equipped cars are safer and will stop faster for them. All you have to do is stand on the brake (which is what most people do in a panic).