I noticed that if you were to brake the car hard without kicking in ABS you will stop at a shorter distance then if ABS were to kick in.

Or maybe my ABS is not functioning properly

 

Dry pavement (autoX) on street tire.

 

The purpose of ABS is not to decrease stopping distances

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The purpose of ABS is not to decrease stopping distances</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree...its so people can stay under control under heavy braking.

 

A skilled driver can stop faster w/o ABS for the most part (snow, hydroplane, panic stops, evasive manuevers, etc may be exempt). Some auto-x'ers rely on using ABS exclusively since it requires less attention to so that they can pay more attention towards other things like steering, looking ahead, acceleration, etc. But the better drivers rely on their own skill instead of a computer.

 

I have noticed the same thing, expecially after installing my stainless steel lines. My car has stock brakes and Aziens tires, and it seems to stop sooner if I threshhold break instead of letting ABS kick in.

I think this would make sense since the purpose of ABS is to prevent the tires from locking up. A good driver, like the ones in F1, don't have ABS and they all rely on their skills. On a normal car most people don't know about threshhold breaking in which case ABS would improve breaking distances.

However, it seems as though ABS serves its puropse very well in the case of an emergency or sudden brake where the driver is unaware of how hard he/she is pushing the pedal.

 

"F1, don't have ABS and they all rely on their skills"

Ahh they have ABS, Traction control.... and so on in F1

 

In F1 they are not allowed to have ABS because it is an aid to the driver. If i remember correctly that is why they also do not have automatic transmissions.

P.S. You have never seen a F1 driver lock up his brakes?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tommy_Gunns &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I noticed that if you were to brake the car hard without kicking in ABS you will stop at a shorter distance then if ABS were to kick in.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Doesn't it have anything to do with what kind of brake pads are you using?
If you have a good set wouldn't it stop the car better before lock the wheels up?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by George Knighton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">All you guys are driving <u>ITR</u> ABS, right?

There's a little group who think ITR ABS is very close, if not equal, to threshold braking.

I know it's damned good for a cheap car.

Dropspeed? Sackdz? Warren? What do you guys think?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is very good, George. The ITR has better ABS then any car I've ever driven hard enough to use it.

As to it being more effective than threshold braking, I think that is dependant. Because unless the car is perfectly balanced (or close to) and has equal traction at all corners, there is always one tire that will lock up first. You cannot decrease braking torque to one individual wheel without having the same effect on all of them... but ABS can.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IGGY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">In F1 they are not allowed to have ABS because it is an aid to the driver. If i remember correctly that is why they also do not have automatic transmissions.

P.S. You have never seen a F1 driver lock up his brakes?</TD></TR></TABLE>

They may not be allowed to have it.. but I bet yah they do... just like they were not allowed to have traction control at one time but most did , I have seen F1 drivers occasianlly lock up one wheel going in to turns but not often, and just caus it locks does not mean that they do nto have abs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Solracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have seen F1 drivers occasianlly lock up one wheel going in to turns but not often, and just caus it locks does not mean that they do nto have abs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, duh. Why would any experienced driver want to drive through a corner with brakes locked? ABS keeps your brakes from locking up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IGGY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, duh. Why would any experienced driver want to drive through a corner with brakes locked? ABS keeps your brakes from locking up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is a confusing post.

ABS does not keep your brakes from locking up. ABS "unlocks" a wheel that is locked up. It is not the same thing.

I was locking up the inside front tire as it tried to lift off the ground this weekend on a car equipped with ABS. No one wants to lock up a wheel, but it does happen from time to time, especially when braking during cornering.

 

Of course, if you lock all the wheels at the same time, for example when you are in the air after a BIG bump, the ABS computer will think the car stopped and not do anything. Your car will hit the ground with all 4 tires locked! If you are going fast enough to get off the ground, you are probably in trouble then.

I have heard of one guy doing this in a race (not an ITR, but anyway). I bet he flat-spotted his tires!