abs and non abs...

[chicagoboostin]

doesnt abs help you stop.. therefore dont you want abs? it seems like people dont want it.,

 

[midnght]

There are many different advantages to having and not having.

Most of the time it comes down to how the person feels with using an ABS equiped car. Some feel safer and more in-control without using ABS, others would rather have the equipment do the work for them. The trade-off is not that much between the 2.

 

[xcelr8n]

well us awders had the option of lsd or abs.... i dont think any had both, at least no 1g did..
so thats another thing

 

[jjsacidy]

abs sucks, the weird clicking and shit and the way it just drains the electrical works. and in some cases it also takes a lot longer to stop. really its only good for a hard panic brake on NICE pavement, provided u dont steer hard and skid it from that. o and anybody not have abs problems on an older car? for some reason i doubt it.... :thumbdown

 

[cuttheduck]

I don't have ABS in the 2g and love it. ABS never helps you stop quicker, usually quite a bit slower, just better control in snow and bad rain due to the wheels NOT locking up.

I've had a few times where I've had to slam the brakes at 40+ mph and the wheels just squeel to a halting stop leaving long tire marks. Never had the car try to slide or spin or anything unless in snow/ice. It seems to stop MUCH faster then my buds dsm w/ abs but can really leave your tires w/ flatspots if you autocross or the like. Just my .02 cents.

 

[BUCK]

There is NO WAY you need ABS on an AWD car. I also hate the space it takes up under the Hood on DSM's.

 

[halik008]

actually you get more control with non-ABS in snow/ rain then with ABS since you have greater control over your brakes. You do have to pump your brakes of course.

The 01 Taurus SEL i was drivign was absolutely the worse in snow. The ABS would kick in almost instantly and you just went on sliding by....

halik

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Why don't you need abs in an AWD car? Does your AWD help you stop faster? I think not.
ABS was developed because people don't know how to brake properly. Proper braking is called threshold braking. To threshold brake you gradually depress the brake pedal right up the the point where your tires are about to lock up, this is the point at which you have the maximum stopping power, if they do lock up you release the pedal slightly untill your wheels start to turn and start to depress the pedal back up to the threshold (If you lock them up you not only loose controll of the vehicle you will also increase your stopping distance) as you threashold brake you also shift more of the cars weight onto the front tires, as you do this you will be able to brake a little harder and stop even faster. When most people are kids they are taught to pump the brakes if you start to skid. If you think about this you are only maximizing your traction about ten percent of the time, the rest of the time they are locked up or spinning freely. Compared to this technique ABS is far superior as it is to locking them up.
However it has been tested and proven that threshold braking is almost always superior to the best ABS.
To learn to Threshold brake you can start in a empty parking lot and get a feel for it before you test it out in front of a deer, or on a icy road.

 

[Generation1JeY]

well us awders had the option of lsd or abs.... i dont think any had both, at least no 1g did..

My car has both.....

 

[fat pat]

no 90 or 91 had abs and an lsd...after 1992, they were options

 

[midnght]

I just feel more in control. That is all. Personal preference.

 

[c5chris]

well us awders had the option of lsd or abs.... i dont think any had both, at least no 1g did..
so thats another thing

I have a 2G GSX and came with both. I believe the ABS are standard (together with leather seats) but the LSD is optional.

ABS is just more than dead weight. In light sprinkles/slick roads/ice it prevents your brakes from locking and lets you steer. If you are an expert driver or have the presence of mind with you/your car's impending doom, then you may not need ABS. But most drivers like the security that in case of an emergency, both him and his car will work to save their butts. I do not feel safe on non-ABS cars anymore since all my cars are ABS equipped and many times I can say that ABS saved me from accidents. Drive an ABS car and a non-ABS car in the rain right after each other and you'll know you'll want it.

If your car is a race-only vehicle, you wont want it since you'll only run it on a dry track. But if your car is a daily driver and even sees one of your loved ones as its passenger, I think you'll appreciate it. I have a habit of driving like I stole it when Im alone but when people are with me, safety is always an issue.

 

[anduril]

The vast majority of the time ABS is going to be better for most of us and often times quite a bit more, than a non-abs system. We might all dream that we're F1 type supercar drivers but most of us aren't and our reaction times aren't anywhere near those of the drivers either. I know some normal, everyday guys who could threshold brake as good as the pros and I also know some pro drivers who never drive in rain unless they have ABS cause they can't threshold brake.

ABS is for the rest of us. It regulates your brakes a million times faster than you can, and often more accurately. Car and Driver did a test on a Mercedes with an ABS disable switch and in almost all conditions found the ABS system to brake quicker than the non-abs. The one situation I remember where it did not was on a gravel road and that's because you'll get a dig in from locked up wheels.

Also, the reason you didn't see ABS in many pro circuits was because it wasn't allowed. CART just started allowing it in 2002 and F1 for a while before that (includes traction control). Honestly tho, the reason many people might dis ABS is because they grew up with something else. They still react the same way, by pumping the brakes instead of a panic stomp, which'll actually increase the brake distance of an ABS system. All I know is in the few instances where I've had to panic stop, my 1995 Passat stopped a hella lot quicker with ABS than my 91 Saturn SL1 (which weighed a good 1000lbs less) ever did with non-abs.

 

[ben90tsi]

Yeah i can say that with my 92 with abs(and lsd) stops a lot better and feels much better than my 90' without it. The winters here in wisconsin get pretty bad and i can definately say i wouldnt want my non abs talon or mustang back for another winter.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

I just think it should be required that people are taught to drive by skilled instructors who know what they are doing rather than by parents who think they know what they are doing. Even the drivers ed in the US is a mockery of any type of driving instruction. I probably doesn't matter though, in ten years cars will probably be comlpletly automated and won't even let you drive. Sad thing is, is it probably really will be safer.

 

[saw wave analog]

wow im surprised this is even an arguement, abs is a good thing on a street car.. you guys actually believe that in a real world emergency situation you are going to be better off without it? you are wrong, period. this is a very well proven statistical fact, abs is a nice sized discount on insurance policies.. which means that based on the millions and millions of dollars they have spent on professional testing and stastical analysis from accident reports over the last 10 or 15 years you are quite a bit less likely to lose control in an abs equipped vehicle. end of story

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

That is reasearch based on the average driver. My points still stand.
I am sorry if it sounds like this subject agrivates me a little but it does. After working as a driving instructor and seeing how a 2 day traing course can take a 15 year old who has never sat behind the wheel and teach them to drive better than their parents do after 20 30 or 40 years makes me wonder why insurance companies, parents, and the government don't more strongly promote driving instruction. Very few cities or even states evn have a good school that covers that area of driving.

 

[crankbender]

That is reasearch based on the average driver. My points still stand.
I am sorry if it sounds like this subject agrivates me a little but it does. After working as a driving instructor and seeing how a 2 day traing course can take a 15 year old who has never sat behind the wheel and teach them to drive better than their parents do after 20 30 or 40 years makes me wonder why insurance companies, parents, and the government don't more strongly promote driving instruction. Very few cities or even states evn have a good school that covers that area of driving.

AMEN!! I consider myself an excellent stopper and can remember 2 near misses. 1 With ABS and one Without. Both times I happened to be in the right vehicle at the right time.

ABS is really needed on a cargo vehicle where the proportioning of the brakes has to account for differing loads and it was originally desinged for this (rear ends of pickups). Because of the shifting and odd loadings possible and the design regulations that require the front to lock before the rear these vehicles had really bad breaking before ABS when empty.

For the average driver ABS is better, for some vehicles ABS is better, for a good driver in a sports car ABS is a hinderance.

 

[midnght]

I refuse to be a statistic.

It is all about personal choice. What is good for the goose, isn't for the gander.