By Colin Wood
Oct 5, 2021
Ever been out driving and wonder what would happen if you could switch off the ABS in your car? This video shows exactly what that would look like.
Perhaps not surprisingly, coming to a safe, controlled stop without ABS is pretty difficult.
10/5/21 6:38 p.m.
While it works fairly well on pavement, the ABS in my 2004 Forester will decide to not apply the brakes much at all if you're on bumpy dirt.
I have to pull the fuse in order to slow down properly during a rallycross.
10/5/21 6:48 p.m.
Has anybody ever watched Kennedy assassination conspiracy reenactment videos, where a guy who has never used a bolt action rifle can't get three shots off in five seconds? Or an infomercial where people just can't flip an egg?
10/5/21 6:54 p.m.
This is great and totally on point for the lesson I'm planning tomorrow in my DE class. I've been taking the kids out on a deserted dirt road, getting them up to speed, and having them jump on the brakes to induce an ABS stop in a straight line. Then I have them do it again but this time I have them turn left then right as if to avoid something. This perfectly illustrates what I'm trying to have them understand.
Ultimately I'm teaching them to look far enough up the road, see the problem before it happens, and adjust their speed to avoid a panic stop situation. This limits the possibility of a panic stop or at least it allows it to happen at a lower speed helping them to stop in a straight line in the shortest distance possible.
I tell them, "don't ask the car to do two things at once."
10/5/21 6:55 p.m.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Umm, what?
10/5/21 11:12 p.m.
The thing that strikes me as being strange about the video is that he talks about being a race car driver and using threshold braking, and then when he's comparing non-ABS cars to ABS ones he just stands on the brakes to lock up the tires.
10/6/21 11:05 a.m.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
I thought that was his point: most folks (me) don't have the skills/muscle memory to threshold brake, so, look how awesome the difference is with ABS
10/6/21 11:13 a.m.
I'm going to go with it depends on the car.
The ABS in my 97 E150 was completely horrible. Lose traction on one wheel and it just dumped all the brake pressure and wouldn't stop. More than once I ended up off the side of the road or in the middle of the intersection. It was dangerous. I finally pulled the fuse to disable it and dealt with the brake light being on.
The ABS on the G35 works very well. It kicks in on the track on occasion. Unobtrusive other than a little feel in the pedal. No loss of stopping power.
I couldn't tell you if the system even works on the rest of my vehicles. I've never had them activate.
10/6/21 11:19 a.m.
In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :
See: Codrus post above.
10/6/21 11:23 a.m.
Yeah, I had the same thought. He was apparently focusing on the ability to steer with ABS but I would have liked to see more discussion about braking distance with and without. He may have deliberately avoided that topic because it varies so much from car to car and surface to surface. Perhaps we need a GRM article.
10/6/21 12:04 p.m.
Yeah, I wanted him to show us that he can out brake the ABS.
Even top-level, WDC F1 drivers are faster with ABS and Traction Control, so I'm taking his statment and lack of demonstration with a grain of salt.
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