We recieved five to six inches of snow a few days ago. I took the RA out for a spin and couldn't stop at all. Now I've been in cars where the ABS did a real good job. But I swear up and down that my RA was kicking in way too early and not letting me brake when I should have been able to. So here's what I did. While this street was still fully covered with snow, got up to 15 mph, used a tree as a mark to start braking, started braking at the mark, then got out and marked in the snow where I stopped. I opened the hood, pulled the ABS fuse and did it again. From only 15 mph I stopped 8 feet shorter! and I could physically feel the car slowing down rather than gliding to a stop. I repeated several times to verify the results and they came out consistantly. Now I really liked the ABS on my old car. Is there any way to tune down the sensitivity or am I stuck with no ABS?

 

It's proven that ABS is never better in the winter than without in terms of sheer stopping power. There are lots of articles about it everywhere.

 

yey for the ES not having it then. Suppose it sucks not having it in the summer

Nice find, I had never heard this before

 

i thought my abs did a pretty good job in the couple inches of snow we had... just leave yourself extra following and stopping distance and it shouldn't be a problem

 

abs isn't meant to make you stop faster, it's meant to make the vehicle steerable when braking to the point of wheel lockup.

 

Yes, that's true, but when you're on ice and snow, you're not able to turn hard or fast enough to dodge something in an emergency situation anyways. It does helpt o have some steering of course, but when you're down to the wire, it's not going to help you out. It will help, however, if you are hitting the brakes hard much earlier and have lots and lots of time to move your car out of the way.

ABS works far better in summer. I actually read an article or two about how ABS has actually increased the chances of collision (ouch). I think this is due to a false sense of security more than anything else though...

 

8 feet is a huge difference especially at only 15. besides, I can still turn decently (for being on snow) with the way I brake.

 

Just pop the e-brake and powerslide to a stop!! That would be better than ABS

 

Hell, why not? They say sideways is the new forward....

 

Sounds much more like a tire issue than a brake issue. Brakes are doing their job, but it's useless if your tires can't bite into the snow.

 

yeah, on ice if the wheels are locked up or still spinning, the tires still won't be getting a good grip.

 

I'm so glad I moved to Florida.

I grew up in Colorado and I went to School in Utah so I'm no stranger to snow. ABS is made so that you can steer through a skid. Tires are made to give traction. You need both. But most of all people just need to PAY ATTENTION when driving in bad weather. Just my .02, sorry.

 

Try stopping at 100km/60mph and then you will see the true performance of abs!

 

I don't ever take the interstate so I can't get up that fast. No one can drive on snowy country roads here. It took me an hour to make a usually 15 min trip from work because some yahoo wouldn't even go 20 and there were seven sissies behind him that wouldn't pass. Besides, the roads are clear now. I think I'll build a switch to toggle ABS on/off from the cabin.

 

It's true my tire are bald! If anybody saw them at the MLC BBQ and thought they were bald then, they're much worse now. I've got new tires ordered, but they haven't come in yet.