Modifying my Brick-On-Wheels

[trollbait]

Yeah, control gives you the option to try avoiding whatever caused the panic stop.

With real off roading, ABS can be a bane. On something like loose gravel, the wheels not locking can lead to the substrate breaking loose, and acting like bearings between the tire and 'road' surface. In the event of a panic brake on such a surface, it's better to have the wheels lock and plow down into the substrate.

But that isn't a concern for a vast majority of drivers.

[theholycow]

On gravel (and probably some types of snow), locking the wheels gives a huge advantage over threshold braking or ABS because it plows up the surface and builds a chock in front of the tire. I'd pull my ABS fuse if I was going to do the type of off-roading where I'd need to worry about brake effectiveness.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Still, in snow I believe that being able to steer trumps a slightly shorter stopping distance.

The only time I've ever had my truck break traction is driving in light snow before I activated 4wd, and I hit the gas a bit too hard.

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Still, in snow I believe that being able to steer trumps a slightly shorter stopping distance.

The only time I've ever had my truck break traction is driving in light snow before I activated 4wd, and I hit the gas a bit too hard.

lol i dont know a time when i went driving when mine didnt break loose...

nah just gotta know how to drive on snow, pump the brakes and let off and slightly turn then jam em back on. or just brake lighter and it wont slide. once youve had a light 2wd only manual truck in snow correcting is second nature. every time it snows and i have to drive on it i get up to about 10-15 mph and slam on the brakes. if i dont slide at all then i can go faster, yet sometimes i can slide for a very long time so i drive slower and careful.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

pump the brakes and let off and slightly turn then jam em back on.

ABS is very good at doing that, and I'm told that modern ABS can even do that only to the wheel that lost traction while allowing other wheels to continue steadily braking.

[VetteOwner]

well when i say pump the brakes i mean hold them for a few seconds untill you start slidin towards the ditch, let off correct (happens in less than a second) then full on again.

and yes i have slid to a stop before on 4" on fresh snow and couldnt get going again cuz of the buildup in front of the front wheels.... (stupid non locking rearend)

[MTUboi86]

I'm not a fan of the ABS my explorer has.
Maybe I just don't know how to use it correctly?

I'm used to just slamming on my breaks in the Buick ... and although my tires lock up, I've never been "out of control" and stop in a relatively short distance. I only pump if I need to turn.

The Explorer... gah. I have to say, the ABS helped me avoid MANY accidents the past 3 winters I've had the vehicle. Mainly cars suddenly stopping without using their turn signal. I'd slam on my breaks, ABS kicks in... then I have to end up hopping the curb onto the sidewalk and end up sliding past the rear half of their vehicle. With the buick, that's never happened, I always stopped in time.

... yea... it's off topic ... but with ABS, do you still "pump" the breaks, just not as fast? ... and, I assume slamming on the brakes with ABS extends your stopping distance rather than just pushing the brakes hard, but not "slammed"?

I've learned that putting it in neutral when ABS kicks on helps a LOT in reducing stopping distance, because the drivetrain isn't still trying to go while the ABS doesn't have the brakes on.

As for snow tires... I just looked it up too. It's surprising to me, the speed rating of them for my car is 112. Hrm. Going 55mph or under with them is, well... essentially hearsay. Every person I've met up here that has snow tires is strong in believing you can't go over 55mph with them, some in recent years have even had them start to smell like they were melting after highway speeds (70mph). Or maybe the tire places up here only sell low-speed winter tires because no place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a speed limit above 55mph. *shrugs*. That's interesting to know.
But, right now the buick has the Goodyear triple-tread tires. I had these on a 2001 cavalier (temp. car for 6 mo's while buick was being fixed after accident). They were amazing on that cavalier, especially in winter. So, came time for new tires this past summer on the Buick, and I got those. My old tires were cracking, so returned them under warranty and got the triple treads. ...I asked the tire place downstate (DiscountTire) if there were any LRR tires for my car, and there's none at least that they could find, so got triple treads.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Pumping the brakes on an ABS equipped vehicle is not recommended.

From NTSC.org...

Originally Posted by http://downloads.nsc.org/pdf/factsheets/Tips_for_Driving_with_ABS.pdf

DO NOT ...pump the brakes. In four-wheel ABS-equipped vehicles, pumping the brake turns the system on and off. ABS pumps the brakes for you automatically, at a much faster rate, and allows better steering control.

Originally Posted by http://downloads.nsc.org/pdf/factsheets/Tips_for_Driving_with_ABS.pdf

keep your foot firmly on the brake pedal until the car comes to a complete stop. Don't take your foot off the brake pedal or pump the brakes, because that will disengage the anti-lock system.

http://downloads.nsc.org/pdf/factshe...g_with_ABS.pdf

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by MTUboi86

I've learned that putting it in neutral when ABS kicks on helps a LOT in reducing stopping distance, because the drivetrain isn't still trying to go while the ABS doesn't have the brakes on.

Your rear brakes are worn or your engine is idling high. Your use of neutral is not ABS-related; pull your ABS fuse and you'll find that neutral helps your stopping distance just as much.

I asked the tire place downstate (DiscountTire) if there were any LRR tires for my car, and there's none at least that they could find, so got triple treads.

I think you may need to do your own research, on the snow tire issue and the LRR tire issue. It sounds like your local tire dealers, like most everywhere, are pretty clueless.

[trollbait]

Does the Explorer have 4 wheel or 2 wheel ABS?
The Ranger only had 2 wheel standard on the rear, and the manural tells you to start pumping the brake when you feel the ABS pulse on the pedal. Except for that feed back letting the driver know that they should be pumping the brake, I don't why Ford bothered with it.

[theholycow]

Rear-only ABS keeps you from fishtailing if you have good front traction but bad rear traction. That doesn't happen often...pretty lame idea.

[Jay2TheRescue]

The point of rear ABS was to enhance stability of empty trucks while braking. Personally, I thougth it was pretty much worthless as I have locked up all 6 wheels on a Ford ambulance with "rear antilock" brakes.