A Quick How to Check Your Brakes

GearHead_1

GearHead_1

Long Time Member
Ever wondered if your brakes were working well?

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That reminds me...I always check out a new-to-me vehicle`s ABS performance, they`re not all the same. Rentals included.

"Hey, ABS is easy...you just stand on `em!" Yeah, but there`s a reason why VDI`s students (primarily Pro drivers) spend ages practicing brake-and-turn with ABS before they can get good enough to pass the minimum standards for graduation, doing it *optimally* isn`t as easy as one might think. Few people even achieve 0.7g of decell their first dozen tries.
 
Accumulator said:
That reminds me...I always check out a new-to-me vehicle`s ABS performance, they`re not all the same. Rentals included.

"Hey, ABS is easy...you just stand on `em!" Yeah, but there`s a reason why VDI`s students (primarily Pro drivers) spend ages practicing brake-and-turn with ABS before they can get good enough to pass the minimum standards for graduation, doing it *optimally* isn`t as easy as one might think. Few people even achieve 0.7g of decell their first dozen tries.
Click to expand...

Ah the ol` "I got ABS, I got this!" as they hit their brakes on ice and proceed to go skidding way beyond their mark with the ABS pump making a racket all the way...

Give me non-ABS brakes anyday of the week.
 
Nizmo said:
Ah the ol` "I got ABS, I got this!" as they hit their brakes on ice and proceed to go skidding way beyond their mark with the ABS pump making a racket all the way...

Give me non-ABS brakes anyday of the week.
Click to expand...

Noting that two of my best winter vehicles did not have ABS and that I can threshold brake better than most...

Different view here- with (modern 4-channel) ABS at least you can steer while braking on low-friction surfaces and can properly distribute the braking force between all four wheels when they`re not all on equal-friction surfaces. Zero way to unequally distribute the braking forces without ABS or steer effectively with locked wheels and no way to brake hard on ice without ABS without locking `em up. The braking distance is shorter with modern ABS systems anyhow because during the brief moments between pulses you can have max braking and with a fast-cycling system those moments add up to lots of braking. (I can often beat the ABS on older vehicles but I`ve never done it with anything modern.)

Note that I have countless hours of controlled environment/instrument-tested braking experience; I do know what I`m talking about ;)

Anyhow, if you can`t brake on ice you`re driving on the wrong tires and IMO oughta park the vehicle until the roads are clear.
 
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