Re: The ABS Poop Rolls on...

[16v Jason <jason@scirocco.org>]

fAt 01:02 PM 8/25/99 , Ben Patterson wrote:
>What I mean by ABS working well on snow, wet pavement, etc, is that 
>the control is better - the wheels don't lock up and you don't lose 
>it in a corner. Yes, braking distance is increased, but the car stays 
>on the road. If all we are talking about is braking distance then 
>you're right - non-ABS works better on those surfaces.

Okay... now you got me confused. :)

If you're praising ABS for maintaining control in snow, wet pavement, etc,
even though it increases braking distances, how come you're blasting ABS
for its function on dry pavement-- when it maintains control *and* shortens
stopping distances?? :)

>--Speeds around 140?  Strange, since the EX has a published top speed 
>of 129mph.
>
>The 97' Accord EX has no problem doing 140 mph - I routinely make it 
>from the SF Bay Area to LA in just over 3 hours with the car at the 
>redline and no traffic (plus a damn good radar detector). You 
>thinking of the Civic EX?

Nope, Civic EX tops out around 125.  129 is the EX Sedan's top speed
according to Car & Driver in their June 1998 comparison test of 10
"Salt-of-the-Earth Sedans", page 65...
It's either speedometer error, or your car is secretly supercharged.. :)

>I-5 and low level insanity help a lot with this situation. I get the 
>97' to at least 120 mph every day on the way to work on Hwy. 280. Pei 
>Chung Ting from Cal (87' 16v) knows... heck, I redlined his rocco on 
>Hwy 101 going to Cal Poly. And no, I didn't brake hard  enough to 
>lock up the wheels at 140 mph. Would you? I did try to brake as hard 
>as possible without risking flaming bloody death in the process.

heheh, I like that:  "flaming bloody death"... quite descriptive.
...but my point is: If you didn't brake hard enough to lock up the wheels,
you didn't brake hard enough to engage the ABS... and therefore can't make
a judgement on it's efficacy... right?

>But I wasn't DOING 60 mph. And I'll buy the results from the test. 
>But under 40 mph when I started braking, and the police report said 
>it was 30-35 from the reports taken from people behind me. Who knows. 
>But I barely hit the guy (4 inches up the hood). Whatever...

I tried to dig up some old magazines, because I remember _someone_ used to
test braking distances from 30mph as well... and I can't find any.  I must
say, though, I can't imagine that no road testers would have noticed if ABS
did indeed increase the braking distance....

When I get my G-Tech one of these days, I'll do a test in my Mercedes...
one with the ABS, and then one with the fuse pulled.


>Heck, with the bowl - I'm still high from the Blue Tack I used to 
>vinyl some speaker covers last night. Good stuff.... a few less brain 
>cells, but good stuff nonetheless. =)

Heheh, whatever floats your boat! :)

Jason




----------
1987 Scirocco 16v
1989 Mercedes 190E Sport Euro


http://members.aol.com/rocco16v  

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