Anti Lock Brake Impressions

[gofish101]

I have never had the ABS kick in on this truck before today so this was my first experience with it. Well all I can say is wow. Coming towards an intersection, the light started the change and I applied the brakes. I realized immediately I was on an icy patch and the truck starting to break loose. I was about to let up on the brakes but felt the abs kick in. I could feel a slight pulsing on the brakes and the truck stayed on course and came to a stop. Very impressed with the system my previous truck it seemed the ABS was more aggressive... heavy pulsating.

Another reason I am glad I am back in a Ram.

 

[GreenClassic]

The first time I ever felt mine kick in was about a month ago on the freeway. It was wet because it had been raining. There was an accident on a freeway interchange just ahead of me. I saw a police officer about to cross traffic lanes on foot, so I hit the brakes pretty hard to let him cross. I felt the brake pedal pulsating and the truck stopped pretty quickly from approximately 55mph. I was also pretty impressed.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I just manually pump the brakes 30 times a second.

 

[crash68]

wait till you feel the Electronic Stability Control kick in on you. It will apply the brakes on one or the other along with front to rear independently of each other to help keep the vehicle from going out of control.
Despite what some people think you can't outsmart how these system operate, the automotive companies have invested billions into developing how ABS and ESC work.
ABS was originally developed for airplanes. Then automotive companies started adding the ABS to the rear wheels of higher end performance cars to enhance braking ability. It wasn't till Chrysler teamed up with Bendix and designed the Sure Brake anti-skid system “the first computer-operated, four-wheel anti-skid braking system offered on an American car.” that usered in the ABS systems in modern day cars

 

[Tumbleweed]

Of course you can "outsmart" the ABS. What you cannot do is outperform it.

 

[JohnnyMac]

You guys drive way too slow if you're just now learning about ABS......

 

[Shiva]

Of course you can "outsmart" the ABS. What you cannot do is outperform it.

Best improvement to vehicles in 120 years.
It works way better than the best driver.
If you end up in a situation where things still go south thank the inventor for the situation not having a way wose outcome.
Just stomp on the brake and let the computer do the hard work.
Pumping the brakes stopped being the best idea since the 1960's before the disc brake was the preferred choice.
Disc brakes stop faster because they don't get brake fade from the heat of sudden hard use.
Problem is when they lock up on slippery surfaces.
Anti-lock pulses the hard stop to maximize the stopping power which is why they work best.
If anyone's foot is faster at pulsing than this system...tell the insurance company you want a price reduction on your premium.

 

[crash68]

Anti-lock pulses the hard stop to maximize the stopping power which is why they work best.
If anyone's foot is faster at pulsing than this system...tell the insurance company you want a price reduction on your premium.

Not to mention they would need four feet and four brake pedals as the ABS systems can control each wheel independently of each other.

 

[JoeCo]

You guys drive way too slow if you're just now learning about ABS......

Haha or never driven in the snow. Experienced it my first winter driving (my dads truck, my 85 caprice did not have abs) and experience it every winter since I've had vehicles with abs. Just about every time it snows and I have to go somewhere, I get some good momentum going down our hill and then jam on the brakes. I like to see where I'm at with my brakes/road conditions, then swiftly follow that up with some traction control off donuts or power slides to get a proper read on the roads/traction that way as well.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

wait till you feel the Electronic Stability Control kick in on you. It will apply the brakes on one or the other along with front to rear independently of each other to help keep the vehicle from going out of control.
Despite what some people think you can't outsmart how these system operate, the automotive companies have invested billions into developing how ABS and ESC work.
ABS was originally developed for airplanes. Then automotive companies started adding the ABS to the rear wheels of higher end performance cars to enhance braking ability. It wasn't till Chrysler teamed up with Bendix and designed the Sure Brake anti-skid system “the first computer-operated, four-wheel anti-skid braking system offered on an American car.” that usered in the ABS systems in modern day cars

(In David Lee Roth's voice)

CLASS....DISMIIIIIISSED !!! LOL

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Haha or never driven in the snow. Experienced it my first winter driving (my dads truck, my 85 caprice did not have abs) and experience it every winter since I've had vehicles with abs. Just about every time it snows and I have to go somewhere, I get some good momentum going down our hill and then jam on the brakes. I like to see where I'm at with my brakes/road conditions, then swiftly follow that up with some traction control off donuts or power slides to get a proper read on the roads/traction that way as well.

I did that every chance I got.
Nothing worse than not knowing what your vehicle will do when you slam on the brakes!

Of course, I also practiced 180's (Drive to Rev and Rev to Drive) without stopping. That made more than one person leave hand prints in the arm rest ;-).

"A man's got to know his vehicle's limitations".

PS: My '84 Caprice did have ABS. Strange your '85 didn't.
I also hated it. North Jersey has a good number of pot holes and we tended to run at speed pretty tight. You hit something that makes a wheel leave the surface and ABS kicks in, "thinking" you are skidding. That makes your Caprice feel like it's lunging forward with no braking. Pucker factor of 10.
I still turn it the F**k off when I get in the truck. Sometimes I WANT my tires to spin. Haven't hit anybody since 1976.

 

[JoeCo]

I did that every chance I got.
Nothing worse than not knowing what your vehicle will do when you slam on the brakes!

Of course, I also practiced 180's (Drive to Rev and Rev to Drive) without stopping. That made more than one person leave hand prints in the arm rest ;-).

"A man's got to know his vehicle's limitations".

PS: My '84 Caprice did have ABS. Strange your '85 didn't.
I also hated it. North Jersey has a good number of pot holes and we tended to run at speed pretty tight. You hit something that makes a wheel leave the surface and ABS kicks in, "thinking" you are skidding. That makes your Caprice feel like it's lunging forward with no braking. Pucker factor of 10.
I still turn it the F**k off when I get in the truck. Sometimes I WANT my tires to spin. Haven't hit anybody since 1976.

Exactly! You've got to get an accurate gauge on the conditions! And haha yeah I've had a couple of those hand impressions as well from passengers, as we go power sliding around town. My gf has gotten quite good about it and trusts my ability now so she no longer does it at least, and she always encouraged it otherwise cause she knows it's fun.

As for the caprice, was yours optioned with abs? From what I remember, I don't think abs was standard on them until the start of the 4th generation around 1991. Not sure as to their status as an option prior to that though, but mine didn't have them unless my memory is failing me (possible). The abs I don't mind so much in the snow, the traction control though I agree I'd love to fully shut down at times, whether for play or for snowy situations where you want the wheel spin for certain maneuvers.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Exactly! You've got to get an accurate gauge on the conditions! And haha yeah I've had a couple of those hand impressions as well from passengers, as we go power sliding around town. My gf has gotten quite good about it and trusts my ability now so she no longer does it at least, and she always encouraged it otherwise cause she knows it's fun.

As for the caprice, was yours optioned with abs? From what I remember, I don't think abs was standard on them until the start of the 4th generation around 1991. Not sure as to their status as an option prior to that though, but mine didn't have them unless my memory is failing me (possible). The abs I don't mind so much in the snow, the traction control though I agree I'd love to fully shut down at times, whether for play or for snowy situations where you want the wheel spin for certain maneuvers.

Never mind.
You're right. It wasn't my '84, it was my '91 giant maroon egg Caprice. Had the '84 for 8 yrs. Only had the '90 for 1 yr. '84 was a better driver in the snow. Ya just had to know how with rear wheel drive. Winter of '96/'97 we had 17 major snow storms and I didn't miss one day of work, whish was44 miles each way. Just don't stop! Keep it rolling.

 

[JoeCo]

Never mind.
You're right. It wasn't my '84, it was my '91 giant maroon egg Caprice. Had the '84 for 8 yrs. Only had the '90 for 1 yr. '84 was a better driver in the snow. Ya just had to know how with rear wheel drive. Winter of '96/'97 we had 17 major snow storms and I didn't miss one day of work, whish was44 miles each way. Just don't stop! Keep it rolling.

Haha yep I got around ok in mine too, even being my first winter driving...that car taught me a lot about driving in snow and now I still love being in 2wd/rwd most of the time to this day. Great cars, mine came to an unfortunate end when it got plowed by an f150 while it was parked, replaced it with a 66 buick that I still have 17 years later. My 85 was in great shape and I have no doubt it would have had many many more years of service had it not been taken out.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Ouch!
Yeah, you ain't buffing that out.

Mine had 236k miles on it when I sold it.
The kick is, it looked like an unmarked cop car and I'd come up on people in the fast lane and they moved over right away! It was great. The bigger kick was I WAS a cop! Sometimes I was in uniform. That never made sense to me. Uniform in an unmarked car. I got to practice all kinds of evasive moves. Who was gonna pull me over? ME? Haha. That knowledge and those skills came in handy over the years. I could never bust somebody's chops about learning how to drive, unless yhey were stupid and endangering others. Go find an empty parking lot. Have a ball. ****, I'm 61 and still haven't slowed down. You're dead a long time. Until then.....

 

[JoeCo]

Ouch!
Yeah, you ain't buffing that out.

Mine had 236k miles on it when I sold it.
The kick is, it looked like an unmarked cop car and I'd come up on people in the fast lane and they moved over right away! It was great. The bigger kick was I WAS a cop! Sometimes I was in uniform. That never made sense to me. Uniform in an unmarked car. I got to practice all kinds of evasive moves. Who was gonna pull me over? ME? Haha. That knowledge and those skills came in handy over the years. I could never bust somebody's chops about learning how to drive, unless yhey were stupid and endangering others. Go find an empty parking lot. Have a ball. ****, I'm 61 and still haven't slowed down. You're dead a long time. Until then.....

Yep totaled for sure, I'm just lucky I wasn't in it. I was about 5-10 feet away, walking to get into it when it got hit. Love the car that I ended up getting out of it though, so it all worked out in the big picture. Although the 85 was my grandpas car and it would have been great to have that memory of him still. As you can see, mine looked much more civilian so I didn't get that kind of response, sounds like a great perk though! That's cool you went easy on people if they were fooling around responsibly, I agree that shouldn't be a big deal and that's generally how we did things when we were young and dumb, but it taught us a ton about driving in snow. I think I'll be like you when I hit 61 cause I am not seeing any signs of slowing down on having some fun with the truck!

 

[OCDTech]

wait till you feel the Electronic Stability Control kick in on you. It will apply the brakes on one or the other along with front to rear independently of each other to help keep the vehicle from going out of control.
Despite what some people think you can't outsmart how these system operate, the automotive companies have invested billions into developing how ABS and ESC work.
ABS was originally developed for airplanes. Then automotive companies started adding the ABS to the rear wheels of higher end performance cars to enhance braking ability. It wasn't till Chrysler teamed up with Bendix and designed the Sure Brake anti-skid system “the first computer-operated, four-wheel anti-skid braking system offered on an American car.” that usered in the ABS systems in modern day cars

I just did a lot of research on this.Watched several videos on it working and the testing very interesting.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Yep totaled for sure, I'm just lucky I wasn't in it. I was about 5-10 feet away, walking to get into it when it got hit. Love the car that I ended up getting out of it though, so it all worked out in the big picture. Although the 85 was my grandpas car and it would have been great to have that memory of him still. As you can see, mine looked much more civilian so I didn't get that kind of response, sounds like a great perk though! That's cool you went easy on people if they were fooling around responsibly, I agree that shouldn't be a big deal and that's generally how we did things when we were young and dumb, but it taught us a ton about driving in snow. I think I'll be like you when I hit 61 cause I am not seeing any signs of slowing down on having some fun with the truck!

I owned four of my grand parents cars.
1966 Chevy Impala 283/2spd powerglide,
1968 Pontiac Catalina 400/3spd auto
1984 Chevy Caprice Classic 350/700-R4 4spd auto
1990 Chevy Caprice Classic 305/4L60 4spd auto
They sold them to me for a little less than the dealer quoted them for a trade-in. My Grandmother believed any car with 100,000 miles on it was "all used up" and she wouldn't ride in it. Good for me, lol. The '91 was their last car. Learned a helluva lot wrenching on those old cars.

 

[JoeCo]

I owned four of my grand parents cars.
1966 Chevy Impala 283/2spd powerglide,
1968 Pontiac Catalina 400/3spd auto
1984 Chevy Caprice Classic 350/700-R4 4spd auto
1990 Chevy Caprice Classic 305/4L60 4spd auto
They sold them to me for a little less than the dealer quoted them for a trade-in. My Grandmother believed any car with 100,000 miles on it was "all used up" and she wouldn't ride in it. Good for me, lol. The '91 was their last car. Learned a helluva lot wrenching on those old cars.

That's awesome! I wish I could have bought some more that my grandpa had, we had similar tastes and he had some really awesome square body chevy pickups along the way too. That 66 Impala sounds close to my 66 Lesabre, 340 engine and a non powerglide 2 speed, and of course very similar GM b body cars.

That's funny about the 100k was all used up, different time and standards I am sure, but looks like it made good driving for you!

 

[Sherman Bird]

Best improvement to vehicles in 120 years.
It works way better than the best driver.
If you end up in a situation where things still go south thank the inventor for the situation not having a way wose outcome.
Just stomp on the brake and let the computer do the hard work.
Pumping the brakes stopped being the best idea since the 1960's before the disc brake was the preferred choice.
Disc brakes stop faster because they don't get brake fade from the heat of sudden hard use.
Problem is when they lock up on slippery surfaces.
Anti-lock pulses the hard stop to maximize the stopping power which is why they work best.
If anyone's foot is faster at pulsing than this system...tell the insurance company you want a price reduction on your premium.

All commercial jet airplanes have ABS. When a 100 ton plane lands in wet conditions, the pilot just floors the pedal and the ABS does the rest! DCAS is a relative to TCAS used on aircraft.... very good technology. My Toyota Sequoia has VSC that takes over the brakes and throttle in loss of control..... It's pretty neat that all I have to do when I lose control is point the wheel the direction I wish to go, and the computer fixes things right up!