The ABS discussion thread!!

[VMG]

What is ABS? Is it really useful? I normally drive around 100-120KM in the highway?
Can I add this to Baleno?

[jigarmuni]

Originally Posted by VMG

What is ABS? Is it really useful? I normally drive around 100-120KM in the highway?
Can I add this to Baleno?

ABS is Anti lock braking system. It is the most useful thing to have in a car...what it does is.....prevents ur wheels from locking up when u brake abruptly or suddenly with a lot of pressure..! WHat happens here is .... when u are driving a car without ABS and u lock ur wheels.... u will be loosing almost 50% of ur braking efficency, and locking up is primarily the reason for accidents..! What ABS does to ur car is.... if u happen to slam ur brakes... the ABS system on ur car will reduce the excess amount of pressure on the brakes and prevent them from locking..! Hence giving u maximum braking efficency at all times... even in the wet..!

And welll dude... even i am trying to find out ... if i can get ABS for my Honda Vtec!! (anyone who can help me also with this ?)

[GTO]

! Hence giving u maximum braking efficency at all times... even in the wet..!

Correction : Not at all times. In dusty road conditions, ABS can actually increase the braking distance.

Where it really helps is letting you regain steering control under extreme braking conditions.

GTO

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by GTO

In dusty road conditions, ABS can actually increase the braking distance.
GTO

Can you elaborate on this? I'm a little confused.

viper

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Can you elaborate on this? I'm a little confused.

viper

may be what GTO meant to say is that when there is loose sand or debri on the road the tires may lose traction when u brake and hence may skid.at this point the ABS will sense that the particular wheel is locking up and may ease the pressure on that particular wheel.

But isnt ABS meant to prevent this skidding and lessen your braking distance in panic stops?????



also i dont think ,it would be really feasible to retrofit ABS in a non -ABS car.it will involve many complex changes .instead it will be a better option to sell off that car and go for an ABS equipped version of the same.



satya

[iceman91]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

But isnt ABS meant to prevent this skidding and lessen your braking distance in panic stops?????
satya

well i agree with gto, see what the abs does is when the wheels lock it frees it up a bit...now this leads to some more distance being covered..hence the braking distance is more.
now coming to the dirt or dusty road the car will skid more than normal hence more locking up of wheel...which leads to more "abs" action and thus larger braking distance!!!

[jigarmuni]

but guys lets be honest...! Its next to impossible not to lock ur brakes in a panic situations!! Again ABS will come into action only when the wheels are about to lock..!! Not before that..! So anways if u braking at 99% of ur braking efficiency the ABS doesnt come into picture..! It will come into picture....only before the wheels lock up!! WHich is always good!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Can you elaborate on this? I'm a little confused.

viper

Viper,

Read this thread (Think Safety , Think Abs !!!) for some more explainations of the ABS system (and its shortcommings).

R

[lamborghini]

Can ABS e fitted to a corolle.
The new ones have it so can i fit it in an old one?

[Deeps]

SS is right in saying that retrofitting ABS is a huge and delicate task. Its potentially safer and more worthwhile to get a car that is orginally fitted with ABS, IMO. BTW, do any of the manufacturers offer a retrofitment of ABS? I think some offer Power Steering but haven't heard of ABS.

[coloneljasi]

Theoretically,it's possible to retro fit an ABS system to a non-ABS car.But practically,it's terribly expensive and as far as I know,not possible in India.I've heard of a few tuners doing ABS retro fits in the U.S and Europe,but don't have first hand information on that.I've tried to get ABS done on my CRDi but found it to be impossible.I have confirmed the same with HMIL's R&D and Technical Cell.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by Deeps

I think some offer Power Steering but haven't heard of ABS.

in case of maruti cars,u can fit the EPS in the zen,wagon-r or the alto.but that would cost around 35k.
instead the EPS equipped car has other accessories like rear fog lamps,rear defogger and others if u buy it as a stock one.and the EPS car is only about 20k costlier than the non EPS cars.so buying one with a factory fitted option will also give u other things at a lesser cost.
so fitting anything afterwards will be a costlier affair.

[car_crazy1400]

On the topic of maruti, How come they are offering ABS & Airbags on the euro 3 Wagon R and not on the E-3 Baleno? How's that for stupidity as ne one going in for baleno can surely pay more for ABS & Airbags as is the case for Wagon R!

May Be they themselves perceive Wagon R to be better than a Baleno as it Sells in more Numbers.

What Say?

[Deeps]

I, too, am baffled by this decision. Its quite obvious that you'd want to put all the gizmos in your flagship model car rather than a model which is a segment down. But as you say Carcrazy, it could be all down to the number of sales. Putting the gizmos on the Baleno would cause a hike in price which probably would lower sales.

[solly]

http://www.smartmotorist.com/abs/abs.htm

The only way to understand how the ABS brakes work is to practice sudden stops in a safe situation, on both wet and dry pavement.