[ram_hyundai]

I just got hold of an ZXi a week back.Yesterday i had a situation wherein i had to panic brake and the car seemed to behave pretty well.If it was my verna i think it would have been a different situation.But the VXi version needs an upgraded tyre if the driving nature is agressive.
ram

[kartikkumar]

To back up what brraj said, to say I was disappointed with the braking on my Swift VDi is an understatement. I refused to drive the car out of the showroom on the stock tyres and asked the dealer to fit ZXi alloys and shod them with JK Vectra's (185/70/14).

With the Pete's box on stage 2, the torque the car develops is stunning and the minimal rolling resistance that the Vectra's offered resulted in more than one scary moment. I am not for a minute blaming the equipment for failing to meet my expectations but instead chose to upgrade the equipment to offer better protection. Having said that I still have to drive within the limits of the machinery and if I do exceed that, I take responsibility for the consequences. But within those limits I would like an enhanced level of safety if I push the envelope.

Towards that end AD07's (195/60/14) and Tarox rotors have made a huge difference and today I am happy with braking performance. Braking behaviour resembles a car with ABS and definitely inspires confidence. Slam the brakes and the car stops. It will throw its occupant(s) forward but neither will it squeal nor will it go out of control now will your life flash before your eyes

no_boundaries, your concerns regarding Swift braking are not entirely unfounded. However, the Swift does have better braking than a lot of other cars but is let down bad tyres. I would suggest a change of tyres as a starting point and take it from there.

Cheers all!

[no_boundaries]

Thank you mate. As a lot of BHPians have suggested I guess that's a best option. Also can you give me more information regarding the Tarox braking.

[muneemmk]

You will find all the info regarding the Tar.ox brakes in the petes website.

Pete's Automotive Products Pvt Limited

[Ricky_63]

My ZXi has not let me down in the braking department...better tyres will surely help even in a non ABS car.

When I was running half-bald OE tyres, braking was pathetic .Since I have upgraded the braking is magical.

So just upgrade your tyres. Saving on tyres is not worth it at all.

That is the first thing I do when I buy a car. Put on better tyres. They can make the difference between life & *****

Apologise for being so categorical, but I have experienced it in real time

[aerohit]

You need to learn how to brake.

Say NO to Panic braking.

Just press the pedal down gradually, and build more pressure.

You will be surprised, your car will behave as good as ABS.

The reason your car lumps forward during hard braking is because you got rear drum brakes that are not as strong. You will not notice this on a 4 wheel disc cars. However, the forward lumping is not as bad on Swift as you say, because the front suspension is pretty stiff.

[You are simply assuming that since your car skid , ABS must be better. Dont even think about "retrofitting" (what ever that means, thuk-patti?) anything - it is as bad as asking for sex change. To add ABS, you will need new brake modulator, new front axles, ABS ECU unit, new 4 wheel Hubs, may be more things.......and what is the guarantee that such a modification will not cause your brake system to malfuntion and kill you? If that happens, please dont blame the Car manufacturer.]

[Thad E Ginathom]

Say YES to panic braking!

In a real emergency, stand on the brake pedal and skid to a halt in a straight line. Do not touch the clutch.

In anything other than a real emergency, apply progressive braking as per aerohit.

Absolutely agree with the comments about ABS, though. Those who decide it is a must have should buy another car.

What worries me is that someone might think that ABS changes the performance of the brakes, or improves the handling of the car during normal driving: It doesn't. There's at least one thread about ABS discussing what it does and doesn't do, but I think this is a point that bears repetition.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by aerohit

Say NO to Panic braking.

Just press the pedal down gradually, and build more pressure.

You will be surprised, your car will behave as good as ABS.

That needs a lot of practice to be in a situation where you see the end of the world 30mtrs from you. [as if the earth was square and suddenly you reach the end - imagine the fall! - (come to think of it if you are fast enough you might get into orbit)]

They taught something called the reflex action as a part of science in school, where the feed doesn't go to the brain for a logical feedback, the spinal cord does the trick. This situation is similar, there is no time to think about the brakes, you just slam.

The only thing one can do is release and press again in the event of a lock, but gradually is not an option. You'll be hitting your *target* [yeah the same thing you were planning to avoid by braking gradually] by the time you think 'gradually'.

[Hypercar]

Where does one install the Tarox brakes for a Swift in Bangalore? Wanted to improve the braking in my Swift. Any idea of costs? Also does Petes have installers in Bangalore for their products? Thanks for your help.

[krisna]

Forget about such an incident at high speeds. Swift's (I have VXi) braking is not effective even at lower speeds (at 15 km/h). I observed this many a times during the past 3 yrs. Particularly the response without and with all 4 passengers seated, albeit at 15 kmph would not be the same as when driving alone. You may argue that this is physics.. i understand that with the increase in mass (when with 4 people) the braking distance increases. But the catch here is that the brake pedal offers a false resistance. You think you would be able to stop by a particular point, but in fact u don't since the vehicle manages to slip (not skid). An alternative (but dangerous) way to this (only at speeds lower than 15 kmph) is to bang the brake pedal if u have all passengers in the car.

Also you may verify this from any of the non-"maruti authorized" mechanic outside or a taxi driver who usually drives other vehicles (and has driven Swift once or twice). They'll tell u this fact.

[ImmortalZ]

krisna, check the date on the post above you.

Also, your paragraph can be summarized in one word : Momentum.

[nitrous]

Kisna, What tyres are you running?