I'm in a discussion about which stops your faster, ABS enables vehicles, or non-ABS enabled vehicles. I want to see who is correct. The situation is:

pure stopping distance, no controlability factors, or adverse weather conditions. Its a 75 degree sunny day on clean pavement. discuss...

 

In regular braking, for the street, ABS is better. However, in race conditions, like autocross, non ABS is beter. ABS blips the hydraulic pressure preventing wheel lockup and long slides. With the ABS engaged, stopping distances are increased by a little bit. In autocross, keeping the wheels on the edge of skidding is best and results in shorter braking distances. Just my .02

 

In dry conditions, ABS will take slightly longer. In slippery conditions, ABS should reduce the braking distance. And in all conditions, it will help you stay in control.

 

Road & Track did an ABS test a few years ago using a Mercedes modified so the ABS could be switched on and off. ABS stopped sooner on almost all surfaces. Snow, ice and gravel were where ABS didn't work too great (tires locked up worked the best here). On dry pavement ABS will win every time. If I ever have a car with ABS, I will be adding a switch.

 

Yep, there's no way you can modulate the brakes faster than a computer w/ actuator. On pavement, ABS is the way to go. On extremely slick surfaces, such as snow and ice, ABS is still the way to go because a wheel slowing down still has more grip to the pavement than a sliding tire. On gravel, mud or sand, where a stopped tire will pile up the material infront of the tire, effectively "digging in," then non-ABS will help you stop the quickest, but may also get you stuck. All in all, if you have the option and don't mind the extra heft, ABS reigns.

 

regular abs was better than most non abs cars...however now we are also not talking about plain jane abs anymore...most new abs equipped cars come with electronic braking distribution (ebd) that works in tandem with the abs system to enhance control near lockup

then to add to the fact those two systems work with stability management systems which play a part in braking in corners

 

Since this is the track/autox forum, and since the topic of this thread seems appropriate enough, I think someone should do an in-depth explanation of why you would want to DISABLE ABS on an autox/road-course. I know locking up the rear wheels and/or threshold braking allows you to rotate the car a bit easier, but I'm sure there are more qualified individuals in here to explain.

Shingo

 

every test i've read shows abs stopping distances to be superior to non-abs stopping distances.

hell, i'd like to be able to stand on my brake pedal and not worry about it. i see no reason why one wouldn't want abs, weight excluded.

 

ABS hands down, any situation, any road conditions, it's simply superior. A tire that is braking right at the point of lockup will stop faster than one that is completely stopped and skidding. It takes a lot of mental control to pull your foot off the brake pedal when trying to stop in an emergancy to get the tires turning again. Even if you are comfortable doing that, your physically limited in how fast you can pump that pedal, an ABS system can do it more often than you could ever hope to. Another advantage is most modern ABS systems are advanced enough to control individual wheels, pulsing each wheel at a different rate, something no human can control with just one pedal. This is useful on any surface that isn't completely flat and dry.

The reason you rarely see it on race cars is it isn't usually allowed. Most race series don't allow electronic aids like ABS or traction control. That is changing, I believe F1 has used traction control for a while and CART just started this year. Not sure though, I don't really follow either race series that closely. Some drivers that have spent their lives racing without ABS would also probably feel more comfortable without it. For a large majority of the rest of us, it's definaly an advange. Seeya.

 

I'm glas Andy chimed in and set most of the folks who replied earlier straight. Or I would have had to write a long post

for autoX abs equipped car will be faster. i've seen people without abs lock up the fronts and try to modulate only to understeer and take the corner really really wide.

but there are also other drivers without abs that consistently place at the top of their class

but for your average everyday person abs will always be shorter

remember stomp, stay, steer