ABS Clarification

Anonymous · February 7, 2005, 17:07

With this being my first car with ABS i was aware of what it should feel/work like but not experienced.

When i put my foot on the brake and the ABS kicks in (normally if going over a bump or the like) i feel the expected juddering through the peddle but the pedal falls to the floor and the car doesn't slow down it "cruises" to a stop.

Now i took it to Mr-T who drove the car and said its normal. Now the other day my g/f was driving me in her Yaris and some wolly pulled out infront of her and she jumped on the middle peddle. The ABS kicked in and stopped her skidding but inbetween pulses you could hear the tyres locking and we stoped quite quickly.

Is my Mr2 experiance normal and hers not or is it the other way around?

GSB · February 7, 2005, 17:11

try it. Take it out, and stamp on them... (dont crash though!)

BTW, this is something everyone should do... How are you going to get to know your car any other way?

Anonymous · February 7, 2005, 17:14

I've never got the abs on in my 2, but i did it all the time in my old Escort GTI (came on without even when slowing to junctions some times), in which case your girlfriends scenario seems to fit more, the constant locking/unlocking pulsing.

When ever i've tried it in the 2, i just skid to a stop, its always been from very low speeds though (like 5-10 mph, then stamped on the brake).

Anonymous · February 7, 2005, 17:14

I have done that a fair few times and they feel totally different, i told Mr-T this and he said its just the ABS kicking in because the MR2 is SO light.

Its the coasting and not slowing which concerns me but i dunno if its a characteristic of the ABS?

Anonymous · February 7, 2005, 17:19

Apparently, according to wikipedia, ABS actually causes a lot of crashes.

People who don't actually know what ABS does (i.e. most people), stamp on the brakes, feel the pulsing, think something's wrong, instinctively come off the brakes, then hit whatever they were trying to not hit. So they invented intelligent brakes sensors, which detected you'd stomped on the brakes, and won't release them until you're stopped!

Anonymous · February 7, 2005, 17:26

Quote from: "odub"When ever i've tried it in the 2, i just skid to a stop, its always been from very low speeds though (like 5-10 mph, then stamped on the brake).

Try it at 30mph-plus, then you'll see what happens. It's well worth trying it at higher speeds too, like 60mph. Scary though.

Bongo · February 7, 2005, 17:32

Airfield days are good for this and learning to steer and brake using ABS(for an emergency).

Slacey · February 7, 2005, 17:52

One of the first rules of biking is that if you don't know exactly how the brakes will work in a given situation then you are a liability.

I guess the same applies here - I advise you find a nice quiet car park / lane etc. and try braking at different pedal pressures and at different speeds. You will soon learn what they can do - and when the ABS does it's thing.

MRMike · February 7, 2005, 18:49

Quote from: "Bongo"Airfield days are good for this and learning to steer and brake using ABS(for an emergency).

Good point, it was quite scary how out of control the car feels when your trying to turn from 60 mph ! On that airfield day we did I couldn't manage to get it round the cones.. what was also quite amazing was how quickly the car stopped from 60.

Have you got those vids still Paul?

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 09:15

So the "coasting" to a stop IS normal then because its not like that in the Yaris which the g/f drives nor her sisters car -

Liz · February 8, 2005, 10:06

When I had my crash, I was doing about 60mph when I stomped on the brakes - it came to a halt very very quickly, ask the bloke who hit me up the back s:? :? s:? - there was no coasting as you describe.

GSB · February 8, 2005, 10:32

Likewise, when joe moron in his renault 19 stopped in the outside lane of the North Circular on Friday, because he had missed his exit for the M11 and wanted to cut across to get onto it, I had full ABS on for quite a few seconds. My worry wasn't hitting the car in front, as I was easily outbreaking it, but the van coming up fast behind with all four wheels locked up... I had to lift off the brakes to stay close to the car in front so that the very scared looking guy in the van had some room to play with.

Very impressed with the stopping ability of the car, not so impressed by the 150ft skidmarks left by the van, or the drving abilities of the dipshit in the Latvian registered Renault who needs a damn good kicking.

Bongo · February 8, 2005, 10:53

Quote from: "MRMike"Have you got those vids still Paul?

Should have on here somewhere, let me see if i can find a suitable one to demonstrate.

As for the coasting, have you had your brakes checked for wear etc?

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 11:40

Thats just the situation where I wish I had a windscreen mounted camera, bit of taped evidence to the police,

Tem · February 8, 2005, 11:45

Quote from: "GSB"My worry wasn't hitting the car in front, as I was easily outbreaking it, but the van coming up fast behind with all four wheels locked up...

Run into a similar situation once s:? :? s:? Ever since I've been more or less nervous when someone tries to kiss my bumper in speed s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 12:31

Quote from: "Tem"
Quote from: "GSB"My worry wasn't hitting the car in front, as I was easily outbreaking it, but the van coming up fast behind with all four wheels locked up...

Run into a similar situation once s:? :? s:? Ever since I've been more or less nervous when someone tries to kiss my bumper in speed s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

This more or less happened to me a couple of weeks ago on my way to work; I was exiting a roundabout when the car in front of me jumped on his brakes because there was an ambulance coming towards us in our lane s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

So I jumped on my brakes and stopped then heard a bang and felt a whack s:evil: :evil: s:evil: I was not impressed!!!

The white van man following me just couldn't stop in time. He didn't seem to hit me hard (my car didn't move - foot still on brakes!), but I need a new rear bumper (looks fine - just has a tiny tear in it and the centre section over the left jacking point in loose. He also crumpled my left jacking point so it needs a new rear beam thingy - so in total it will be costing Mr White Van man £1300! - well his insurance at any rate...

The odd thing is you can barely tell that my car was hit. All Mr White van man had was a crack in his windscreen s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Oh well, should be sorted soon...

Sorry to hijack your thread James - but I'd agree that your brakes don't sound right - one of the things that never ceases to impress me about the '2 is how great the brakes are...

dreambackup · February 8, 2005, 12:33

the situation you describe is normal: you apply light braking on a bump, the ABS kicks in because one wheel stops spinning (or spins slower) and you don't press harder on the brakes. if you keep on like this, the ABS will stop to work by itself after a few yards.

if you need to stop or slow down, press harder on the brakes, the ABS should do its job. it might even stop vibrating when you do that.

it you need to continue, for God's sake, release the brakes s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

if you try ABS going 60 mph or more, you'll notice what it's like because you try it for what's it has been designed to do: emergency braking and continuous control of the steering...

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 12:37

I don't think your car should be coasting to a halt mate, have you replaced your brake fluid, check your discs/pads?

ABS Warning light not staying on?

if you think about what abs does, it waits till the wheels are at the point of locking up and then releases the pressure slightly so they un lock, so the car should act like the yaris and many of the others mentioned above.

Some newer cars read the road so they can apply "intelligent" brakes which should prevent the car from locking the wheels in the first place.

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 12:50

It sounds like normal behaviour to me, apart from the pedal dropping to the floor. Does it really do this, or just drop a little. If it drops to the floor, so that you cannot apply the brakes any more, then you have a serious problem. If the pedal just goes a bit light, I'd say that sounds like my car; press the pedal more and you'll get plenty more braking.

hth
Andy

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 12:52

Quote from: "Liam"Some newer cars read the road so they can apply "intelligent" brakes which should prevent the car from locking the wheels in the first place.

Really? Which cars?

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 14:46

Now thats clever

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/newsarticle.html?&id=MER&doc=mer0011231

and i think there is some clever systems with lorries/heavy good vehicles s:? :? s:?

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 16:50

Quote from: "Andy S"If it drops to the floor, so that you cannot apply the brakes any more, then you have a serious problem.

Well apparently Mr-T think its normal, will take to another dealer later in the week to see what they say!

Will let you know!

Anonymous · February 8, 2005, 21:47

I had a scarry experience with braking in snow. ABS was ON and the car was not stopping so I had to use a handbrake to stop. I spinned a little but it worked fine. Lucky me the road was empty s:D

s:D

Tem · February 9, 2005, 06:03

Quote from: "Modul2000"I had a scarry experience with braking in snow. ABS was ON and the car was not stopping so I had to use a handbrake to stop. I spinned a little but it worked fine. Lucky me the road was empty s:D s:D

ABS generally sucks in snow s:? :? s:? It's not a bug, it's a feature...

aaronjb · February 9, 2005, 11:03

Quote from: "bigun007"Well apparently Mr-T think its normal, will take to another dealer later in the week to see what they say!

Yeah but Mr T would consider the engine falling out of the back of the car perfectly normal, I'm sure.. "Yes Sir, it's designed to do that!".. s;)

s;)

I'd say your best bet is to blag a drive in someone elses '2, or get someone else to drive your '2 (probably easier when you're down this end of the country than in Hull? Think there's more of us down here - if you're passing, you're more than welcome) and compare the two.. That way you'll know for sure and have ammunition for Mr T s:)

s:)