anti lock brakes, good or bad
#12
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Troutly,
You drive a lot of miles in many conditions I am sure. My point is that in light snow ABS will not stop faster than non-ABS if you know how to use conventional brakes. Light snow they will not lock up and thus will not allow the tire to get down to the pavement. I have ABS on my Tahoe and pull the fuse when I am in heavy snow. I prefer to have the option of steering or allowing the tire to bite down at low speeds. Often times you may want to get a little crossed up by using the brakes. Best of both would be ABS but have it sense when vehicle speed is low (say below 10mph) and brakes are applied but the vehicle is not slowing much. Under these conditions allow it turn it off and permit the tire to dig down to pavement.
Such a setup is not available so I, for now, will pull the fuse when I am plan on going slow in snow. 70mph on the highway ABS is nice. 10mph rolling towards an immovable object with ABS pinging away and not slowing much when you damn well know with 4 locked tires it would bite down to gravel or pavement, it blows big time. Try it when there is an inch or two of snow in a parking lot. Make two passes at 10 mph, one with ABS and the other without. Measure the distance that ABS increased your stopping distance and what speed the begin point of the delta would be. About one crunched hood, a few fenders and a front bumper.
Plan ahead and use common sense and you are better off without it when very slippery at slow speeds. You should not be going very fast in these conditions anyway. Rain or highway speeds when slippery it is a plus.
Tim T.
You drive a lot of miles in many conditions I am sure. My point is that in light snow ABS will not stop faster than non-ABS if you know how to use conventional brakes. Light snow they will not lock up and thus will not allow the tire to get down to the pavement. I have ABS on my Tahoe and pull the fuse when I am in heavy snow. I prefer to have the option of steering or allowing the tire to bite down at low speeds. Often times you may want to get a little crossed up by using the brakes. Best of both would be ABS but have it sense when vehicle speed is low (say below 10mph) and brakes are applied but the vehicle is not slowing much. Under these conditions allow it turn it off and permit the tire to dig down to pavement.
Such a setup is not available so I, for now, will pull the fuse when I am plan on going slow in snow. 70mph on the highway ABS is nice. 10mph rolling towards an immovable object with ABS pinging away and not slowing much when you damn well know with 4 locked tires it would bite down to gravel or pavement, it blows big time. Try it when there is an inch or two of snow in a parking lot. Make two passes at 10 mph, one with ABS and the other without. Measure the distance that ABS increased your stopping distance and what speed the begin point of the delta would be. About one crunched hood, a few fenders and a front bumper.
Plan ahead and use common sense and you are better off without it when very slippery at slow speeds. You should not be going very fast in these conditions anyway. Rain or highway speeds when slippery it is a plus.
Tim T.
#13
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ABS is great at any speed. I jack knifed a tractor tailer at 10 MPH in snowy conditions about 19 years ago. I ran into a similar situation about a year ago with ABS same slow speed and the tractor and trailer never missed a beat. NO JACK KNIFE...
ABS is a tool, just like any tool, YOU have to know how to USE IT..
ABS is a tool, just like any tool, YOU have to know how to USE IT..
#14
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Hot Boat: Go for the 2500 and you will not be sorry. Also YES on ABS! Take it from somebody in the automotive business.
Wannabe in Motor City
Wannabe in Motor City
Last edited by wannabe; 11-25-2002 at 07:43 AM.
#15
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ABS is great in panic braking. It's also good for braking under slippery conditions on curves and corners. I have been in spin outs where ABS would have saved me. ABS will also trip when braking and hitting uneven pavement. When that happens you will lose your brakes for a moment. Also if you are braking in slippery conditions, ABS will increase the stopping distance greatly. I've blown stop signs in slippery conditions that I know that I would have made if the wheels could of locked up. I guess that it's a two way street. Really depends on what kind of an accident you're planning on getting into.
#16
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ABS in snow is good, but pulling the fuse is indeed a help as Troutly described - locking the wheel causes a mound of snow, etc to build up in front of the tire and helps you stop.
Ice requires ABS. If you are a fuse-puller, be dang sure you won't be encountering any ice. ABS works well in ice.
I had a Yukon XL on a really icy downhill grade that was getting steeper and steeper. There were 6 cars scarrered all over the grade where one had spun and other cars had slid into them. The road was icy and the shoulder had a snow berm but then a cab-mauling dropoff into boulders so you couldn't just choose the ditch.
The ABS was not going to stop the truck. I was still carrying 15 mph or so, and the ABS was working its ass off, but not slowing me any more. Tried to scrub the shoulder and get a stop from the snow, but it kept kicking the tail out when I'd plant the nose in the berm. Drove onto the berm off the brakes and re-stomped them but no-dice. Finally drove onto the berm, slammed the e-brake and the ABS brakes full on. Confused the ABS, but got the rear tires to lock and the right tire dug into the berm. Also got some degree of tire locking in front but the left front was spinning backwards (differential action).
Point is, ABS is not a cure-all but is a dang good product. Gotta have enough sense to know HOW to use it and what its true limitations are. This hill was so slick that people were falling on their asses and sliding 75 feet from their jammed up cars. Cars that were coming from the downhill direction would lose momentum and slide all the way back down with all 4 locked up.
I thought it was fun, but sledding Buicks pinballing off everybody got kind of old.
Ice requires ABS. If you are a fuse-puller, be dang sure you won't be encountering any ice. ABS works well in ice.
I had a Yukon XL on a really icy downhill grade that was getting steeper and steeper. There were 6 cars scarrered all over the grade where one had spun and other cars had slid into them. The road was icy and the shoulder had a snow berm but then a cab-mauling dropoff into boulders so you couldn't just choose the ditch.
The ABS was not going to stop the truck. I was still carrying 15 mph or so, and the ABS was working its ass off, but not slowing me any more. Tried to scrub the shoulder and get a stop from the snow, but it kept kicking the tail out when I'd plant the nose in the berm. Drove onto the berm off the brakes and re-stomped them but no-dice. Finally drove onto the berm, slammed the e-brake and the ABS brakes full on. Confused the ABS, but got the rear tires to lock and the right tire dug into the berm. Also got some degree of tire locking in front but the left front was spinning backwards (differential action).
Point is, ABS is not a cure-all but is a dang good product. Gotta have enough sense to know HOW to use it and what its true limitations are. This hill was so slick that people were falling on their asses and sliding 75 feet from their jammed up cars. Cars that were coming from the downhill direction would lose momentum and slide all the way back down with all 4 locked up.
I thought it was fun, but sledding Buicks pinballing off everybody got kind of old.
#17
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A B S
IF THERE IS SNOW OR ICE I PULL THE 60 AMP A B S FUSE ON MY TRUCK
-DUALLY,OR SUB. AND I FEEL I CAN CONTROL THE TRUCK ,WITH THE A B S WORKING YOUR GOING TO GO STRAIGHT INTO WHAT EVER IS AHEAD (SOMETIMES BAD DEAL) BUT YOU WILL GO STRAIGHT ,I HAD RATHER DECIDE TO GO STRAIGHT OR TURN
JUST MY 3 CENTS WORTH I'M NO EXBERT FOR SURE
HAVE A GOOD ONE
-DUALLY,OR SUB. AND I FEEL I CAN CONTROL THE TRUCK ,WITH THE A B S WORKING YOUR GOING TO GO STRAIGHT INTO WHAT EVER IS AHEAD (SOMETIMES BAD DEAL) BUT YOU WILL GO STRAIGHT ,I HAD RATHER DECIDE TO GO STRAIGHT OR TURN
JUST MY 3 CENTS WORTH I'M NO EXBERT FOR SURE
HAVE A GOOD ONE
#18
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I do most of my traveling/trailering in the winter to go snowmobiling. I've put thousands of miles on either driving to my cabin or all over the UP in the past 10 years.
In my opinion ABS is the best thing expecially when towing, When your on glare ice NOTHING is going to help you. But if you can keep the truck/trailer straight your way ahead of the game..it gives you a chance to drive thru the situation. Without ABS on a slippery surface the truck will always tend to get crossed up when trying to stop and with the added weight of a trailer your most likely going to lose control.
In my opinion ABS is the best thing expecially when towing, When your on glare ice NOTHING is going to help you. But if you can keep the truck/trailer straight your way ahead of the game..it gives you a chance to drive thru the situation. Without ABS on a slippery surface the truck will always tend to get crossed up when trying to stop and with the added weight of a trailer your most likely going to lose control.