russellhq

Having come from older cars with less sophisticated braking systems I was wondering about the correct technique in the S.

I've noticed on a few occasions when braking hard that the pedal goes light and has a "gravely" feeling. I presume this is the ABS system kicking in. Does one continue to apply the same pressure or do you back off and re-apply i.e. pumping the brakes. Therefore the aim is not to get this light feeling and stay behind it or do we just squeese the brakes and let the ABS system do all the work? What I'm really getting at is, how sophisticated is the ABS system? Do you let it do all the work or do you compensate and introduce your own braking technique?

Paper Lawyer

When the ABS kicks in you should lift slightly off the brake pedal. This is the technique taught on a 1st lotus day (see one of the firs tlinks in my sig).

chilled

If you're track driving, or don't need to avoid something then do as Craig says. If you're going to hit something and need to steer around it whilst slowing, keep your foot on the brake.

ABS is designed to let you stay in control of the car whilst slowing, not to help you brake quicker.

incidentally, in the snow, keeping your foot on the brake will help you steer the car. It won't slow you at all though.

Dembo

:idisagree

ABS can't know what you're planning on doing. If you need to swerve around a vehicle in front, you'd be better off easing off the brake whilst turning, and possibly then moving to the throttle to keep the back under control. That's all assuming you have room to do it, and have time to think about it.

One lesson on the 1st Lotus thing was that braking helps you turn quicker (i.e. trail braking), but too much braking just causes understeer as the front tyres are overwhelmed. ABS doesn't necessarily help with that, it'll just stop the front wheels locking. Maybe the more advanced stability programs can work all this out, but I don't think ABS is that clever.

ABS is designed to make things less bad for people who stand on the brake pedal in panic. A good driver should be able to do better.

Pete Findlay

IMO, if you're regularly hitting the ABS in the course or normal or even 'spirited' driving on the road, the solution is to either:
- don't drive so fast
- brake earlier and less severely

Once you're at the ABS trigger point you have absolutely no margin left for deceleration and only a minimal amount of margin left on tyre grip (thanks to the ABS). That can't be a good place to be on a road...

jml

Ah , finally the voice of reason

m1bjr

What does the owners manual say?

What I would add is that I activate ABS occasionally in fairly normal driving as a result of piles of chippings and pot holes that are prevalent in Somersets B roads. Normally at junctions. However, as Pete rightly says, this is a warning you are already beginning to get out of shape!

Dembo

So as you crest the hill and see stopped traffic in front of you on a wet road covered in diesel, do you:

a) Think "that serves me right for going not allowing enough stopping distance" and happily slide into the cars in front causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and risking injury to yourself, your passengers and the people in the car(s) in front, assured in the knowledge that you deserve it.

or

b) Think "I wish I'd listened to those people talking about advanced driving techniques as maybe I'd have a chance at avoiding the accident, instead of getting on my high horse about driving too fast and braking too late".

Of course you shouldn't be using ABS regularly, but that's not really the point.

russellhq

My post seems to have been a bit misleading. My enquiry was centred around the ABS system and it's use in general road driving. My experience of the ABS systems effects have been limited to brake testing and not when out and about driving in general. I want to be aware of the limits of my car and what I can expect to happen when I reach or exceed them. If an emergency were to arise, I'd like to know what my car is doing and why it's doing it. Fore warned is fore armed or however that goes

euan

I thought the posts above had answered your question?

In normal driving the ABS should not be activating, including "pressing on".


Other than deliberately provoked on very loose surfaces eg snow, gravel, my ABS has activated only c 5 times since 2002 when I got my first S - c 40k miles ago, much of which has been spirited driving on twisties, often on poor rural roads.