Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 20:14:50 -0600 From: Ben Millard <bmillardnopsamraccess.com> Subject: Re: How to stop in snow
Bert Hyman wrote: > In article <74pc6g$la$1nopsam1.dejanews.com>, <bigreennopsamejanews.com> wrote: > >I have a 1991 Saab 900 with ABS. I spend a lot of time driving in snow and > >generally ugly roads. Can someone tell me the "proper" way to stop on snow > >with ABS? Some preliminary tests showed I can stop considerably faster easing > >of the brakes before ABS kicks in than by mashing the pedal as some suggest. > > > I too spend a lot of time driving in snow (although, so far not this year!). > I've concluded that ABS is great for people who either don't get a lot > of practice stopping on slippery surfaces or, for some reason, never quite > got the hang of it. > > If you've got a lifetime of experience driving and stopping on ice and snow, > and you're REALLY good at it, you can probably stop faster without activating > the ABS; otherwise, just stomp on the brakes and let the car think for you. > It was widely printed by the car rags at the time of ABS's mass introduction (No, not the TRW system on trucks in 73 or GM's experiments in the 60's) that deactivating the ABS for snow or loose surfaces "made sense." Some of you might have seen (was it Mercedes?) some of the early Bosch systems with a switch that either deactivated or "altered" the ABS's resolution. Fact is, friends, ABS wins in some many more situations than not that it's probably wiser to keep using it. One thing's pretty certain: stomping on ABS in the snow still preserves directional control, as plowing tires do not muster slip angles like they were designed to. Don't pull the fuse on it yet, but when speed, distance and time permit, you may indeed get satisfying results by working the brakes just to the ABS inititiation. BTW: Anyone played with the new MB system that puts the brakes on faster than humanly possible in an emergency? (I guess it accelerates/amplifies any hig-amplitude/high-frequency pressure increases.) Cheers All, Ben
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