Is it just me....

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Is it just me or do you hate driving a vehicle with ABS in the the snow?

I came VERY close to crashing today. I feel the close call could have been avoided if my truck did not have ABS.

I was keeping pace behind a tow truck on a 4 lane road with a jersey barrier. The left lane was snow covered. There was some slightly visible asphalt in the right lane. we drove right into a storm. It happened quickly. Sky went dark and so much snow you couldn't see very far in front of you.

The conditions changed so fast, it was odd. Anyways, tow truck guy slams his brakes and gets sideways. He is halfway in each lane. I hit my brakes and hear that awful ABS noise. It's like a mechanical cacophony. My truck does not slow down at all. I am approaching the tow truck quickly! Space to the left appears greater than right so I get in the left lane and scoot between the jersey barrier and the truck.
All the while my ABS is groaning and I've only scrubbed off a few MPH. I look ahead and see a car with their flashers on, facing me. I finally stopped a few feet short of it.

We do a lot of work up in mountainous areas. In the winter, I've come down off some of the hills standing on the brake pedal cursing the abs as I purposely drive into a drainage swale to scrub speed.

In severe conditions, I'd rather skid than not slow down at all! Is it just me?

 

[CustomMax]

Totally agree Mike, it sucks.

 

[sdt354]

Hate ABS. I disconnected it on my Silverado and like the brakes way better now. Nice and firm
all the time. It never skids in 4wd auto, seldom in 2wd.

 

[adambweird]

I disconnected it on my 95 dakota and thankfully my 04 dakota dosent have it! Never liked the feel of it or the lack of control the system makes me feel.

 

[silverado6x6]

I love my abs on my 2002 Silverado dually all wheel drive, trick to it is this, use real all season tires, ones that actually work in the snow, have block style tread and siping, and then get more weight in the bed, I fill mine with concrete block.
Granted it's difficult to most folks in the lower 48, we have a real 6 month long winter up here, no tire chains and I stopped using studded tires years ago since the silica based stud less tires came out like the Bridgestone Blizzaks. Awesome tire, highly recommended.

 

[scuff]

If you pump your abs they will act like standard brakes, I've used this trick a couple of time's it works, but I like my abs does take some getting used to though, glad you came out of it ok could have been bad really bad.

 

[maxcruiser]

I also don't like ABS brakes, but what I hate more is traction/stability control that really doesn't shut off.

Today's vehicles has taken the Driver out the equation. With traction & stability control, ABS brakes, accident avoidance systems, self parallel parking system, etc, etc etc.... I find that most of today's are not fun to drive.

Mike

 

[Miles Long]

Today's vehicles has taken the Driver out the equation. With traction & stability control, ABS brakes, accident avoidance systems, self parallel parking system, etc, etc etc.... I find that most of today's are not fun to drive.
Mike

Yup, no fun, but the less effort needed for driving means the more we can concentrate on TEXTING. Yippee!:eusa_dance:

 

[adambweird]

I also don't like ABS brakes, but what I hate more is traction/stability control that really doesn't shut off.

Today's vehicles has taken the Driver out the equation. With traction & stability control, ABS brakes, accident avoidance systems, self parallel parking system, etc, etc etc.... I find that most of today's are not fun to drive.

Mike

Unplug the sensors at the wheels and put some tape over the idiot light, shouldnt cause any issues. There might be a sensor on the trans as well but not quite sure. Im personally opposed to things like abs and traction control. My parents taught me well and i became obsessed with being able to outperform my dad (PHENOMINAL driving enthusiest), im close, but his age n trechery is still trumping me, lol. I understand the desire for driving aides to help keep people safe on the roads, but for those of us that dont want that sort of thing, we should be able to TRULY turn the systems off without having to unplug things and tape over warning lights.

 

[Redbone]

My antilock brakes stopped functioning 6-7 years ago on my 1/2 ton, No issues in my book! The Firestone tires are great tires until the temps drop which makes the rubber too hard to grip on anything. They work great on mud, sand and dirt in general but just let the snow and temps fall they are a marginal winter tire. My Goodyear wrangler's were a much better tire in the winter. I'm stuck with the Firestone's for a few more years since I'm only putting like 5k miles a year in the truck.
My Terrain has anti lock brakes, traction and stability control which I didn't like the stability control the most. It takes the fun out of drifting around corners! I have real snow tires on it so I don't mind the antilock so much but the traction control is a useless gadget for sure. The snow tires made a night and day difference in how the Terrain goes in the snow.

 

[sdt354]

Unplug the sensors at the wheels and put some tape over the idiot light, shouldnt cause any issues. There might be a sensor on the trans as well but not quite sure. Im personally opposed to things like abs and traction control. My parents taught me well and i became obsessed with being able to outperform my dad (PHENOMINAL driving enthusiest), im close, but his age n trechery is still trumping me, lol. I understand the desire for driving aides to help keep people safe on the roads, but for those of us that dont want that sort of thing, we should be able to TRULY turn the systems off without having to unplug things and tape over warning lights.

Tape over the idiot light

. I have a friend.....

 

[Traumahawk]

I have traction control on the FRS. It sucks. There are times in Dallas...Houston...etc, that you casically have to dive out into traffic. If not.....you will wait there a while. So.....you dive out into traffic....stomp on the gas.....and it suddenly just lays down in traffic. NOT a good feeling.

 

[invalidsession]

There are several conditions in which ABS is less than ideal, snow and gravel being a couple of them. In snow for example, regular locked wheels will create a wedge of snow under the tires which assists the vehicle to stop faster. The main advantage of ABS is that it allows a measure of steering control and better braking in certain slippery conditions. It would be nice if manufacturers could provide the system with a switch to disable it but in these litigious times it's not going to happen.


Chris.

 

[adambweird]

Nice FRS Eric! Ive liked em since they were introduced... but alas, im just too built to large to fit comfortably behind the wheel, lol. Been in em plenty at the Detroit auto show to understand their space limitations. Plus, they need a turbo to fully wake up the motor which is available in a complete bolt on kit. Might have to cut back on the dyno sessions to save up some money for it, lol.

 

[Traumahawk]

Nice FRS Eric! Ive liked em since they were introduced... but alas, im just too built to large to fit comfortably behind the wheel, lol. Been in em plenty at the Detroit auto show to understand their space limitations. Plus, they need a turbo to fully wake up the motor which is available in a complete bolt on kit. Might have to cut back on the dyno sessions to save up some money for it, lol.

LOL.....there is a supercharger for it......and if it is installed by the dealership, its warranted just like the rest of the engine, the problem is its 6000 just for the supercharger.