Re: [NTLK] ABS and stopping OT,

From: Karel Jansens (kareljansens_at_tiscalinet.be)
Date: Mon Apr 22 2002 - 07:59:46 EDT


On Sunday 21 April 2002 20:13, scOtty teCHnoir wrote:
> ABS is a great thing, especially in winter, rain, etc.
> But standard [let's say disc brakes, no ABS] will stop you sooner that
> those with ABS, *IF* you know how to use them ;)

I guess you must have some darn amazing reflexes, if you manage to
outperform ABS :^) Normal drivers, with ABS, can keep their undivided
attention on the road and the steering wheel, without having to bother
about what their left foot is supposed to do. This is generally perceived
as the main advantage of ABS: You can ram your left foot down and focus on
the stuff on the road in front of you (and most importantly: how to avoid
said stuff).

> why do race cars not
> have ABS? because professional drivers know how to modulate their
> braking properly, employing what is commonly referred to as 'threshold
> braking' where maximum force is applied to the brakes while still not
> quite 'locking them up' [which increases stopping distance and detracts
> from handling considerably ;)]. The advantage standard brakes have when
> modulated properly is that they are not losing miniscule amounts of
> braking force every second, as they do with an ABS system.

I thought the reason race cars don't have ABS is because no-one has come
up with an ABS system (yet) that can 'skid' (*) through a curve.
Admittedly, this is a usefull skill in a formula 1-race, but applying it
on the road is not a very good idea: lateral control in a skid is
rudimentary and - contrary to the race-track - a normal road does tend to
have incoming traffic.

(*) By skidding I don't mean the sliding-countersteer-thing rallye cars
do, but rather - as F1 pilots do - going through a curve with your tyres
just about losing grip, sort of just-not-sliding on your rubber. It
(unsurprisingly) requires a lot of training and a good instinct about the
car you're driving.

-- 
Karel Jansens
kareljansens_at_tiscalinet.be

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