[Guest]

Good aft. all,

I don't care for my ABS when driving on gravel or ice/snow. (while I do like it on wet summer roads)

Is there a way I can disable it? (I have read and searched for threads and don't see any on this topic)

I would like to add a button to my dash and press it to turn them on or off. I would even be happy to wire it to a relay which could possibly open a circuit on a fuse or some such thing. I just don't know if it can harm something...?

If I did this I would expect my ESP to alarm, etc. which I would ignore.

If there is a 'proper' way to do this please let me know!!

Thanks,
DaveH.

 

[gghh]

There is no "proper" way to do this. But it should be possible to do this if you like to ignore the christmas tree of lights in the dash.

If the car thinks there is an ABS fault you will loose some other functions also. ESP, depending on the fault Shiftlock of the automatic gearbox and cruisecontrol. So its not the best idea to do this.

Btw. ABS is a safety feature.....

 

[SectorNine50]

If you disabled ABS you'd loose your speedo as the only way to do so is to cut power to the ABS module. Unfortunately, they pretty much hard wire ABS to cars now-a-days. It may be possible to disconnect the ABS pump, however, I'm not sure what that would entail though, and if your brakes would still function properly. I imagine they would work fine as the pump just pumps against your foot when it needs to.

Can I ask why you'd rather have the ABS disabled in the snow? It doesn't seem like there are any benefits to me at all.

 

[dudethatsnowboards]

you can slip-slide around, but also slip-slide into the back of that car at the stoplight and ruin your nice paintjob

 

[Raven18940]

This has "bad idea" written all over it.

 

[Kermit]

Turn off the ABS in snow/ice conditions. Gotta go with Raven on this one........BAD IDEA.

 

[SectorNine50]

Turn off the ABS in snow/ice conditions. Gotta go with Raven on this one........BAD IDEA.

I gotta say, that before ABS people did this all the time. Some people have gotten accustomed to driving without ABS, however I can't think of a way it would make it any different except that it would respond faster. The wheels can still lock up, and you'll still have to pump your brakes when ABS engages.

 

[valbowski1980]

This has "bad idea" written all over it.

+1

Especially for a heavier car....

 

[Guest]

Hello,

Thanks for all the safety concerns. It's fair to wonder.

I will first aknowledge that I an no certified expert. I am just a decent driver with quite a bit of experience in extream condition racing. (which 'no', I don't do on the road; yet it's possible for a quick response to still be required)

It is also possible I am experiencing a mis-function in my ABS, however my dealer certified it not too long ago.

I know that ABS is better in some environments than others. Gravel for example, your stopping distance will be hugely longer. Simple fact. It is primarily to let you steer when you are 'locked up'. (break to the floor) It can help with stopping time if your ABS is a very expensive system; cheap ones increase stopping distance all over, however still let you steer.

With this in mind sometimes I just want to stop fast and I'm not soo concerned with stearing. I find my car sucks to the umpteenth degree on ice. The ABS will lock a tire for a moment and then un-lock it. It will wait to see the tire turn and then lock again. In the time it takes a tire to start turning on ice, valuable time has gone by. If a tire stays locked it can 'shovel' snow or gravel in front of it, building resistance. If you then let go of the breaks and climb on top of that little pile just to lock up again, you have to push all the build-up aside and start over... sucks for stopping quick.

I have found that going from non ABS vehicles (with premium brakes that all will grab at exactly the same time) to ABS on icey or gravel conditions takes a good bit longer to stop.

I would go soo far as to say that even on nice dry pavement your stopping distance can increase up to 10%. I'm used to stopping within 5 feet of a target from 100 to 150kph using last second breaking. (again, please don't think I'm a street racer, I learned to race on an island in proper envrionments) With ABS I overshoot now.

I do however enjoy the fact that I can steer when breaking fully.

Thanks for any further feedback on idea's of disabling it. I don't want it always disabled by any means. I like the ESP in almost all conditions.

Thanks for your understanding. I in no way wish to sound like a dangerous driver, I am in fact quite the opposite.

DaveH

 

[StevenS]

There's a well-founded argument that you can be better off without ABS on a soft surface, e.g. gravel and loose snow, as locking the wheels allows them to dig into it rather than skimming over the top looking for grip.


Not sure there'd be much in it on ice as with or without ABS you won't find much to grip on.

However, you'd be brave to switch it off, you'd invalidate your insurance and I'm certainly not recommending it

 

[stipud]

Try to learn threshold braking techniques... I do them and rarely if ever trigger ABS in even the worst conditions. If you're fairy footed enough, you can even threshold brake on ice in this car. To me the ABS is a good indicator that I have pressed the brakes too hard and gone well beyond my threshold, so I can then back off a bit and reapply to a point that I can control braking, but not set off the ABS. I have had some other cars trigger ABS even before you are over the threshold, so it doesn't work in this case, but I haven't had this problem with my Saab.

For emergency braking I would not risk removing the ABS system, even though I prefer to drive without it for day to day stuff.

 

[cse_20]

Hi Code,

Have you tried different winter tires for your ice stopping problems?
Just a thought, and apart from the pros and cons of ABS braking under different conditions, maybe looking at the tires would make more sense given how integrated the ABS system is in the car.

Regards,
Cse_20

 

[SectorNine50]

I hate to say it, but I don't see any way for you to disable your ABS without loosing key features...

I must ask, what aspects of your car in the snow don't you like? This may be the best non-awd sedan I've ever driven in the snow.