FD Antilock Brakes - Do they really work??

[noyzboy]

My ABS light comes on when I turn the ignition key and then goes out as required, which I assume to mean the ABS is OK.
 However I have never been convinced that my antilock system actually works.
 At an recent autosolo on a good surface I had many front brake lockups.
Question: Is the FD ABS system any good.
Are you supposed to be able to feel the brake pedal doing a shimmy ( like on VWs)
Is there any other way of checking if the system is doing what it\'s supposed to do.

Any advice out there ??

 Martin H

[chrisJDM]

this is quite an interesting question, i dont think ive ever had to brake hard enough to find out so would be good to hear the answer :Thumbsup!

[iaint]

I can\'t comment on your BAS but it works on mine!  Experienced it coming on on the road a couple of times in the wet and on track but it\'s not a massively intrusive ABS and you do have to work it hard to get any action!

Certainly never locked a wheel on mine.

[RobbieRX-7]

The ABS on an fd does and should work brilliantly. It\'s very unobtrusive and not very noticeable when it is working, unlike some cars ive driven where you feel the pedal vibrate. I tried pretty hard to get mine to lock up and couldn\'t. You should change the brake fluid every 2 years to keep the whole system in top condition. If you don\'t change it,  the fluid attracts moisture causing the solenoids to rust and play up!

[Nik da Greek]

The ABS, as has been said, seems pretty good on the FD. More to the point, when mine didn\'t work it was easy to spot by the simple expedient of locking up the wheels a few times!

[grinder]

i suppose a simple way to test is to either brake really hard on loose gravel or take it out when its icey ( although i dont recommend the 2nd idea ! )

[Bobbit]

Mine works fine, only had it kick in twice and each time it was hard to detect but you can tell it\'s working.

[johnm]

If the lamp is going out as required and the ABS come on at low speed there will be a problem with the inductance ring on either one of the wheels.  Normally a crack or major rust issue, which is affecting what the ABS computer sees as an imbalance in wheel speed.  How to diagnose - you need an ABS diagnostics system/laptop hooked up to the ABS diagnostics port and take the car for a drive.  The dignostics will tell you which wheel has the issue.  Just had a similar issue with my Alfa, new inductance ring problem sorted.  Garages are rubbish at diagnostics and will want to sell you pick-up probes, ABS computer etc.  The fact the light goes out when it should, says the system is working as it should, just getting a signal not in line with what it is expecting - the reluctance ring is the only thing that can do that.  
 
FYI - the relectance ring, is the ring that rotates with wheel, the pick up probe is a small electro-magnet, the ring causes the lines of magnetic flux to be broken and cause an ac voltage.  The ABS computer looks at the frequency of the resultant voltage, once the difference in frequency get beyond a set tolerance, the ABS responds by altering braking force at one or more wheels.

[grinder]

the betters half scenic had issues with a broken ring , but it was attached to the drive shaft - so not a simple job

but at least the garage knew what it was and didnt go down the route of ABS computer etc...

[leon]

Mine worked flawlessly ive only once had to stamp on the brakes in anger and that was when the number 254 arriva bus was coming through a bridge on the wrong side of the road :Nono!

[nuki]

ABS on my FD is shocking!i Hate ABS with a passion in general.. Almost caused me to crash many times when its kicked in.. Once made me judder that far forward i had to mount the curb to not hit the back of a sudden stopping car. Where as if i had of lost traction and slid i would of stopped well before the rear of the guys car.put it this way.. if i had time to think i cant stop and mount the curb then u can imagine how long the ABS was juddering for... It just feels like when the abs kicks in it takes you 20 times longer to stop. as i would prefer to loose traction and control the skid myself. Hard to explain but I know what I meen.

[nuki]

this is a little text out of an ABS book.

The anti-lock
brake system
(ABS) was
designed in the
1970’s as a
mechanical solution
to brake
lock-up, which
can result in

spinouts and crashes. <<<<<<<<<<<<<< I can understand this... if your going 100mph.. but not 30mph like i was doing when it wouldnt physically let me stop fast.

Anti-lock Braking Systems
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]“More efficient brakes on an automobile will not, in
themselves, make an automobile any safer.” This statement,
made more than 50 years ago by two psychologists,

Gibson and Crooks, is still applicable today.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< I am sure Everybody on this forum will have an Opinion to this..

ABS is designed to stop a vehicle in
a shorter distance than if the vehicle

had skidded to a stop. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< in some circumstances.. YES but from my Experiences.. NO.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Aubec]

this is a little text out of an ABS book.

 

The anti-lock
brake system
(ABS) was
designed in the
1970’s as a
mechanical solution
to brake
lock-up, which
can result in

spinouts and crashes. <<<<<<<<<<<<<< I can understand this... if your going 100mph.. but not 30mph like i was doing when it wouldnt physically let me stop fast.
 

Anti-lock Braking Systems
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]“More efficient brakes on an automobile will not, in
themselves, make an automobile any safer.” This statement,
made more than 50 years ago by two psychologists,

Gibson and Crooks, is still applicable today.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< I am sure Everybody on this forum will have an Opinion to this..
 

ABS is designed to stop a vehicle in
a shorter distance than if the vehicle

had skidded to a stop. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< in some circumstances.. YES but from my Experiences.. NO.[/COLOR][/FONT]

I\'d debate this, the purpose of ABS is to allow you to remain in control of the direction of the car while braking hard.  If the wheels lock up you will continue in the direction of travel, or if you make a hard steering input you will spin out if at speed.
 
With ABS the wheels keep moving, allowing you to swerve AS WELL AS braking hard.  ABS does increase the overall stopping distance versus a carefully applied firm braking force just short of locking - thats why ABS is usually removed/disabled for track cars.  The problem is not very many drivers are skilled enough in an emergency to apply a \'just right\' amount of braking - the vast majority will just slam on the anchors as hard as they can, and then lock up, even more so in slippy conditions.

[RobbieRX-7]

ABS on my FD is shocking!i Hate ABS with a passion in general.. Almost caused me to crash many times when its kicked in.. Once made me judder that far forward i had to mount the curb to not hit the back of a sudden stopping car. Where as if i had of lost traction and slid i would of stopped well before the rear of the guys car.put it this way.. if i had time to think i cant stop and mount the curb then u can imagine how long the ABS was juddering for... It just feels like when the abs kicks in it takes you 20 times longer to stop. as i would prefer to loose traction and control the skid myself. Hard to explain but I know what I meen.

I know exactly what you mean. I had the same issue on my old 1995 rover 416. absolutely shocking performance when it did kick in, it seemd to take twice as long to stop.

[Aubec]

Have you guys actually driven a normal road car without abs and locked the wheels? It ain\'t stopping quickly when it locks and slides!