View Single Post
Old 10-27-2007, 03:32 PM   #20
Mr 5 0
Conservative Individualist
 
Mr 5 0's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 1997
Location: Wherever I need to be
Posts: 7,487
Default Re: Do Anti-Lock Brakes Suck?

I'm not an expert but my '90 LX never gave me any trouble stopping from high speeds with it's allegedly undersized brakes and without ABS. I avoided driving it in snow or on slippery surfaces so I can't attest to it's ability in those situations but I can believe that ABS would be a hindrance on slippery surfaces.

I now have an '06 Honda which is a 365-days-a-year daily driver (with ABS) but I haven't experienced a problem with it stopping on wet or slippery surfaces. Of course, I also avoid making hard stops in those conditions, so I may not be the best judge of this.

I suspect that ABS - which has been around a long time - was designed for the average (clueless) driver, not the tuned-in performance-oriented driver that usually pilots a Mustang V-8.

ABS literature mentions that braking may be compromised under 'certain conditions' which is a sly way of telling you that it isn't 'foolproof'. However, I doubt many grocery-getter drivers ever notice that disclaimer in the fine print that follows the description of ABS on their new or used car. In any case, despite it's shortcomings, I doubt that ABS is going away and in fact, it is likely to remain standard equipment on most vehicles for the foreseeable future.
__________________
5.0 Mustang Owner
1990 - 2005
Mr 5 0 is offline   Reply With Quote