Most effective way of stopping

[Zcold]

i was travelling along a wet (no puddles) road just now along PIE exit lane to upper serangoon road at around 60km/h behind an off service sbs bus...

 

view on front was blocked so didnt follow closely ...

then the bus jam brake and its wheels locked up...

upon seeing the 4 huge 22.5inch tyres lock up from the back i oso scared.. jam/slam brake and ABS "unlocked" my wheels 3 times....

while hoping that the bus neber crash into anything in front and stop abruptly which may cause me to kiss backside ...

stopped at >1.5m away from the bus...

 

further up front at the bus stop got one swift and 2 bikes parked by the side.. most likely accident... neber see properly

 

 

Question to fellow mcf bros (esp those who track):

Which is the most effective way of stopping a car (shortest braking distance) in a situation like above.. not too sudden but need to react fast kind ?

 

(a) slam on brakes and let ABS do the job or

(b) step on the brake fast but not slam... like step till full in 1 sec instead of "immediate" ... dunno if u guys understand...

© others (pls specify)

 

cos when my ABS activate the braking power doesnt feel stronger than normally when i brake hard n fast....

and i rem reading somewhere that pro drivers actually have shorter stopping distance w/o ABS...

 

thanks in advance for yr comments~!

[Watwheels]

Ram your legs thru the floorboard and stop using your leg power.

 

Perhaps reading this will help u understand more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system.

 

I think your ABS fired more dan 3 times. It happens very fast such that u won't be able to count it. If u can count how many times it was fired, something must be very wrong.

 

My choice would be (a). But if I know road is wet, braking early, keeping a safe distance is a must.

[Ev0lutionz]

Same experience. I say almost. Was travelling on pie changi at about 100kmh towards clementi. Suddenly one lan jiao lang suddenly filter out, causing me to jam brake. Had full house in the car. Wheels skidded, ABS activated also..

[BMW320i]

If you have no experience on the track, than it is strongly suggested that you use ABS.

 

The quickest way to stop a car is not through the use of ABS. If anything, ABS prolongs longer braking distance as compared to proper braking technique.

 

Proper braking technique involves in you applying brake pedal gently and firm to the point just before ABS kicks in. That is your optimum braking force that is available to your existing braking system.

 

If you visit the track, pay special attention to corners after the long straights. Listen for tyre screech. In most cases, race cars drivers apply gentle and firm pressure on brake pedal sometimes to the point where ABS or no ABS kicks in, momentarily locks up the wheels and easing on the brake pedal a little to allow the wheel to resume rotational speed. That is where you hear a quick screech of the tyre noise.

 

Unfortunately this technique cannot be learnt over night. Practice makes perfect.

 

In most cases when drivers panic, they stomp on the brakes and hope for the best until an interesting topographical feature stops the entire car.

 

The best way to learn this is to drive a car with no ABS and go to the track and practice this technique. I do not advice you to do this as its simply overkill and not worth risking your life if you have no experience.

[Watwheels]

Come come watching video is better

 

cos a lot of ppl are not aware how to use ABS to its fullest. It'll help clear any doubts.

 

Stupid driving schools dun teach such things. I find it so important. No wonder sg drivers are so prone to accident.

[Forexter]

ABS doesn't shorten the braking distance but it ensures that your tyres do not lock up thus enabling you to change directions if conditions permit. Maximum braking is just before the ABS kicks in. So, unless you have sufficient experience, I would suggest slamming the brakes and let the ABS do its work, take evasive action if possible.

 

The best solution would still be defensive driving, keeping a safe distance and anticipating thevehicle in front to stop.

[Westender]

Have a question...

Does it help if we upgrade out normal brake to those big brake kit?

My current car have drums at the rear, so does it make it more bias to the front and make thing worse?

Sure it looks great but function I'm not to sure.

[Forexter]

Big Brake Kits helps alot, as the contact patch of the pads and the rotors is larger. Brakes are always biased to the front, whether they are drums or calipers for the rear.

 

Not forgetting the tyres too. The better the tyre, the better grip and will not lock up that easily when stomped on.

[Kr_toy]

For wet roads (not snowing) the best is just to let the ABS to do the job in emergency stop. However, it should only be used as last resort, since unnecessary use of ABS is just make chain collision and increase car insurance premium.

[Evoluzio]

Go watch the latest episode of Top Gear and you'll get an idea on how effective vehicle mods are.

[BMW320i]

Most if not all cars will have front brake bias.

 

Upgrading to big brake kits will not help much if you do not learn or adopt proper braking technique. More often those who upgrade to BBK without improving on their braking technique eventually prolong braking distance through poor braking techniques. Basically they have spent a great deal of money and are not braking in shorter distance because of poor techniques. No point.

 

The additional pistons does not help much but rather the larger rotors and larger surface contact between rotors and pads that truely improve brake performance. The added pistons is simply required to apply even contact pressure between pads and rotors. In most cases, addition pistons add more endurance.

 

Drums do not have as much endurance as compared to disc. Heat are not dissipated as quick as disc. They are ok if you use it for daily driving but if you want some fun occassionally at the track, change to disc. If the cost is too high to change to disc, simply retain the drums and on your next purchase of a car, get one with rear disc.

 

In some cases, race teams running in restricted categories which mandates little mods to the performance of a car, most of them upgrade the front calipers from 4 to 6 piston while leaving the rear factory 2 piston. This is because upgrading to a rear 4 piston may result in too much braking force and unbalance the car. Some upgrade to rear 4 pistons but provided they have brake bias proportioning valve which is cheap but labour cost kills, most would just upgrade the front.

 

If I take the car to the track occassionally, I would upgrade the rear to a disc for longer endurance. But I am not sure what you do with your car so my plans may differ from yours.

 

If you intend to change to disc, make sure you run the same brand and operating temp pads as front to prevent adding or reducing rear brake bias.

[Ixiz]

I am not sure if any bros here tried this method ... But it sure helped me once during wet weathers and some cars in front of me jammed brake (SLE exit to BKE toward Kranji)...I stepped on the brake hard at the curve ...but wheel locked and skidded . (Previous old car no ABS)

 

Don't know if it is instinct or luck... i just think of my handbrake ... Pulled it up slow and steadily (Press button --> Hold up and not let go button)...the car came to a steady halt ...(I think less than 10 cm from the car in front)

 

I was like ....

 

Ps : Think i got lucky that time round ... Maybe 2/10 times might work ... maybe if pull wrongly or too hard might cause the car to spin in circle liao ... But during desperate time didn't think that much ...Even have to use foot to brake like flintstone did also will use ...

Edited November 19, 2008 by Ixiz

[Jonbummer]

some bro had given some good advice

but what u did was indeed the safest

 

which is to go slow, and steady.

and thus brake distance will be much shorter with reaction

time for u to do anything else.

 

i had tried using 'manual ABS'

which is to Step, Let Go, Step on the brake pedal to have

a better sudden brake.

 

this will ensure the tyre will not lock up and spin

also, that the brake will bite in upon the second pedal

pressure.

 

still i feel on public road, the best way to avoid incidents

leading to accidents is to keep a safe distance.

[Westender]

Infomational thanks...

Nah! I don't do track, just love cars and offcasue dressing it up.

[RadX]

If you have not gone for Advance drivers training, just slam the brakes and let it do the work.

 

At ADT, we are taught how to slam, skid and conuter maneuvre safely out of a situation....defensive driving skills

 

 

That is one course that you should invest in....worth every cent

[BMW320i]

My advice of the century is for you to stop using the handbrake to slow you down in the shortest possible distance.

 

When you use the handbrakes you are upsetting the weight balance of your car. In doing so you also run into the strong tendency of locking up your brakes.

 

If you were to lock your rear wheels under deceleration into a corner, you will oversteer and close control of your car until it comes to a complete stop or hit something. Under braking you need to factor in weight transfer to the front. Your rear becomes light momentarily and applying the handbrakes will easily lock your rear wheels.

 

Even if it is deceleration in a straight line, applying handbrakes without locking rear wheels, you are upsetting the balance of the car. You car relies on weight transfer to slow you down effectively.

 

Under braking, weight is transfered from the rear to the front which is precisely the reason why front has more bias than the rear. Due to weight transfer, more load is placed on the front tyres to give it the additional stopping force that is required to slow the car.

 

You do not possess the proper braking technique which is precisely the reason why you skidded without ABS. Applying the handbrake to slow you down is absolutely the wrong braking technique. Please rectify this for your own safety and safety of others.

[Zcold]

Are you a pro driver.

 

No.

Then use ABS that's what it's there for.

 

HTHs

 

nope.. i'm definately not pro...

jus wanna make myself a better driver...

[Zcold]

Ram your legs thru the floorboard and stop using your leg power.

 

Perhaps reading this will help u understand more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system.

 

I think your ABS fired more dan 3 times. It happens very fast such that u won't be able to count it. If u can count how many times it was fired, something must be very wrong.

 

My choice would be (a). But if I know road is wet, braking early, keeping a safe distance is a must.

 

dunno lei.. i could hear the "kung" sound 3 times... counted as i heard and felt it thru my brake pedal... similar to wad i experienced when i was driving the civic es5 years ago in driving sch (where u were supposed to slam the brakes) ...

 

plus i was onli at ard 60+ km/h ...

u really tink my abs got smth wrong?

 

haha.. yeah.. i did keep a considerable distance due to the wet road...