turning off ABS - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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turning off ABS
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 8:10 PM
Is it just a matter of pulling a relay somewhere? Will the light on my dash stay on?

My car stops MUCH better with it off (Which I currently do just by turning on the hazards for a few seconds.) and I know how to pump the brakes to turn, so I'm sure I'd like to disable it.




Re: turning off ABS
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:00 PM
yeah the simplest way is pulling the fuse under the hood, but your light will be on. I dont know of another way so the light is not on, but if you dont mind it (i never did) the fuse should be a 20 amp under the hood.



Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
Re: turning off ABS
Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:51 PM
I could not bring myself to trust the brakes on a car that has ABS with the unit disabled.

If you bring the emergency brake up one click on my '05 it turns the traction control off which is nice for burnouts but I'm not sure if it disables the benefits of the ABS. That may be a better idea than pulling the fuse if you absolutely positively have to disable it.
Re: turning off ABS
Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:55 PM
I have great winter tires, and ABS TRIPLES my stopping distance. Sure it lets me steer, but what good is that in rush hour traffic where you can't swerve around something?



Re: turning off ABS
Thursday, November 20, 2008 10:03 PM
If ABS is tripling your stopping distance something is wrong with the unit. ABS works with the wheel speed sensors to stop the wheels from slipping contact with the ground. This is done on a microsecond response time. Human response time from the eye to recognition of a problem to actual controlled application of the foot brake is somewhere in the .75 to 1 second range for the fittest of athletes.

I would say you need to service the brake system on the car. Start with a good scan tool that can read live data and see what the unit is doing. It's possible it could be preventing proper caliper/cylinder application when it's on and that's why you get better brake performance when the unit is unplugged.
Re: turning off ABS
Friday, November 21, 2008 9:42 PM
I disagree charlie. No disrespect, but i happen to think that some drivers (myself included) can react quicker than the ABS system, i learned to drive in a ford contour 5 spd, in the snow. No ABS. and i think its just faster and better if i dont have to rely on a computer to do my job.

However, since all of my cars currently have ABS, i have to deal. and since its impossible to find the kinds of cars I'm interested in that don't have it as standard equipment, I better get used to the idea...

The last car I had with no ABS was a 2002 Ford ZX-2 Sport. Had a 2.0L DOHC and a 5spd, and i had her modded to the hilt. Went the N/A route and never regretted it. Sold it though and i regret that even though I got $6,500 for a car that was only worth $4,000 tops.


2006 Honda Civic EX Sedan AT-Galaxy Grey Metallic Pearl, 37,000 miles,Loaded with everything except Leather and Nav, Tint-5% rear, 20% front, Calipers painted Subaru WR Blue, Ipod Integration, XenonDepot 4300K HID Conversion kit, Debadged, Optima Red-Top, No performance mods because its an auto, and its under warranty.


Re: turning off ABS
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:18 AM
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of ABS either. As far as my opinion goes it's just another part to break but as you said, we all have to deal with it at some point. I could have easily said to Brad just tear out the unit, tee the front lines to the primary on the master and pipe in an adjustable prop valve from Summit to the second stage to get the rear to behave but I don't like to push someone into a job where he could get hurt or worse, hurt someone else. Especially when I don't know his abilites. I don't doubt that some of us may prefer no ABS. I loved drifting my '85 Z28 back when no one knew what drifting was (even me) and you can't do that easily with today's cars with traction control, ABS, active handling, etc.

BTW, don't ever worry about hurting my feelings. My second wife has destroyed any emotions I might have...

Don't tell her I said that.
Re: turning off ABS
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:15 AM
To be fair, I'd say the ABS system on the early 3rd-gen Cavaliers is pretty brutal. I hope they improved it in later models as I've never driven any to know for sure.

Winter driving is an exercise in THUNK-Ka-THUNK-THUNK-Ka-THUNK-RaTATATATA. The good news is that I always know when my car is experiencing low traction, because it would be easier to ignore a sledgehammer-wielding midget on meth locked in the trunk.

I was discussing this with my co-worker the other day, and she wouldn't believe it was so bad. So I ran out and did a couple of emergency stops on wet pavement. As my car lurched to ungraceful stop, she burst into laughter.

As much as I knock it, the ABS does its job. Would I disable it? No. Do I understand why someone would want to? God yes.




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Re: turning off ABS
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:47 AM
I disable mine every winter because it does triple the length it takes to stop.




"Thank you little roots; Stay strong." Chris Farley
Re: turning off ABS
Thursday, November 27, 2008 8:44 PM
Geeky wrote:To be fair, I'd say the ABS system on the early 3rd-gen Cavaliers is pretty brutal. I hope they improved it in later models as I've never driven any to know for sure.

Winter driving is an exercise in THUNK-Ka-THUNK-THUNK-Ka-THUNK-RaTATATATA. The good news is that I always know when my car is experiencing low traction, because it would be easier to ignore a sledgehammer-wielding midget on meth locked in the trunk.

I was discussing this with my co-worker the other day, and she wouldn't believe it was so bad. So I ran out and did a couple of emergency stops on wet pavement. As my car lurched to ungraceful stop, she burst into laughter.

As much as I knock it, the ABS does its job. Would I disable it? No. Do I understand why someone would want to? God yes.


best explaination ... ever! haha


http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2267189
Re: turning off ABS
Friday, November 28, 2008 10:24 AM
i do have the same problem with my abs system, i think the car stops really good an the abs works fine at high speeds, 100 mph or so, but if you are driving normaly its horrible the rear brakes are so awful that indeed it takes me more distance to stop, i know this cuz once i took the abs fuse and it was better a low speeds, i also learn how to drive and how to stop with cars that had not abs, ( 1983 ford ltd mid-size, 1979 chevy malibu) and it was fun but i can tell you that a car with a decent abs system its way better than that, f.e. 1991 mitsubishi galant stops really really fast in any weather, i guess it has something to do with the fact that the galant has a 4 way abs and the cavys only got 3 way abs oh and of course galants dont have drums on the rear. lol

Re: turning off ABS
Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:32 AM
They tested this on the viper, nothing changed year to year but abs and it stopped better. Now I will be the first to admit that as an old firebird and 80's suburban guy, i tried to pump my cavs brakes that first winter, but honestly you can say what you will for the *admitted* poor quality, but pump and release while making an emergency turn in the snow, it just won't add up. Non abs works fine untill you put other people into the equation.

My biggest initial problem was the lack of *control* of the brakes when i had to trust the abs, but it does work if you let it.



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