driving w/o ABS

Hey everybody,

I know this is an iffy spot for this topic, but I trust all your opinions.

I am taking a road trip (2 days) in January through some extremely snowy roads with a friend in his car

The problem is that his car is not equipped with ABS, its a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am...

I have never driven a car without ABS and to be honest I have no idea what to expect when I hit the brakes...I know that I can easily lock up the wheels and put it in a crazy spin very easily

Can I get some tips and suggestions on driving sans ABS

Dude, you have to have a heavy foot to lock them up. Do you engage your ABS every time you use the brakes? My advice is just get used to your friend's car and take it easy.

I drove 1400 miles round trip without ABS in my old LeSabre, through the mountains none the less. It can be done if it's mostly highway driving like mine was and not during the winter. Good luck...lol

my car doesnt have ABS. i drove everywhere last winter and didnt have a problem, of course i had my little black ice thing a couple days ago but that didnt involve brakes what so ever. i dont mind non ABS at all. you just gotta remeber that if u lock them up to let som pressure off and get the wheels spinning again. if you just keep skidding em your screwed. but if the brakes lock up ur not gonna just start spinning, youll slide whichever way ur goin, i guess if it fwd and ur turnin it could be like using an ebrake... dont worry about it tho just drive carefully. really you shouldnt ever have to lock them up.

My car doesn't have ABS and it's fine in the winter. Just take it easy on the brakes and you'll be fine. Leave A LOT of room for stopping if it's snowy. If you can ease into the stop for a long time you won't lose traction.

I drive a 2000 lb car with no ABS. Just leave plenty of stopping room in front of you, and be easy on the brake. If you feel it lock up, then ease up on it a bit, and pump it.

Let me rephrase that, i didn't even have regular brake line pressure, the pressure i put on the brakes with the pedal is the pressure that was put on them....i lost all brakes...lol

as in no power breaks :D

lol i bet that was fun, got ur leg workout in every time you drove.

I was udner the impression for saftey reasons that every car made after like, 1999 or something like that as had ABS...shit, even motorcycles have ABS now.

I was udner the impression for saftey reasons that every car made after like, 1999 or something like that as had ABS...shit, even motorcycles have ABS now.

well im pretty sure its standard but non abs was an option for my car, looks like whoever initially bought it thought saving some money was more important. but like i said i dont really care either way.

Thanks for the tips so far, Im definately going to leave some space between cars

My friend said he's just going to pump the brakes...but I heard that doesn't really help...does it?

Only if they lock up.

Seriously... ABS only works when you floor the brake pedal to the ground. Do it on your car some time(the one WITH ABS lol) froma reasonable speed, you should see the ABS or LOW TRACTION light or something to that effect come on. That is the only time that ABS functions.

You don't need to pump the brakes for regular stopping.

ONLY if you lock up.

And unless the snow on the ground is VERY low(like <1in or so) then in the snow I've heard that locking up the wheels will stop you faster, assuming tires have good tread and in good condition. This is because the wheels will pack snow in front of the tires and help add more friction.

But don't go locking up the wheels in the snow on purpose :lol2:

2003 Grand Am?? No ABS??

I thought that was standard on any Grand Am.

ABS is for panic situations... or for mostly people who don't pay attention to the road.

Just don't be a tool, and you'll be okay.

The ABS on those grand ams sucked anyway

Just make sure you don't steer and brake at the same time, always accelerate and brake when going in a straight line if you hit any snow or ice.

also if your skidding you cant turn... have to get those wheels rolling

The ABS on those grand ams sucked anyway
Explain.

Mine works great, just as it should. Only when I need it....which isn't very often.

its better to not have abs in the snow anyway

No ABS here. Except my super braking skills.lol

I can actually hold the brake pedal in just the right position for a given speed to get a very steady chirp, but not slide. Like human ABS.lol

I just felt that the ABS on those Grand Ams operated a bit erratically and was a little intrusive. I'm sure it worked fine from a safety standpoint. I guess my main pet peeve is that it felt intrusive.

I just felt that the ABS on those Grand Ams operated a bit erratically and was a little intrusive. I'm sure it worked fine from a safety standpoint. I guess my main pet peeve is that it felt intrusive.


:iagree:

Intrusive??
Like it activates when it shouldn't?
Not sure I quite get it. Not that it matters I guess.

I don't think I've ever driven a car with ABS... :(

I don't think I've ever driven a car with ABS... :(

OMG!!!11 You are SOOOO!!!!!1...not missing a damn thing.lol

I saw this demonstration on TV once showing the difference between ABS and non ABS

it was just a thin layer of water, the ABS stoped very quickly with very little lateral movement

The non ABS put the car in a major spin and the car spun around 3 or 4 times with the driver showing no sign of control

I guess that dem affected me and freaked me out a lil on non ABS...Stupid TV

I saw this demonstration on TV once showing the difference between ABS and non ABS

it was just a thin layer of water, the ABS stoped very quickly with very little lateral movement

The non ABS put the car in a major spin and the car spun around 3 or 4 times with the driver showing no sign of control

I guess that dem affected me and freaked me out a lil on non ABS...Stupid TV

yeah its what the driver does thats important

ABS activates for emergency situations - panic stops only. The ABS shouldn't activate during normal driving (even if you're driving hard or racing). In the demo where the car without ABS spins out of control - that happened because the driver slammed on the brakes (simulating a panic stop). It was intended to show how ABS allows you to have full control of the car even with the brake pedal mashed to the floor.

ABS activates for emergency situations - panic stops only. The ABS shouldn't activate during normal driving (even if you're driving hard or racing). In the demo where the car without ABS spins out of control - that happened because the driver slammed on the brakes (simulating a panic stop). It was intended to show how ABS allows you to have full control of the car even with the brake pedal mashed to the floor.

if youre driving hard/racing it will kick in if it senses that a wheel will lock

not sure where you got your info from

if youre driving hard/racing it will kick in if it senses that a wheel will lock

not sure where you got your info from

You shouldn't lock your wheels if your racing...it slows you down. I'm not saying that the ABS doesn't kick in when you're racing, I'm saying that if you've locked your wheels/activated the ABS while racing you need to practice your braking technique.

speaking of driving without ABS... its snowin like crazy here. i love it.

i dive w/o ABS all the time. the only difference i noticed is that the brakes DONT lock up at all. in my current car, i dont have ABS and i can only hold the brake petal down so far untill i feel a slight nudge when the brakes will lock if i press even harder. It's no big deal, but if you need to stop in a hurry, all you can do is pull e-brake and pump them brakes. thats saved me numerous times from damn people driving in Jeeps going faster than me(which is like 20 over the speed limit) in the snow and spin out. otherwise it's a breeze to drive unless their wet which makes you pump them.