No ABS!?

[Icemaster]

Does anyone know how much it would cost, to put on ABS into a non ABS rx-7? Sorry bout the double post accident.

[Steel]

bah, ABS is for wussies. It makes sliding around nearly impossible!

[Icemaster]

u soooooooo just made my day!!!!!

[Soyo]

ok so I know this is an old post, and you'll all probably be pissed for me bringing it back up, but no one answered the question, and steel your retarded for saying it makes it almost impossible to get sideways, maybe it makes it a little harder but still very capable, if you can't get it sideways with ABS then you just can't drive that well I guess, so anyways how much would it cost? what all would have to be done?

['92 S13]

personally, i wouldnt get the abs, in fact, if i had a car with abs, i would try to remove it. in the hands (feet?) of a talented driver, having no abs can be far more effective than abs. its kind of like comparing manual to automatic. auto is a whole lot easier, but once you get the hang of manual, you can do a whole lot more things and control your car better.

[Soyo]

I agree with you there, my car now doesn't have abs and I can stop just fine, both my parents cars have abs and I think its uncomfortable the way it kinda jerks when you slam it hard cuz it lets off every so often ya know(hense anit-lock) but I'm just curious because who knows, maybe when I sell it some old person will be like it doesn't have ABS I don't want it, then I'll be like ok throw on some ABS and walla, doubtful but ya know

[Jims5543]

I will disagree. ABS is very usefull when you are driving your car at the limit. I dont mean drifting I mean road course and Autocross. I normally Autocross my RX-7 it does not have ABS. One event I drove my wifes Mustang GT it has ABS it was amazing the difference!

I could late brake corners and not worry about lockup. Once I got used to the ABS I was able to use it to my advantage I would brake really late and use trail braking to rotate the car.

Peronally I would love to add ABS to my RX-7. I just ruined a $250 Hoosier slick last month because I was braking too deep and locking up my left front. I flat spotted it and then by the end of the day cord was showing through the flat spot.

So you have my vote to do it.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by '92 S13

personally, i wouldnt get the abs, in fact, if i had a car with abs, i would try to remove it. in the hands (feet?) of a talented driver, having no abs can be far more effective than abs. its kind of like comparing manual to automatic. auto is a whole lot easier, but once you get the hang of manual, you can do a whole lot more things and control your car better.

Thats why Formula One cars all have ABS. You cannot compare ABS to an Auto tranny its not even close to being the same.

[Soyo]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

Thats why Formula One cars all have ABS. You cannot compare ABS to an Auto tranny its not even close to being the same.

compare ABS to an auto tranny? what are you talking about?


and someone please tell the price if you know it... thats kinda the point of this thread

[Jims5543]

Auto tranny to manual tranny - ABS or no ABS you cannot compare the two.

Originally Posted by '92 S13

its kind of like comparing manual to automatic. auto is a whole lot easier, but once you get the hang of manual, you can do a whole lot more things and control your car better.

[Soyo]

ooohhhh I get what your saying now, I thought you were comparing and auto tranny to ABS haha but now it all makes sense

['92 S13]

of course you can compare the two. no one can argue that a manual transmission can out perform an auto, right? well the same goes for abs and no abs in SOME cases. all i was saying was that if a talented driver is driving, having no abs can be better than having abs. if youre not that talented, having abs can be a big advantage. this isnt even something that can be argued. because of the way abs works (im assuming you all know how it works), abs can never use the full potential of the tires and brakes. when not using abs, you can use the full potential because the brakes dont intermittently let go, as with abs. I mean, of course if you slam on the brakes without abs you'll just skid, but thats what i mean about a talented driver, he can brake hard without skidding. having no abs can also leave your options open though when driving. some advanced driving maneuvers, you cant pull with abs. sometimes you need the locking of the tires.

[Jims5543]

ABS = Anti-Lock Braking System
ABS - gets your car right on the endge of locking up and keeps it there which means you are stopping the hardest possible without wheel lock.

Formula 1 uses ABS and has Auto gearboxes that can be programed. Did you watch trading paint on Speedvision when they put Gordon in Motoya's F-1 car they programed the tranny to full auto so he could conentrate on just driving it.

When Montoya got into Gordons car he kept locking up the front left tire because he was braking into turn 1. Are you telling me Motoya is not a good driver because he was locking up the tires on Gordons car??

When I autocross with my RX-7 I have to be extra careful to ease off the brakes as I turn the wheel or I will see lockup on the outside tire.
I have to do all my braking in a straight line. Once I turn the wheel I have to be easing up on the brakes.

Pay attention to this:

Once a car brakes to the point of lock up the car is not longer affectivly braking

That means with ABS a computer is getting the car to the threashold of lockup and keeping it there thus optimum braking.

Without ABS you have to move your brake pedal up and down trying to find the threshhold if you pass it you must ease up and re-apply wasting valuble time.

I have driven cars aggressivly with and without ABS I will tell you that ABS will achieve the cars full potential in stopping. Again once a car locks up its brakes it is no longer braking efficiently. Trying to get to that threashold on your own wastes time and makes you slower.


Auto Trannies on street cars will hinder your ability to drive fast a racing auto gearbox is a totally different animal. Race car teams learned long ago that an Auto gear box is more efficient than a manual.

Now on a street car you and I drive we do not have that luxury but, again, comparing ABS to an Auto gear box is wrong. ABS enhances your ability to stop the shortest distance possible without lockup. ABS is a performance enhancer an Auto tranny on a street car is not.

['92 S13]

You did raise up some very valuable points there with the F1 cars, but im not talking about F1. Im merely talking street cars, such as rx-7's, seeing as how this is in the rx7 thread. I am not saying motoya isnt a good driver at all. hes just not used to gordons car. you cant go from one car to another and be able to push the limits on them right aways. give motoya some more time to get used to gordons car and he wouldnt lock up the tires.

and i know that locking up the tires isnt an effective way of braking, but thats why abs isnt that great. living up in the great white north, i have to deal with a lot of driving in the ice and snow, and having abs is a death trap. maybe this is not true for tarmac/asphalt, but when i brake hard on the ice with abs, the tires lock up completely, and then let go, and repeat the cycle. at all the times when the brakes lock up, braking effectiveness is obviously reduced. no abs is a great advantage when on ice, i just assumed it would be the same for asphalt.

[Miataracer]

ABS must be disabled for SCCA road racing.... if you are locking wheels you are either panicing or just don't know the limits well enough

that being said, to convert a car to abs that does not have it... it would probably be easiest to go find a matching car in a junk yard and steal virtually all of its braking system, them put all of that onto your car. it would be a long complicated process, can't tell you how much it would cost