how hard is it to convert non ABS car to ABS?

[Quetzolcotl]

i dont know whats involved with this. new sensors, electronics? is it a huge pain in the ass and cost a lot to do? i gotta 95 ex if that goes into consideration. any websites show how this is done?

[90CRXZCSi]

Well your going to need the ABS motor to make everything run properly and of course the rear discs. If you really want to do this i would recommend taking everything from an integra GSR. The ABS system hooks up in a X. The right front tire connects with the left rear tire and so on so if you break one of the lines then you will still have one in the back working and one in the front working.

[Someguy]

I think the short anwser is "Yes, it will be a pain."

I think your best bet would be to do something like 90CRXZCSI suggested, and try to find a totaled GS-R or other Integra family ABS equped car and buy the parts there. Its still going to be PITA though.

[fritz_269]

The ABS computer makes a lot of assumptions about the dynamics of the suspension and the mass distribution of the vehicle that it's in. If it's programmed for a GSR, it'll still be trying to stop a GSR even though it's in an EX. It'll never be as effective as it could be, and this might even lead to worse braking dynamics than you have now - it's hard to tell.

Most ABS computers also have intimate conversations with the ECU. The GSR one won't be able to talk to your EX ECU. You'll have to do some serious thinking about how to get around that one.

I've never heard of a sucessful ABS swap unless it was a factory option for that exact car (and even then it's a PITA).

[praxis]

ABS for me = pump the brakes!

I have had both, but Honda 'power assisted' brakes are great. I have always heard (from SCCA racers) that it is more beneficial to NOT have ABS.

Maybe Moppie (or anyone else for that matter) can explain this theory.

[Setanta]

I know that motokhanaing on grass you can always tell the ABS cars from the non-abs. The non-abs driver slows early and ends up in the garage and the abs driver slides through with the brake pedal depressed as the abs has issues with grass surfaces.

Mind you, this was in the late 80's I last saw this... I've never bothered looking for it since.

[Moppie]

I remember having a very long debate and discussion about ABS, but I can't remember if it was here or on the old PH server.

Fritz, Texan, Some guy, either of you guys have it saved anywhere?
It would save us all going through the 3-4 pages it took to explain everything.

[VTECseoul]

i started that thread - Is ABS Bad For Auto-Xing? facts & opinions got crossed too many times; drivers have more control of braking, ABS is better than human judgement, & so on.

now back to the subject - doing the ABS swap is almost not worth the cost. like Fritz said, unless the car had the option of ABS, it's possible - but been told just upgrade your stock system is the wiser choice.