Taijutsu

I enjoy driving my 74, but I would like better brakes. Is there any way I can get some ABS on my Vette? All the other elect aids are not so important. I would like to be able to stop better in the wet.
Any suggestions?

TIA

R

Dynra Rockets

Not easily. Take a look at your tires and camber first.

Old tires are rock hard and will not grip wet pavement. Lots of negative chamber will limit the tire contact patch when braking/accelerating.

Peterbuilt

Does that help?

Taijutsu

I know that sometimes forum members have their own ideas of what works and what does not. I am not looking for a cheap fix. I would like to see about putting some upgraded breaks w/ABS on my 74. The other stuff is not helpful.

ddawson

Tires/Tires/Tires.

ABS would be very difficult. I haven't seen a kit.

Back to tires. I could lock my Cobras up easy even with manual brakes. The Goodyear Eagle® F1 Asymmetric 2 I have now is much harder to get lockup.

They state "Stops up to 6% shorter on wet asphalt" but my C3 doesn't see wet.

Taijutsu

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping some C5 brakes w/ABS could be put on my 74. Yes, tires are the biggest factor. I was hoping for a more modern upgrade.

ddawson

I did find this write up for a Camaro.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-...-for-hot-rods/

ddawson

I would think the hardest part is getting the sensors hooked up.

Wonder you you bought the http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/196382corvette.html frame with C5 bits you could keep the sensors and wheel. Then add the C5 computer, brakes and bend your own tubing.

Easy Mike

Good, since what you want to do is likely to be pricey.

68blvert

ABS brakes will not decrease stopping distance on wet or dry road. ABS brakes were designed to help maintain a better control of vehicle in a panic situation. As the others have said, tires, tires, tires.

jb78L-82

Correct!

Tires, Stainless Steel Flexible brake hoses at each caliper, quality High performance brake pads like Hawk, Performance friction etc and fresh brake fluid will stop a C3 on a dime.....

7t9l82

All the suggestions offered are good ones, the brakes on our corvettes stack up pretty well against newer cars.at the risk of coming across as a jerk, you might try a high performance driving school,if your used to an abs equipped car your corvette requires a different driving style.there are many people that prefer non abs brakes.

resdoggie

ABS will indeed decrease stopping distance on wet or dry roads BUT may increase stopping distance on gravel or icy roads though still improving directional control. C'mon guys, a quick google search will provide the answers on abs.

jb78L-82

ABS will NOT decrease stopping distances over a skilled driver on dry or wet roads for those drivers and professional race car drivers (this fact has been demonstrated over and over) who are able to threshold brake correctly. What ABS does do is enable the average driver to maintain control of the vehicle in high brake/panic situations.

Abs will increase brake distances noticeable in snow or loose gravel type of situations but again allows the driver to maintain control of the vehicles under such circumstances.

"Effectiveness

On high-traction surfaces such as bitumen, whether wet or dry, most ABS-equipped cars are able to attain braking distances better (i.e. shorter) than those that would be easily possible without the benefit of ABS. An alert skilled driver without ABS should be able, through the use of techniques like cadence braking or threshold braking, to match or improve on the performance of a typical driver with an ABS-equipped vehicle. However, for a majority of drivers, in most conditions, in typical states of alertness, ABS will reduce their chances of crashing, and/or the severity of impact. The recommended technique for non-expert drivers in an ABS-equipped car, in a typical full-braking emergency, is to press the brake pedal as firmly as possible and, where appropriate, to steer around obstructions. In such situations, ABS will significantly reduce the chances of a skid and subsequent loss of control.

In gravel and snow, ABS tends to increase braking distances. On these surfaces, locked wheels dig in and stop the vehicle more quickly. ABS prevents this from occurring. Some ABS calibrations reduce this problem by slowing the cycling time, thus letting the wheels repeatedly briefly lock and unlock. The primary benefit of ABS on such surfaces is to increase the ability of the driver to maintain control of the car rather than go into a skid — though loss of control remains more likely on soft surfaces like gravel or slippery surfaces like snow or ice. On a very slippery surface such as sheet ice or gravel it is possible to lock multiple wheels at once, and this can defeat ABS (which relies on detecting individual wheels skidding). Availability of ABS should not deter drivers from learning to master cadence braking."


http://wikicars.org/en/Anti-Lock_Brakes_(ABS)

A professional driver with ABS disengaged in a typical ABS equipped street vehicle can easily out perform the same system with ABS on....

resdoggie

I'm referring to panic stops on streets and highway. So we agree on the decreased stopping distance. Pilots depend on abs in their aircraft to reduce stopping in inclement weather and they are straight line only. They also had abs long before passenger cars.

Revi

ABS on aircraft does not reduce stopping distance. Tire friction to the ground does not change whether ABS is installed or not. Tire "A" only has so much friction available.
Most large aircraft either use reverse pitch propellers or thrust reversers to slow the plane down to 50kts or so, then brakes can/will be applied.
ABS helps in preventing a wheel from locking up, it's impossible to tell if one wheel is locked on a multi-bogie wheeled landing gear when sitting in the cockpit.

NewbVetteGuy

There are no ABS kits; ABS is almost a dead-end unless you go to insane effort and insane costs. The camaro retrofit is one of the only real life examples and that guy went to insane, insane efforts.



Adam

jb78L-82

ABS on aircraft like cars maintains control, straight line stability, but does not reduce an aircraft stopping distance, just like in cars in which helps maintain control under extreme braking.....ABS's main function is to enable street drivers to keep the car under control during extreme braking.

resdoggie

If you put the best sticky tires on a car and measure stopping distance from 60-0 without abs and then do the same measurement with the same tires with abs, the distance will be shorter, full stop!!! Proven time and time again. I'm not talking about racing and directional stability that also takes into account for traction/stability control systems. They can control braking, abs or not, independently on all fours.

jb78L-82

Last word from me on this topic: From AAA: NOTE for the AVERAGE driver...

Do cars with ABS stop more quickly than cars without it?

Under most conditions, a vehicle with a good anti-lock brake system can stop in a slightly shorter distance than an average driver could accomplish in the same vehicle without ABS; however, that is not the main purpose of ABS, and the difference is generally not great enough to notice or be of any real use. ABS certainly doesn't improve your stopping distance nearly enough to justify driving faster or following more closely!

ABS can actually lengthen stopping distances on some surfaces, such as loose snow, dirt, or gravel, because of effects that occur during locked-wheel skidding that are unique to those surfaces.

The importance of ABS to you as a driver is that it helps you to retain control of your vehicle during a maximal braking effort. Without ABS, if you brake hard enough to lock your wheels, you will not be able to steer the vehicle, and the vehicle may skid sideways or spin around. Two-wheel ABS will prevent the vehicle from spinning out of control, and four-wheel ABS will actually allow you to retain the ability to steer your vehicle while you're still braking.


A skilled driver of above average ability can and would out brake an ABS system on the same vehicle, with and without ABS....this is really not disputable.