ABS "Ice Mode", what is it?
09-09-2008, 01:49 AM
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Northern California
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ABS "Ice Mode", what is it?
so, I have been having a problem with my brakes. Occasionally during (autox) hard abrupt braking, the Pedal gets really stiff and the car barely slows down (no ABS light though). I can let off the pedal and then jam it back down and the car will come ABS-screeching to a halt.
I have been reading around about "ice mode" where the ABS figures "you are screwed" and tries to slow the car down gradually. that's real nice, except when you plowing over cones and about to hit a course worker...
ls1 front brakes, hawk pads, just replaced fluid with type 200.
Does anyone have any info on this? Don't need stories... I am going to the road-race track next week, would like to have decent brakes.
I have also read that disabling the ABS might not defeat this mode (sounds like BS to me)
I have been reading around about "ice mode" where the ABS figures "you are screwed" and tries to slow the car down gradually. that's real nice, except when you plowing over cones and about to hit a course worker...
ls1 front brakes, hawk pads, just replaced fluid with type 200.
Does anyone have any info on this? Don't need stories... I am going to the road-race track next week, would like to have decent brakes.
I have also read that disabling the ABS might not defeat this mode (sounds like BS to me)
10-21-2008, 03:45 PM
#4
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Location: Richmond B.C.
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abs is junk for any racing or performance braking, i put a wilwood prop valve to my rear brakes and took the abs unit out and connected the master directly to the brakes, adjust the rears as need be and you got perfect braking everytime without abs screwing you if 1 tire locks for a split second. ive been put in a few understeer situations because of the abs and some loose sand/dairt on the road before going into a high speed turn, never again.
10-22-2008, 03:19 PM
#5
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Location: Moore, OK
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abs is junk for any racing or performance braking, i put a wilwood prop valve to my rear brakes and took the abs unit out and connected the master directly to the brakes, adjust the rears as need be and you got perfect braking everytime without abs screwing you if 1 tire locks for a split second. ive been put in a few understeer situations because of the abs and some loose sand/dairt on the road before going into a high speed turn, never again.
10-22-2008, 09:11 PM
#6
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Location: Central, PA
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how hard is it to take out the abs unit out and add a prop valve. My Abs isn't working and it'll lock up the fronts and not brake very good on the rear. Also how much is a proportioning valve. Thanks.......Mike
10-23-2008, 06:29 PM
#7
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Location: Richmond B.C.
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nope, no problem at all, remember when cars didn't have abs? lol only downside is the driver is in full control, so in bad weather you can't just slam your foot down and pray obviously. but it did improve the feel of the brakes for sure, and it lets you take out the factory distribution % and customize yours to your liking. for my car since i have LT1 rear discs and 17" ZR1's with 315's i have it cranked up pretty high and it adds alot more braking power to the car because the tires can handle it, not like how they got it for stock tires.
10-23-2008, 06:35 PM
#8
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easy, just take it out, get a brake line flaring tool and put a t fitting and ends from the front 2 lines to the front master line (cutting and shortening is required), then put the prop valve inline from the rear one to the rear line. then bleed the brakes normally, from furthest to closest to the master.
10-23-2008, 08:55 PM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Moore, OK
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nope, no problem at all, remember when cars didn't have abs? lol only downside is the driver is in full control, so in bad weather you can't just slam your foot down and pray obviously. but it did improve the feel of the brakes for sure, and it lets you take out the factory distribution % and customize yours to your liking. for my car since i have LT1 rear discs and 17" ZR1's with 315's i have it cranked up pretty high and it adds alot more braking power to the car because the tires can handle it, not like how they got it for stock tires.
Oh yeah, I'm old enough to remember no abs.
It was fun as hell to haul azz and lock 'em up. Those black streaks were awesome, but flat spots sucks
10-25-2008, 10:19 AM
#10
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Central, PA
Posts: 496
Would I just buy a universal prop valve or one for a 4th gen. Haha Actually I'm only 21 so i dont remember the days of no ABS but i've had 3 vehicles and none of them had the abs working. So I've been forced to learn how to drive w/ no abs, I'd just like to be able to control the front to rear % to my liking
10-26-2008, 05:16 PM
#11
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SJM Manufacturing makes an ABS delete kit that includes the lines, a proportioning valve and a line lock solenoid.
http://www.sjmmanufacturing.com/cam_brk_lt1.html
http://www.sjmmanufacturing.com/cam_brk_lt1.html
10-30-2008, 12:39 PM
#13
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Location: Richmond B.C.
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no, not true at all. if i have it full open any moderately hard braking from speed especially if you have to turn the wheel at all you will trail brake the *** end out and could go off the road, and the car feels like junk like the rears are pulling you to a stop over the fronts. and those are on zr1's 315/35/17's not stockers. provided they have powerslot rotors and hawk pads but still. i have the prop valve about 75% open if i remember correctly for my setup, even then if you are doing max effort braking you wont lock the rears up before the fronts. also note that the smaller and less grippy the tire you have on it the worse its gonna become every setup is different. they key is to find the balance where it feels close to 50/50 under weight transfer of braking leaning towards the front bias, that way you wont lose control you definitely want the fronts to lock up before the backs ever do.
10-31-2008, 12:05 PM
#14
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Haven't checked in a while. Thought I'd stop in and I find this.
First you were getting ice-mode. When it happens it due to one wheel locking severely and out of sorts with the others. Common when an inside rear comes up or is lightly loaded. It can also happen when just landing on the brakes so late and hard that you are deep in a corner and don't give the car much choice. When it engages the car will no stop at anymore than about .3g, because it thinks it's on ice as that's normally the only way you can lock a wheel to that degree.
I will disagree that ABS sucks, etc. Some systems aren't great, and the GM is one of them. But there are worse, and further it is reacting to driver inputs. If you didn't have ABS, the brakes in that situation would just be locked which doesn't do any good).
And the ABS light only comes on when it fails. When the ABS is engaged you get a low trac light.
Further, LS1 cars have EBD (electronic brake distribution) which uses the ABS hardware to bias the brakes. Disable it an you go 50/50. I've driven a car like that and not only was it not fast, it was scary.
First you were getting ice-mode. When it happens it due to one wheel locking severely and out of sorts with the others. Common when an inside rear comes up or is lightly loaded. It can also happen when just landing on the brakes so late and hard that you are deep in a corner and don't give the car much choice. When it engages the car will no stop at anymore than about .3g, because it thinks it's on ice as that's normally the only way you can lock a wheel to that degree.
I will disagree that ABS sucks, etc. Some systems aren't great, and the GM is one of them. But there are worse, and further it is reacting to driver inputs. If you didn't have ABS, the brakes in that situation would just be locked which doesn't do any good).
And the ABS light only comes on when it fails. When the ABS is engaged you get a low trac light.
Further, LS1 cars have EBD (electronic brake distribution) which uses the ABS hardware to bias the brakes. Disable it an you go 50/50. I've driven a car like that and not only was it not fast, it was scary.
10-31-2008, 12:18 PM
#15
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Location: Richmond B.C.
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thats why you put a manual type distribution valve in, i agree a car with it just taken out and hooked up doesn't drive well at all, thats why to be safe and get it right you need to adjust it accordingly. my personal experience with abs is it has almost crashed me once it engages you are stuck with it too long to regain control in time to go flying off the course (or road) this is in a LT1 car, the abs came on and i lost all braking control and power and it went into severe understeer because of a patch of sandy debris on the inside front tire locking it for an instant. and to clarify what i meant by 50/50 wasn't the braking force at the master but the lockup threshold of the tires and brakes. too much front and you get understeer and too much rear you get dangerous oversteer (trail braking), the key is to get them so they lock up all 4 if you go into that situation, then your foot "abs" can do the rest.