phatmax95

iTrader: (29)

i dont have ABS and the other night i locked my brakes up and skid a loong ways, and almost ran into the back of my friends car. How hard would it be to switch out to ABS, im guessing $$$? and if you uprgrade to a bigger or better pads, would they lock up just as easy or would they be harder to lock up?

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

There was just a post about this the other day. Try a search for it. In short it would cost you mucho $$$$.

ZXdude

i did that a couple weeks back. made me want ABS. Especially after paying $500 for 4 new tires seeing as how i had 4 flat spots on already low tread

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

I basically did the same thing and I have ABS. . . I am not too fond of mine as I don't think it works all that well. . . While the car doesn't lock up it still doesn't seem like it will stop all that well if forced to go from anything more than 30 MPH - 0. I know I will get 300ZX brakes when I have the money avail, and way better pads (It has Midas on there now and they are REALLY bad).

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

You'd be better off searching for another used Maxima w/ ABS than converting your own. It's just not cost effective. A conversion like this would be several thousand dollars and lots of headaches.

Eric L.

Not getting ABS was one of those things I really regret about my car. As for adding ABS, it's not worth it. Better to find another Maxima with ABS and buy that one.

And for people who say ABS sucks, let's put it into perspective. Yes, it does hamper things a bit on gravel or loose pavement..and it doesn't work well on the track, but in everything else (which is like 99% of what we drive on), ABS is a very good safety feature, and on the road, cars stop much shorter with ABS than without, especially on wet surfaces.

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

ABS is actually quite nice to have on the track sometimes. While I've never had a car with ABS on the track, ABS braking is very predictable... you just slam the brake pedal as hard as you can in at the exact same spot each time you come to that corner, and you know you will be slowed down enough in time to turn. Non-ABS takes alot more skill to keep at the limit of traction without locking them up. For amateurs like most of the people on this board, including me, it can be a great benefit at the track.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

Eric, ABS actually increases your braking distance when activated on ice and other slippery surfaces. The ABS releases and reapplies the brake to keep it from locking up(I know you know how this works but I want you to see why it increases your braking distance when activated).

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

I see your point if you're just starting out with high performance driving on the track, but after a few sessions you should be able to see much better results with threshold braking vs. ABS. I'd be willing to bet that if you gave me two otherwise identical Maxima's, one with and the other without ABS, I could turn a faster lap time without ABS. I feel if you constantly have to rely on features like ABS or traction control (I'm talking track stuff here, no flames about safety features on the road etc.. please), you're not as good a driver as you could be and you're relying on a good car to mask your true ability as a driver. I'm also assuming that you're interested in being as fast as you can be and not only looking to only have a good time. To each his own, right? One interesting point is that while new BMW's come with dynamic stability control and ABS and all that stuff, which is great for the unexpected situations on the street, it can all be turned off for track sessions.

Victim64

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=68575

VeeQueue

iTrader: (1)

you can lock up any brakes, no matter what the size or pad material is. learning how to regulate(modulate) pedal pressure is the key to preventing it.

my car is not equipped with abs. i spent several sundays- a couple of clear days and one rainy day- familiarizing myself with the brakes. i have stock brakes. i can modulate the brakes pretty well. when i replace the tires with a different brand i go through the same process. i know you cant duplicate all situations in a parking lot but having some experience is better than none. with this confidence i rarely panic during "panic" stop situations (which helps me a lot during rain).


i used to regret not purchasing a max with abs but now its not a big deal.

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

I just haven't found my ABS to be something I would count on if I really need it. . . While I have no doubt that in normal driving the ABS will stop me to the best of its ability, I don't trust it in anything other than normal sunny weather as I have had it do really strange things in the wet. For all I know it oculd be my tires and brake pads that I use, I am not sure, but the system has not given me any reason to trust it when I have actually used it.

Kevin Wong

and I thought it would have been nice to have ABS. Then I could just stand on the brakes, or so I thought. Some people have good things to say and others have dislikes for it. I know it's too complicated to feasibly convert to a stock ABS, but I have heard of a few aftermarket brake systems that cater to Toyota and Ford that are supposed to use a better than stock ABS-like system.

party_boy

have we all gotten that lazy to remember there were cars pre abs? For me, I have a 5sp and a non abs car. I jsut downshift and pump the brakes. I suppose ppl wont believe me that on a non abs car it takes less distance to stop by pumping the brakes compared to locking them up and skidding. I honestly dont like abs because the abs unit failed on my van (dodge grand caravan) which caused my brakes to fail... fun fun fun!

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

One key fact: ABS is not geared to getting maximum performance and the shortest stopping distances, it is meant for stopping relatively quickly and maintaining control for people who don't understand vehicle dynamics. It and other so called safety features are kind of like driving for dummies. I mean, can you drive or can you DRIVE?

finny

my max doest have abs either and today i wrecked it in a lil bit of snow. never knew the dif abs made. i dont even wanna look at snow and my max at the same time anymore

jules

drive slow in the snow.