ABS Brakes suck

mattims · Post by **mattims** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:48 pm

not sure exactly on bias .. but in the B4 its probably slightly heavier on the rear brakes than you would expect. (i can quite easily provoke oversteer with the brakes when the fuse is out) But this might just be the way the B4 handles anyway.

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:23 pm

Matatak wrote:so u want to remove ABS braking...when its a tried and tested safety feature shown to improve car stopping distances...ok.

on sand rip the handbrake. that will lock the wheels. and if u want more sand getting stuck up infront the the tyres. spin the steering wheel to the left or right as u stop.

It doesn't necessarily improve stopping distances, it can allow you better steering control under emergency braking applications. Most rally cars don't have ABS. A lot depends on how the ABS is tuned - ie to what road conditions. I'd probably say that it will take some getting used to on snow /icey roads also. A good driver is smarter than ABS.

I can confirm that ABS is **** on sandy roads in my Impreza. You have normally have a good expectation of how and when the car will stop or slow sufficiently but ABS throws that out.

I may look at fitting a switch for *offroad* (where's the strikethrough formatting gone?) duties / certain onroad conditions.

Matatak · Post by **Matatak** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:40 pm

sorry if i offended anyone

was jsut trying to understand better not have a go at you Madmat for wanting to disable the ABS

madmat · Post by **madmat** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:53 am

Hey Matatak it takes more than that to offends me.

ggvfr · Post by **ggvfr** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:25 am

Sorry if this is a bit long, I just lifted it complete from where I posted it on OffroadSubarus a while ago...

Hopefully it can help...

Hey guys, after towing the trailer up across the Bogong High Plains Rd and down to Jokers I came to realise some of the inadequacies of the ABS system as fitted to Suby.. - and whilst in most cases it suits everyday use I felt the need to do some 'modding'...

I'm not here to debate the legalities of it, or the insurance ramifications, I'm just presenting it for discussion/ideas/feedback...

I mounted a 'normally closed' 12v relay up next to the fuse box and, with an inline fuse holder, I substituted out the 30 amp fuse on the ABS. The relay uses the actual ABS fuse in-line and, for all intents and purposes, the system sees no difference.

The mod is instantly reversable, simply by pulling out the inline holder (uses a dissected fuse with the wires soldered to the legs) and re-inserting the original fuse (mounted in the in-line holder...)

Then I've mounted up a key operated switch and a 'missile' switch - a double safeguard - to operate the relay to an 'open' position. The keyswitch switches 12v to the toggle switch which, in turn, is used to activate the relay. The 'double safeguard' is to prevent actuation by my 2yo daughter - or a service tech - curious about the 'red' switch...

The ABS/ECU sensor treats it as a 'blown' fuse, the ABS is non-operative - "normal' brake function is retained. A warning light is triggered on the dashboard.

The system remains disabled until the engine is shut-off and restarted - providing the keyswitch/toggle is returned to 'safe' mode...

From chatting to forum members, in person and online, I know they find the ABS to be an issue occasionally.

Again, I have my reasons for wanting to try this mod but thought it would be worth the sharing... If unsure of what, or why, you are doing exercise caution please.

Cheers
Garry

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:35 am

Excellent. Thanks so much for that. I assume if you didn't use a relay set-up then a switch would just have it on off without the need for a restart, or not?

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:06 am

It appears to be a 30A fuse, so those sorta currents are probably a but much for just a switch

madmat · Post by **madmat** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:59 am

This is great. i will be fitting it soon and i do like the missile switch and all that:mrgreen: makes me look clever and feel important:D

ggvfr · Post by **ggvfr** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 4:37 pm

SUBYDAZZ wrote:Excellent. Thanks so much for that. I assume if you didn't use a relay set-up then a switch would just have it on off without the need for a restart, or not?

I used the relay for current purposes. The system remains OFF until the engine is restarted (the only downside...) - this is when the ECU 'reboots' and checks all the circuits I guess.

Even if you pulled the fuse and re-inserted it the system won't see it until you restart the engine.

Cheers
Garry

thatsgoodsquishy · Post by **thatsgoodsquishy** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:32 am

hi guys, sorry for launching in without an intro thread but its late (or early) and i just wanna contribute. On my gen 2 liberty wagon i had an abs disable circuit set up. i had removed the abs fuse and had 2 wires running from the fuse box via the normally closed circuit of a relay thru a fuse, basically no different to standard, but via the relay as well. the relay was part of relay latch that was controlled by 2 switches, an on/off and a momentary on. to disable the abs you would "arm" the system by turning on the on/off switch, then flick the momentary switch. this switched the relay from normally closed to open, disabling the abs. if ya flicked the on/off switch "off" at any point the abs would come back on, or if ya turned the ignition off, then on, the abs would be back on, cause the latch was broken. worked really well, in practice ya could just flick the 2 switches at once to disable the abs, then flick the on/off back to restore the abs, was a good system. cheers

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:01 pm

Suparoo wrote:It appears to be a 30A fuse, so those sorta currents are probably a but much for just a switch

Why? Are there not switches that can handle 12V @ 30A?

foxx510 · Post by **foxx510** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:19 am

For those worried about the legalities of an ABS disable switch, I just called VICROADS about it, they told me it would still be legal, as ABS is not a roadworthy requirement. I'm going to get it in writing for insurance purposes, however. Other states may have different rules. I'll be fitting a switch, ABS in my Outback is useless on the gravel.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:00 am

SUBYDAZZ wrote:Why? Are there not switches that can handle 12V @ 30A?

Well there are, but they are much larger and probably harder to mount/wire to than fitting a small switch that controls a relay.

The added bonus of using a relay and a push button switch is you can make it latching, so ABS will resume when you restart the car. You cant forget it then

madmat · Post by **madmat** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:37 pm

if somone gets to puting on one of these switches into their outback do they want to write up a list of parts required and a detail of how to do it? it could be very helpfull for others.

foxx510 · Post by **foxx510** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:52 pm

I'll try to document it when I fit one to my 98 Outback, it could be a month or two though before I get to it.

Adam

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