ErikElvis

iTrader: (1)

Felt like bad brake fade when I came to lights. Even though I was barely hittin em. Almost like they need to be a lil warm to work. It was cold though.

DONAIMIAN

iTrader: (18)

No, when ABS kicks in on my non TCS car my low trac light comes on to let me know that I have low traction under braking.

coolformula

iTrader: (21)

What kind of tires do you have? treadwwear traction rating?

it sounds like to me this happened in the rain and it the ABS was working.

You could put the biggest brakes on the car in the world and not have no more contact patch with the road and/or might just kick in the ABS in sooner with bigger brakes.

Inspect your brakes first.

Nightrydass

Toyo Proxies 4. Brand new 275's all around.

how can bigger brakes set off the ABS sooner, i thought it would be the opposite since the brakes are bigger and should stop better?

and yea, i was told by someone else that this is just how these cars are.

VIP1

A = Anti-Lock
B = Braking
S = System

Bigger Brakes = Locking Sooner

Locking Sooner = ABS Activating Sooner


Bigger brakes can also take more repeated aggressive abuse before fade.

Also Stickier Tires offset the sooner locking to decrease the braking distance.


A combination of Bigger Brakes (larger rotors, larger/stronger calipers, more aggressive pads) and Stickier Tires decreases stopping distances without causing the ABS to activate more readily and can take more abuse.

Arctic2002ss

Sounds like brake fade to me. I also have power slot rotors and I experienced some of the same things until I switched to ceramic pads. Now I can do multiple stops from triple-digit speeds with much less problem. Start there.

slowpoke96z28

iTrader: (2)

listen to ralls. LOW TRAC light will come on if the EBCM thinks a wheel has locked up. obviously, faded brakes wont lock up. so the two are not related. if anything, your "cheap pads" grab too well, not the other way around.

WhiteStripes

iTrader: (1)

Thank god someone is starting to get it.

That's what ABS brakes do. They don't lock up. If you're wanting to be able to slam on your brakes in an emergency and have your tires stop spinning (which can be dangerous), then ABS is not for you. They prevent your wheels from Locking AKA not spinning. Like the other guy said if you have a badass big brake kit on your car, chances are the ABS will kick in sooner, since the bigger brakes will stop the car better, yes it'll also stop sooner as well. That wierd feeling you are experiencing is the ABS system backing off on the brakes so that they don't lock the wheels. Not brake fade. This is the way I've always understood ABS, so if I'm wrong, some veteran autocrosser, or Sam Strano get in here and tell me otherwise.

I do however feel your pain, as there have been a few times on the Highway where I felt it back off and thought for sure I was going to rear end someone .

VIP1

I've locked all four wheels on a NON-ABS car before and slid. At that point you have very little directional control. ABS may sacrifice some stopping distance for dramatically improved control. ABS only gives up stopping distance on perfect smooth surface. In all other conditions, you stop straighter and sooner with ABS. I can tell you from experience on a NON-ABS slide that changed angle on its own...

People always forget how important tires are in braking. If you are locking up the brakes and sliding or the ABS is activating rapidly, then your limiting factor is your tires. Bigger / more aggressive brakes will only serve to lock up your wheels sooner. Wider & Stickier tires will keep their bite on the ground longer and stop you sooner.



EDIT: Fixed typos and an error on bigger/stickier.

WhiteStripes

iTrader: (1)

Oh I know it's dangerous. As I've never experienced that kind of slide, I'm just going to have to say it's kind of a "Hold your breath" feeling when the ABS kicks in. And as far as tires, I agree a good rubber with a larger contact paatch is a good thing. 275's all around baby

DuronClocker

iTrader: (25)

Yeah, it sounds to me like your brakes are operating properly. You can't slam on your brakes in the rain and expect to stop immediately. Same on the highway, I've been in cars that easily lock the brakes up at highway speeds with crappy tires. The friction the brake pads are creating against the rotor overcome the friction the tires are creating against the road.

ABS obviously limits this. You said it feels like the caliper isn't clamping as tight as it needs to be, when in actuality, the caliper is clamping MUCH harder than you could on a non-ABS car. It is just pulsing that clamping force in order to keep the tire spinning so as to not lose control. The idea behind a properly functioning modern ABS (I say modern because early ABS systems were very slow to react and weird feeling) is to provide maximum braking effort to the ground while NOT locking up the tires. The only way this could be out-done by a non-ABS car is by modulating perfect threshold braking, which is VERY hard to do in a panic stop (for example your stops that set off the ABS system would be a "panic stop" and by the ABS kicking in, it is apparent that you would have locked the brakes up and stopped SLOWER than you currently are).

Only upgrade for you at this point in those situations is to get a better tire (Eagle GS-D3 or such).