LarryLynx

First, my condolences to anyone who was or has friends or family who were directly involved in the attacks. It is heart-rending to witness, and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

This morning I was merging from I-5 to I-80, in downtown Sacramento, listening to the news of course, when the person in front of me stopped completely (of course). From about 20 mph I did a panic stop, slamming the brakes. The first thing that I felt and heard were the tires squealing as the car momentarily began to slide, and then, finally, I felt the ABS kick in through vibration in the pedal. The slide was significant enough that I feared that I would hit the car in front of me. Fortunately, I managed to stop just in time. The noise from the slide was significant enough that the driver of the SUV in front of me was looking in the rear-view mirror with obvious alarm.

The feel of the whole incident reminded me of a rented car several years ago, with automatic transmission and power brakes (ugh), without ABS, in which I did not stop in time.

I've activated the ABS in my old BMW several times over the years and it has NEVER slid during the initial braking action or after for that matter. I talked with Niello's service department and they told me that this car's ABS and VSA will activate with a slight skidding initially, and that this is normal.

Anyone else have a similar experience or have any ideas on this topic? If you are on a slick surface (which I wasn't) doesn't the initial slide become much more troublesome? Any opinions about whether or not suspension improvements might have an effect on this situation? I also vividly remember quite a bit of nose dive. I wonder if less dive and a more evenly distributed body weight during braking would positively affect on the stopping capabilities of this car.

kchao2000

That was sacry enough. Good news is you stopped in time. I didn't let the ABS kick in on this car yet but did activated the VSA few times.

Well... did your VSA also kicked in? How was the handle when both ABS and VSA activated?

asiankidd

First thing first....i just wanted to let you know that im glad you didnt hit the car in front of you and that your tl is fine. But the real reason im posting is that i feel you are unaware of what ABS is really there for you ABS stands for what we all know to be Anti-Lock Brake System. Which essentially mean it lets the brakes go on and off at the average speed of 30 times a second. it by no means helps actual stopping distance in a straight line, but only does help you to drive your way thru to advoid hitting stationary objects such as a stoped car in front of you. Basically when your wheels are completely stoped it prevents you from being able to steer your car underhard braking so say you didnt have ABS and you slammed the brakes and were trying to turn your car the the right, it would remain straight and possible hit the car infront of you if you didnt stop in time. As for why your car started to skid at first is because the ABS system has a set threshold of when it need to be activated, because when it is activated it makes the car actual stopping distance larger, but it also helps up to maintain steering. but the skidding effect is in no way a skid that car be out of control unless you were on a slippery surface and had begun to skid out before ABS kicked in. As for VSA thats another story which you can visit acura website so they can explain.....but thank god you and your TL are ok.......take it easy on the road there are alot of crazy drivesrs out there....

edgalang

lucky for you, you stopped in time. I in other hand was not able to. I was on newly paved black asphalt and ABS was on the ENTIRE time. Estimated collision damage, $978 to replace the front bumper cover and grill.

LarryLynx

Asiankid:

I know what you are saying, but I do know what ABS is supposed to do. In my BMW I once was forced into the median, which was muddy, by an 18-wheeler that had locked up all wheels and was skidding into my lane. Of course I hit the brakes hard, and the ABS prevented me from losing control in the loose dirt/mud. I was just surprised today that I skidded noticeably since, with the BMW I had never skidded AT ALL under such panic stops. Of course it was lighter, and with manual tranni, I had the benefit of some engine braking as well.

If I had been on a slick surface today, I don't think my brakes would have saved me from hitting the car in front, because, before the anti-lock kicked in, I had already skidded a significant distance. I'm going to have to be more cautious with this car because it seems that the stopping time is increased significantly over what I'm used to.

And sorry to hear that you were not so lucky, edgalang.

SergeyM

ABS system on TL-S allows some sliding. I noticed it first time I had to break hard and if I am not mistaken this was mentioned by Edmunds or some car magazine. My previous car 1998 Maxima SE would activate ABS much earlier and would never slide. It took me quite a while before I got used to TL-S's brakes. Several times I almost rear-ended cars in front of me. As to you BMW. Please do not compare TL-S to BMW. It just does not make sense. BMWs are sports cars. TL-S is a big (feels even bigger), soft and heavy front-wheel car. You cannot drive it the way you drove your BMW. If you want to you need to sped 5-6K on upgrades (spring, sways, breaks, wheels and tires).

asiankidd

basically out japanese ABS systems are of no comparaison to those german systems made by Bosch or Hella.....German is simply the best if you ask me....the only reason you skid so much was probably because of the surface you were on in addition to the average ABS system we have on our cars...plus germans take advantage of bigger rotors their for can have their ABS kick in sooner, as to Japanese we have decent size rotors but are still not as well developed as the german auto-bahn rotor they use.....oh well....just keep driving safely thats all that matters....take it easy

asiankidd

sorry for the crappy grammer error too lazy to re-read over what i typed....

LarryLynx

I love this car. I'm going to add springs and sways soon. I hope that reduction in nose dive and the lower center will help with braking. I'm surprised, I guess, because, extra weight, etc. aside, I was under the impression that ABS systems in general had advanced to the point of better deployment. I guess that there are certain laws of physics that even technology can't overcome. Let's all be carefull.