I ran another autocross event this weekend and I have had enough of the ABS. It cost me my best time run by not being able to stop in the stop box. I came into the stop box about the same speed as my previous run (25-30 mph) but maybe just a little sideways after finishing a slamom and the ABS went wild and I couldn't stop.

It seems the ABS under certain conditions will really increase your stopping distance. I know that I could have stopped in the stop box if I was able to manually pump or modulate the brakes.

Is there a fuse I can pull to disable the ABS during an autocross? I don't plan on having ABS disabled on the street, but for real on the edge driving I think it is no good.

Feel free to add any comments on this.

 

Coming in a little sideways is what hurt you. Remember the "Friction Circle" from driving school? For maximum traction to be available for acceleration or braking, the car must not have any lateral movement. The ABS detected a little lateral movement (via different wheels speeds) and compensated by allowing more room to correct the slide.

To answer your question, I'm not sure you can "pull a fuse" since it is a safety feature but, I do know you can on the older ABS system. It will throw a trouble light when you do.

 

Friction circle, ah yes, I remember that from drivers training. The thing is it only took about half a second for the car to get straight and then about 2 seconds of straight line braking. The ABS should have let up a bit towards the end and let the tires grip like they could have, but it felt like I was on ice the whole way (stop). I mean this stop was a good 20+ feet farther than the previous run.

I think the ABS and traction control is slower than a human can react. I agree there is no way a person can pulse the brakes as fast as ABS can and it can get a car straitened out under braking well, but from my experience TC and ABS take too much time to adjust to the different inputs, ie. throttle position, wheel speeds road surface. At least on this vehicle.

I KNOW I can modulate the throttle quicker and more effective than the factory TC from trying out runs with TC on and off.

 

I can agree with you on Ford Traction Control because it's really not traction control, its a throttle nanny. True traction control uses spark or fuel retard to regulate wheel spin not brakes and throttle position. I cannot agree with you on the ABS though because I am on average 2 seconds faster around Little Talladega Racetrack with ABS than on a Fox body without ABS.

It sounds like the 05+ ABS is a little more advanced (read: Sensitive). You may want to check the rules for disabling features, especially in an SCCA Stock class.

 

A salesman at a dealer told me two weeks ago that ABS is now an "option" on the GT, but I couldn't get any real confirmation out of him... I did my damnedest to try to get them to delete it when I ordered my 05 and they wouldn't do it. Maybe calling it an option just lets them charge more for the thing...

Mike E

 

It's my understanding that ABS and TCS will no longer be a part of the Pony Package for the '07 model year.