Macleod

I love the protege but i wonder about the brakes. They stop the car quick but almost too quick i find myself having to drive as if there is no abs. Anyone else locking up the brakes?

Phantom Cruiser

What? NO. My brakes seem to work well under any circumstance.

Bartizek

How can it stop TOO quick?

Braking is one of those things where you can never be too quick!

MadeInJapan

Was conscious of this when I bought my Protege so I bought the model without ABS. With ABS you stop in a straight line anyway and the brakes lock up. I figured that with such a small nimble car I could steer my way out of most any situation when it came down to it and didn't want to leave it up to ABS...just my drothers.

THAPRO1

I don't agree with this at all you can steer with ABS, in fact not having ABS is exactly why i got into my accident cuz the stupid brakes locked up right away and there is no steering ,you can only steer when your wheels are spinning, when your brakes lock you lose all control but to each his own though i personally wish i had ABS but oh well
peace
dante

Phantom Cruiser

The brakes do not lock up with ABS...hence the name "anti-LOCK braking system".

meGrimlock

i thought abs activates during emergency situations, meaning you dont always brake with the abs system helping you out. i read car articles in the newspaper all the time during the winter that say if you lose control slam on the brakes and the abs will automatically help the car to brake properly. if anything "locks up" during abs braking its your wheels not getting any grip on a surface like ice. if youre on a sheet of ice and you cant stop, you wont have much luck steering anyway.
-meGrimlock

zerocover

NO ABS here! Winter really sux for me.

Its very possible to lock the ABS, it basicly works with a sensor that tells the rotation of each wheel if one stops then it taks the brakes off and reapplies them. Abs can also kick in when the cars g forces exedd some amount.
For this reason I tend not to like ABS becuase in dry they will not allow the car to preform at its maximum stoping power, instead of always holding the bakes it might start pumping, which slightly takes away from your stopping.

Omron

lol thats funny, in some case, under braking, there are times that you are sliding and you are unaware of it, and bythe time you relalize its to late to compensate. ABS is a costly but needed accessory on your car.

Period

gottacatchup

I dont have ABS for the sole reason that they dont sell proteges with the ABS package down here in the south were we dont have snow or ice. I've only locked my brakes twice in the rain and once was just to see how hard i would have to stop to lock the brakes. I think they're fine for any wet or dry condition, cant speak for snow and ice though.

Dragonbreath

It seems like there are a few misconceptions about ABS. First, as noted, ABS doesn't permit the brakes to lock up for more than a tiny fraction of a second. Next, ABS brakes will always stop faster than non-ABS, except in conditions, such as gravel or loose snow, where the surface can pile up in front of the tires and help to slow the car. The bottom line is that locked brakes and sliding tires are NOT stopping you any faster. Finally, brakes don't stop the car, tires do - brakes stop the wheels. If you have crappy tires, it doesn't matter how good or poor your brakes are, you're not going to stop. Been there, running Deal's Gap in a Miata with cheap tires. It's an eye-opener.

Phantom Cruiser

Nothing but the best for my babies!!

In fact...good driving, brakes, and tires saved me not once, but TWICE yesterday on these here Okie-homa roads Some people just don't even look before they change lanes.

Omron

Most of that info from Dragonbreath is true, but one other point to mention is that there are alot of senarios that dictate how well your braking ability will function, one big point which is always overlooked is the inflation rate of your tires and the condition of your struts/shocks. if they are shot then they can even throw off the effectiveness of your ABS.... I think Forbes Mag had an artical on this very same debate. do a search it might show up on there website mag.

But there are a lot of misconceptions about ABS, but the main thing is, ify ou know you have it great, but if you dont know how to use it, your no better off.

ABS saved my life once already, was crusing on the highway and a cement trucks wheels went out and it stopped incrediably fast, my only way out of that certain death case was to Stomp and Steer, doing that without ABS would have been impossible no matter how good you are at handling. lol STOP and STEER without ABS would have planted my left side of the car right smack in to the rear of that truck, or worse, skid into the rail on the side of the road.

After that, I thanked myself for buying the ABS package

but I also am happy with the overall handling of my Protege,

Dragonbreath

Yup, I agree with all that you say. The ABS only needs to save your butt once to pay for itself. And the overall condition of your car (struts, tire pressure, brake pads, etc.) is critical. There are no magic bullets.

Macleod

Forgive me if i get this wrong, because i read it very briefly while getting the oil changed. There was an article in Car & Driver that discussed how there is very little documented evidence to prove that ABS had reduced traffic accidents and fatalities. However there is overwhelming documentation that shows that Electronic Stability Control can reduce the amount of single car accidents by over 40% and the amount of fatalities by almost 50%. So basically the more than 15,000 single car fatalities last year could have been reduced to 7,000 if every car in the country was equiped with ESC. Just thought that was interesting.