Thread: Is ABS offroad bad?

nope its good... if the wheel isnt locked up you can still steer. Thats kind of important in the "oh crap I over cooked the corner and now Im heading for the only big tree for miles" type situation.

Personally on straight line braking distances I dont think that the ABS makes it any worse but then if your driving appropriatly for the situation you shouldnt need so much braking that the ABS kicks in.

I think the important thing that you need to remember with ABS is that it doesn't only help you stop quicker but also enables you to steer around an obstacle as well and can stop you from spinning if there is a different level of traction under either side of the car when the wheels lock up.

YouTube - Fifth Gear - Bosch ABS, TC, and VSC

ABS off road is not a big problem. Remember you have more braking and control whenever the wheels are turning. Locked brakes have little stopping power and no control.

Traction Control in very soft (Read sand) however can be a problem. the computer continually applies braking pressure which can and quite often does slow the vehicle so you loose momentum. We have found this on our Driver Training. Read the comments in the Driver training article in the LROC mag on line.

Originally Posted by Biggles

Read the comments in the Driver training article in the LROC mag on line.

Fantastic.Bookmarked and noted.

As you were asking about defender timing belt replacement, none of these models had abs, only the td5 ( mid 99 up extreme model) which has a timing chain.

Interestingly when I did a defensive driving course they said the same thing, and proved it by demonstrating that the same vehicle tool longer to stop on gravel with abs. However they did disclaim that the abs still allowed you to retain more directional control.

Yes ABS can increase braking distances on gravel roads, gives you a funny feeling as the pedal sinks a bit and you aren't slowing like you expect, but it also has it's advantages too like in my auto disco when descending steep rocky slopes you need to apply a little brake pedal pressure and it stops a wheel locking on the really loose stuff thus maintaining control.

Definitely takes longer to stop in the dirt. Last time up the Cape I was going a tad too fast on one of the side tracks ...

Could have been a spot nasty, however still having directional control I was able to steer into some low scrub and miss the hurtlin' big sticks ..

Nil damage ... except a slight ear bleed .. courtesy of herself ..