boink brakes?

Ardennes1944

driving to work the other night the car started to slide sideways on black ice around a corner, i braked slightly, braking harder and harder and the brakes felt very weird through the pedal. the pedal seemed to clunk in and out about an ich and there was a loud spring ( boink) noise as i had the brake pedal fully depressed. could this have been abs?
its a 04 astra.
thnaks

rev2.0

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

driving to work the other night the car started to slide sideways on black ice around a corner, i braked slightly, braking harder and harder and the brakes felt very weird through the pedal. the pedal seemed to clunk in and out about an ich and there was a loud spring ( boink) noise as i had the brake pedal fully depressed. could this have been abs?
its a 04 astra.
thnaks

That'd be the abs kicking in!

Ardennes1944

fcukin hell it sounds like a factory down there! i thought there was something seriously wrong! why the springy noise like?

MagicMarker

Was on the M50 once and there was traffic merging, one guy pulls straight into the overtaking lane causing the merc already there to slam on the breaks. Traffic wasn't moving that fast but fúck me, the merc came to a dead stop in an instant! No skidding or anything. I was impressed!

I need me some of them there breaks.

Gophur

MagicMarker wrote: »

. ...........

I need me some of them there breaks.

You got one, a lucky break, that is!

Esel

Typical ABS effect. Sometimes freaks uneducated drivers into lifting their foot off the pedal with possibably disastrous results!

Ardennes1944

esel wrote: »

Typical ABS effect. Sometimes freaks uneducated drivers into lifting their foot off the pedal with possibably disastrous results!

my last baby was a 01 punto so no abs in sight there! no way was i leaving that pedal up...i saw that wall coming waaaay to close!

Esel

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

my last baby was a 01 punto so no abs in sight there!

If driving a car with no ABS, use Cadence Braking (google it). And ABS is to allow steering while braking - not to improve braking distance. On gravel and snow, non-ABS cars will stop quicker, due to the wedge effect.

KylieWyley

esel wrote: »

Typical ABS effect. Sometimes freaks uneducated drivers into lifting their foot off the pedal with possibably disastrous results!

does it not help to let your foot off temporarily and then re-apply? this helps the wheels spin again slightly rather than locking.

in cars with no abs, you are advised to gently pump the brakes.

coylemj

KylieWyley wrote: »

does it not help to let your foot off temporarily and then re-apply? this helps the wheels spin again slightly rather than locking.

The purpose of ABS is so that you do not need to do this, the mechanism effectively does it for you but as earlier posters have pointed out, there are weird sound effects that can shock you the first time it happens, in my case it sounds like the front axle is scraping along the ground.

Ardennes1944

LIGHTNING wrote: »

As far as I am aware all Mk2 Puntos had ABS as standard so your 01 Punto would have had ABS.

nope not all mk2's had it atal. haynes says so

CiniO

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

driving to work the other night the car started to slide sideways on black ice around a corner, i braked slightly,

Was the front or rear of the car sliding?

braking harder and harder and the brakes felt very weird through the pedal. the pedal seemed to clunk in and out about an ich and there was a loud spring ( boink) noise as i had the brake pedal fully depressed. could this have been abs?
its a 04 astra.
thnaks

That's ABS.
Did you never tried it before?
Did you never practiced emergency braking?

CiniO

KylieWyley wrote: »

does it not help to let your foot off temporarily and then re-apply? this helps the wheels spin again slightly rather than locking.

What would ABS be for then?

Ardennes1944

CiniO wrote: »

Was the front or rear of the car sliding?




That's ABS.
Did you never tried it before?
Did you never practiced emergency braking?

no i didnt never do it:rolleyes:

i have done emergency braking before but not in this car i dont have it long atal. i know now it was abs. all is solved thanks

KylieWyley

CiniO wrote: »

What would ABS be for then?

well, if the ABS has 'kicked in' and you still find yourself sliding then perhaps its not working as it should? so you could manually give it a bit of assistance?

I dunno, just a thought.

At the end of the day, in icey conditions, you shouldn't be relying on your brakes but instead the braking power of the engine.

Del2005

KylieWyley wrote: »

well, if the ABS has 'kicked in' and you still find yourself sliding then perhaps its not working as it should? so you could manually give it a bit of assistance?

I dunno, just a thought.

At the end of the day, in icey conditions, you shouldn't be relying on your brakes but instead the braking power of the engine.

If you're sliding in an ABS car on normal roads then you won't be able to assist it be removing you foot there's no way you can react quicker then a computer, you should actually press harder. Newer cars have brake assist for this as people panic and remove the pressure and reduce the ABS affect. The only reason you'll still slide is if you're pushing too hard or you're brakes aren't working, you'll know the 1st if it's the 2nd then you need to get you're brakes checked out.

On gravel or other loose surfaces ABS can be a danger but as most people don't drive on them it's not an issue.

On ice and snow you shouldn't be using anything for braking, you can still slide using engine braking, it's all about going slow and planning well ahead.