I have been reading up on the late apex and working with it when I can. Today I got caught a good ways from home when the first snow storm hit, which took everyone completely by surprise. I get within sight of our place and only one tricky section of road to go. It is a fairly steep hill, with a 90 degree, right hand turn at the bottom. Done this before, so I stop at the top and descend slowly, lightly pumping the break. (I know it has ABS, but I prefer to do this manually, so I turn it off). After two pumps I realize that the sound I'm hearing is ICE and we are starting to pick up a bit of speed. :eek6: No other cars around so I drift all the way to the left side of the road, keep pumping into the meaty part of the turn until I can see a straight line to the right. Then turn, get off everything and let her roll on her own. The skidding stopped and we were home free. This racing stuff has a lot of applications. Jim
Isn't it disabled when you turn off the DSC? It feels like it is, but maybe not. When it snows the DSC is the first button I push to OFF. Jim
No the ABS nanny always lives... All in all probably the best nanny to have. That being said I remember when ABS was new & not on many cars, some cars had an off switch for it. I'd love one of those for my MINI. I find the MINI ABS to not be all that intrusive. A friend of mine had an 02 WRX & it was horrible. He used to pull the fuse when he was driving on forest roads.
On my 03 justa, I seldom turn the traction control off, unless I'm about to, or already am stuck in snow. The ABS pulsing you feel in the brake pedal can be reduced by getting stainless steel brake lines. They do not "stretch/expand" when the ABS is active/doing it's thing. I barely feel it anymore since installing the SS lines. Mark
I have SS lines on my MINI. When the ABS is kicking I can feel it. Does that make me a tenderfoot? :crazy: My traction nanny is always off. SS lines are great, but a good set of stock lines is not going to expand very much. Now on an old car the gains are more pronounced. When I replace the lines on NOT N MG the difference in feel was huge. The stock lines were 10 years old at the time.
100K, heck they were as old as Methuselah. :smile5: Like Geritol for the brake system or 2 knee replacements for me.
The reason I turn it off is going up a snow covered hill (like my driveway) it starts to cut power to the point the car will actually stop. Sometimes you just need a little bit of spin to reach the top. Jim
Thanks. The only reason I posted this was, prior to now, I had no idea what a "late apex" was and it really did give me an option that avoided a trip through a fence. Got to get one of those driving books MINIMARK told me about. Jim
The traction nanny will kill all momentum when trying to climb a slippery slope. There are times where wheel spin is your friend. You did well Jim. Early apex'ers often run out of road. I'm glad you are OK too.
Just a bit of advice for those tempted to remove the ABS fuse, get a blown fuse and install it. If something happens and the fuse is gone your insurance company will laugh at your claim. If they find a blown fuse they will fault the car and send you a check. I agree on the Mini ABS being non-intrusive it also does not have a strong throb through the pedal. My WRX is like a bucking bronco when the ABS kicks in.
Agreed, the Subaru version of ABS is like magic fingers for your feet. Try driving fast on a forest road & see what happens. I have a dead fuse for you... :ihih: