ABS sucks in snow

ABS increases stopping distance in any weather.

 

Exactly

 

amen

 

ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and slippery surfaces for many drivers; however, on loose surfaces like gravel or snow-covered pavement, ABS can significantly increase braking distance .[1]

 

+1 here 2012 O/R TRD with OEM tires - did fine today in the snow. Was in 4x4 most of the time, turned it off for a bit in a parking lot so I could understand how she handles when the ass end lets loose.

Coming from a RWD BMW M3 the Taco is a dream.

 

wut ?

 

I was , is that an issue ?

 

tires make a big difference. mine works ok with the snow tires. with regular tires, not as well. traction baby

 

I'm not disputing any information given in this thread, I hate the ABS in the snow just as much as you guys do. It feels like it never lets go, or pulses like other systems do... BUT

In low traction conditions, you guys should really consider 4WD and downshifting a gear before ever touching the brakes. When you're in 4WD and you downshift, stopping power is essentially 50/50 between front and rear axles. When you step on the brakes its more like 60/40 front and rear, respectively. Its much easier to brake the tires loose by using the brakes than downshifting.

Drive safe, as you always should. When approaching a stop, downshift 1 gear, down two gears is acceptable if you're not bringing up the RPM's above say... 3,000 rpm. Lightly use your brakes to increase your stopping power, but you'll find you wont to use them as much. I've been able to stop much faster this way without triggering the ABS.


Food for thought. I may look into this ABS kill switch for winter though, but in the summertime it has saved my ass once.

 

Yep ^^^

 

My '06 DCSB base with the vaccuum booster is way oversensitive on snow and ice, I don't think its just the Sports. Decent tires help a lot, as do driving to conditions. Replacing my base tokico shocks with TRD billies helps some too, more on bumpy roads. That said, this ABS system doesn't seem to allow enough % of slippage to give any braking once it engages. It even engages at less than 10kph, where its of no real value. Compared to other modern ABS equipped vehicles I've driven without issue, I've found it downright scary a few times. ABS is indeed designed to give steering (directional control) priority over braking, to allow the driver to avoid a crash by steering around an obstacle, but it should modulate threshold braking at the same time, something that doesn't happen well in my experiences. Installing the disable switch was one of the best mods I've done on my tacoma, as I often combine snow and "off road" driving. And, with a flip of the switch, I have it enabled again for safety at higher speeds on road.

 

^^^ exactly

There is no opportunity to utilize threshold braking at all

 

Nods! Sometimes you have four tires, and sometimes you don't.

Another note about ABS: It isn't neccesarily designed to bring your vehicle to a complete stop. One of its main functions is to keep your vehicle straight when you apply brakes - especially important when you are driving at speed.

Impacting an object straight on with the designed crumple zone is better than an irregular collision at a slightly lower speed.

Obviously the focus isn't on crashing your truck every time you hit the brakes in inclement weather...I'm just making an argument for why having ABS turned on at higher speeds is an intelligent choice.

 

Oh really ?

 

VSC keeps the tail from overtaking the front

 

ORLY!

At least, for this guy it keeps me lined up with whatever I'm about to smack into!

 

Has anyone checked with a Toyota tech to see if there is some adjustment in the current ABS they are fielding?

I'm happy to look into it. Know a guy.

 

I consider myself one of the lucky ones that don't have VSC (or any of the other ABS related functions like Trac/Atrac, auto LSD...), but my understanding is all these go down when the ABS is disabled. What I CAN say for certain, those systems will behave as they do on the Off Roads do when the diff is locked, as "my" disable method mimicks the signal the ABS unit receives from the switch in the locker actuator.

 

I would change the wording to:
the main request seems to be allowing more braking force to be applied once ABS activates, and that's a programming issue.

Agreed that it is a programming issue, and IIRC, many have been told by dealers that there is nothing that they can change there. Am I surprised?