Anti-Lock Brakes

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LJS30

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Have any of you guys installed an anti-lock brake system in your A-body? I know we do a lot of things to modernize our street cars but I haven't noticed anyone doing this kind of mod yet.
 
the reason people dont do this is because of the super complex computer system that is needed to run these systems...

so that and then you have to know how to tune it...

besides... it wont make you stop faster in dry weather
 
805moparkid said:
the reason people dont do this is because of the super complex computer system that is needed to run these systems...

so that and then you have to know how to tune it...

besides... it wont make you stop faster in dry weather
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I figured that might be a reason. However I ask because I think we have some pretty resourceful guys on this forum who have done some amazing things with their rides.
 
LJS30 said:
I figured that might be a reason. However I ask because I think we have some pretty resourceful guys on this forum who have done some amazing things with their rides.
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no doubt there is...

i think indy has them and it takes teams of guys to make them right and adjust them
 
There used to be a system available as an add-on for older vehicles. I haven't seen them listed for sale anywhere for a few years. They were advertised as being based on systems developed for WWII bombers or something like that. As I recall, they were supposed to somehow take advantage of things like the slight variations in the thickness of rotors as they turned. The system was entirely mechanical & I think was even available through J.C. Whitney at one time. It was installed by plumbing into the brake lines near the master cylinder. I have no idea how well they worked.
 
I don't want anything to do with 'em. If you've ever had a FACTORY system screw up on you when you were least expecting it --read that when you most needed it-- you sure as heck would not try and build one.
 
I don't think you need an electronics degree to do something like this.

Find a vehicle that has a stand alone control module and figure out how to mount the sensors it uses, then plumb it into your brakes and it should work fine. All it needs to know is if the car is moving, and when one or more tires isn't so it can modulate the brakes. There is no programming to it.

BTW, the Corvette used to give the Viper fits in the road race series (SCCA?) because the Vette had ABS and could brake later going into a corner while the Viper had to brake earlier because they had to be more careful. Pretty sure ABS was an advantage in that case. Oh, and rain only made the advantage even greater.
 
At the risk of startin a war, the main reason for ABS is not to stop quicker, it is to maintain control during a panic stop.
 
Doing it on my build. Using a Viper system which is easy since I'm using Viper suspension wheels, brakes, and tires. A lot of guys have used the Corvette system on some older GM products too. It's pretty more and more common.

I should add that guys have been having some issues getting the rear anti-locks setup with the stick axles. These issues aren't too major though and are more like a bump in the road. For most systems what it comes down to is matching wheel/tire size. That can be difficult builds where guys are stuck on 15's and don't want to move to something bigger. Probably not an insurmountable obstacle there either. No programming necessary either. I'm looking forward to having all wheel ABS on mine.

Bosch builds and sells a kit that is crazy expensive and also not street legal. They are the only ones I'm aware of that offer a kit. I researched it quite a bit before deciding to use all Viper stuff, that is making the move to ABS easy for me.
 
DionR said:
Corvette used to give the Viper fits in the road race series (SCCA?) because the Vette had ABS
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Vipers don't/ didn't have ABS? That's pretty amazing if you are correct

For what they cost, they should come with an extra blonde just to run the brake pedal
 
Checked into Viper ABS and the best I can do to support it was on wiki. Looks like it must have been an option in 2000 or something like that. I'm was watching a race when they were talking about it, but I thought it was much more recent than that.
 
DionR said:
Checked into Viper ABS and the best I can do to support it was on wiki. Looks like it must have been an option in 2000 or something like that. I'm was watching a race when they were talking about it, but I thought it was much more recent than that.
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I could be wrong but i swear i recall them not having power brakes ether? But like DionR basically said. ABS is faster than your foot pumping ability. Just slam them and forget. I really can't see how it would be that hard to do. mag pulse generator, toothed wheel and a computer to sense the A/C voltage (calibrated correctly). The Trick would be building ring/teeth into our style Caliper/hub.
 
Vipers currently have ABS and I know for a fact it has been since the intro of the Gen 3 in 2003, but the later Gen 2's may also have had them. They also have, and always had, power brakes. Hence my build will have Viper brakes around and ABS. I've already got the controller/pump, brakes and everything else.

The trick isn't quite as easy as Lakeeffect has mentioned, but if you do your research, it's not too complicated either. One of the head engineers at Art Morrison was an early adopter in his Camaro and from his research and work with GM, there are a number of algorithms built into the controller to "calibrate" everything correctly. Best scenario is to find a vehicle with the same size wheels/tires that you want to run, and pull the ABS from that. But before you do, do some checking with the manufacturer to make sure the controller is separate than the ECM (though you can probably find that out visually) and also make sure the controller bases it's algorithms on wheel/tire size and not also weight or some other random variable that is totally different than our little A-bodies. Again, from my research, most seem to be based on wheel/tire size.
 
swisswill said:
Vipers currently have ABS and I know for a fact it has been since the intro of the Gen 3 in 2003, but the later Gen 2's may also have had them. They also have, and always had, power brakes. Hence my build will have Viper brakes around and ABS. I've already got the controller/pump, brakes and everything else.

The trick isn't quite as easy as Lakeeffect has mentioned, but if you do your research, it's not too complicated either. One of the head engineers at Art Morrison was an early adopter in his Camaro and from his research and work with GM, there are a number of algorithms built into the controller to "calibrate" everything correctly. Best scenario is to find a vehicle with the same size wheels/tires that you want to run, and pull the ABS from that. But before you do, do some checking with the manufacturer to make sure the controller is separate than the ECM (though you can probably find that out visually) and also make sure the controller bases it's algorithms on wheel/tire size and not also weight or some other random variable that is totally different than our little A-bodies. Again, from my research, most seem to be based on wheel/tire size.
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part of those algorithms are vehicle weight, wheels base, 100's of other variables that the computer uses to decide what to do...
 
Do you know what that would take? Different hubs with sensors, Modern pos rear end, with the sensor; computer.
 
The kit i posted above? They say any automobile or truck.... "Universal fit" is usually a bad sign to me. Sounds like a Metering device to me. Delays full pressure for a split moment front and rear instead of just front like a normal metering block.
 
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