Z-man

Well, slow is LAST too!

Two quick comments:

1. For DE's, I try NOT to get into ABS. However, ABS is a great safety net when taking a car into a corner faster. Go in too fast, and ABS can help you many ways: for one, under heavy braking, with ABS you can still turn and brake and have less chance of the back end coming around.

2. For autox: due to the tightness of the course, it is often impossible not to get into ABS: you're just pushing the car too much! And given that most autocross lots do not have the smoothest surfaces, it is often impossible not to get into ABS.

-Z.

AndyK

On dry pavement, I was never able to lock the wheels without stopping first! I've had a few "oh, crap!" situations where someone decided to stop for a left turn in front of me...slammed on the brakes..and the car just stopped! no ABS feel, no skidding. Maybe you have to be going faster to get these cars to lock up on dry land with fresh tires!?

Never drove in the snow...but the Taurus' ABS pulse on and off a lot in the wet or snow. Very counter-intuitive if you ask me! I am programmed to let up on the brakes when I feel a skid...or a strange pulsing in the pedal!

924RACR

Then you need to push harder. I can relate, I found it took a lot of leg to get my buddy's 951S into ABS when autox'ing it.

The Taurus's ABS in the snow isn't that different, per se, than the 951's - they're both Bosch ABS IIRC.

Dal Heger

It depends a LOT on the brake pads you have on.

With the stock porsche pads I can lock them at slower speeds just fine. I just put on Porterfield R4 pads (race pads) for the DE this weekend and I'm amazed at how much stopping power there is! I bet that I can get into the ABS at 100MPH with these pads!!! I guess I'll see this weekend.
I had some cheap pads that the previous owner put on when I bought the car and I couldn't get into the ABS no matter how hard I pushed on the brake pedal. Get some good pads and you'll be amazed at how well you'll be able to stop.

Dal.

iloveporsches

Last weekend I went to PCA's "autocross school" for the Chicago region. During the classroom session, the question of ABS came up. A few PCA club racers (including someone with a 91 S2) said they engage ABS to the point where they just feel it feathering their feet. He also said he has a kill switch like what 924racr mentioned for when the ABS craps out and needs to be reset.

Theoretically, a very advanced and quick ABS system should stop shorter more consistantly than a human could.

924RACR

And it does.