ABS brakes: Is this normal?

[VZ SS :D]

Slammed on my brakes in my vz with ABS slotted disc brakes and the brake pedal sort of shook/shuttered under my foot. Have I got a problem or is this just what happens?

[Philthy]

That's ABS kicking in. It grabs and releases the brakes quickly when it detects a lockup, and that's the vibration you would have felt.
It's quite weird and unnerving the 1st time you feel it, but its reassuring to know everything is working as it should be

[VZ SS :D]

ah good. Ye is my first car with ABS so never had the feeling before and got a bit worried, but thought it might have just been the ABS. Thanks for that

[Philthy]

See, this is the problem with the licensing wystem we have in Australia. I'm not having a go at you VZ SS as everyone is in the same boat, but 95% (made up statistic) of drivers on the road have no idea what to do in an emergency, or how their car will react. Most of my friends don't know what ABS feels like either, unless they have had to find out in an emergency situation. And those without ABS don't have any idea how to pull up the car as fast as possible. "But surely it's just a matter of jumping on the brakes as hard as you can." NO!! Thats a sure fire way to lock up the wheels and plow straight ahead into poor Timmy who just chased his ball onto the road.
Did noone pay attention on their license test when it came to the "what to do in an emergency" section of the test? Oh thats right, IT DOESN'T EXIST!! At no point in the whole license process is there even a mention of emergency braking or how to handle your car in a spin.
Yes P platers have a lot of crashes, and most of them are because we tend to drive like we own the road, but how many of them could have been avoided if people didn't freeze up and leave the brake pedal on the floor when skidding straight into a pole, or jump on the skids when the back end starts to come around while you are showing off to your mates.
How many laws does the government keep bringing in about young drivers when all they need to do is attack the way we are taught to drive in the first place. Bring in compulsary advanced driving courses. Sure licensing costs will go up, but isn't having a license a privilage not a right? Is a few hundred dollars really all that much when it comes to your kids safety?

/Rant

Man that feels better. Sorry VZ SS but that's been bothering me lately after a close mate of mine was involved in an easily avoidable accident recently

[MikesCalais]

Mine does it a little too often :/ like.. when I dont apply the brakes hard enough for them to lock up.. and the tyres are in good condition.

Its good you asked, and it'll be good for others who havent experienced this yet, because a friend of mine had an accident once because of this...

She didnt know what the vibration was, and it freaked her out even more (she was already scared as she was about to be in an accident) and when she felt the vibration she took her foot off the brakes and that just made things worse.. everyone was ok though.. lesson learnt the hard way

[VZ SS :D]

Na i agree. I had been told by my dad before i got the new car not to slam on the brakes as it would lock the wheels, and then when i got my new car with ABS to forget about that advice and just slam on the brakes. But ye just wasn't expecting that vibration!

[STEALTHY™]

NO!! Thats a sure fire way to lock up the wheels and plow straight ahead into poor Timmy who just chased his ball onto the road.

Maybe poor timmy wouldn't be poor timmy if poor timmys mum and dad taught him not to run onto a ****in road?

[ryno_vrx]

See, this is the problem with the licensing wystem we have in Australia. I'm not having a go at you VZ SS as everyone is in the same boat, but 95% (made up statistic) of drivers on the road have no idea what to do in an emergency, or how their car will react. Most of my friends don't know what ABS feels like either, unless they have had to find out in an emergency situation. And those without ABS don't have any idea how to pull up the car as fast as possible. "But surely it's just a matter of jumping on the brakes as hard as you can." NO!! Thats a sure fire way to lock up the wheels and plow straight ahead into poor Timmy who just chased his ball onto the road.
Did noone pay attention on their license test when it came to the "what to do in an emergency" section of the test? Oh thats right, IT DOESN'T EXIST!! At no point in the whole license process is there even a mention of emergency braking or how to handle your car in a spin.
Yes P platers have a lot of crashes, and most of them are because we tend to drive like we own the road, but how many of them could have been avoided if people didn't freeze up and leave the brake pedal on the floor when skidding straight into a pole, or jump on the skids when the back end starts to come around while you are showing off to your mates.
How many laws does the government keep bringing in about young drivers when all they need to do is attack the way we are taught to drive in the first place. Bring in compulsary advanced driving courses. Sure licensing costs will go up, but isn't having a license a privilage not a right? Is a few hundred dollars really all that much when it comes to your kids safety?

/Rant

Man that feels better. Sorry VZ SS but that's been bothering me lately after a close mate of mine was involved in an easily avoidable accident recently

[S.O.S]

In some cases people who haven't used ABS before tend to release the brake when they first feel it bob on their foot. That's a mistake. But you learn like we all do.

[cpbait]

also when people buy the car the car sales person should explain to the new owner that if they jump on the brakes they will feel a pulsation/vibration through there foot and this is the abs, i know its a bit harder for private sale, but would be a start.

[Troy711]

I like to call it 'premature activation'. My ute would do it all the time even when there was no way in hell I was in a situation to use it (like pulling into a parking space for example).

[cpbait]

could have had air in the system, may not have been bleed properly, mine has only come on twice under very heavy braking.

[S.O.S]

If i hit a bump hard enough then brake fast, mine does it.

[andyman]

I like to call it 'premature activation'. My ute would do it all the time even when there was no way in hell I was in a situation to use it (like pulling into a parking space for example).

troy abs in basically the vz onwards use a kind of different system,

instead of the old system where you would have to really slam your foot on the brakes for it to become active, when you touch the brake the system is allready ready to go, no matter how soft the pedal is applied, it can still go off it thinks a wheel is locking,

there is about 5 spots in town where my car does it all the time without fail. its pretty sensitive


also different tyre profiles on front and back will confuse it and abs will do crazy things if different wheels are on the car

[danja]

+1 for super sensitive ABS on the VZ.

My VT had ABS too, but would very rarely activate, whereas the VZ will go off at the drop of a pin by comparison. It's not traction-related, if anything the VZ has more grip, but I suspect it's just calibrated to have a much lower threshold for activating once it detects slip.

[S.O.S]

I dont have a VZ. But i have sensitive ABS on all types of roads.