Types of braking assistance technologies (part 1)
When looking for a car potential customers tend to look at its power and torque figures and not many spend a lot of time thinking about the car’s braking ability however, that is an important matter to consider and starting with this article we’ll be looking into the major types of braking assistance technologies that you’ll find in order to know what to look for in your future car.
ABS
The Anti-lock Braking System means that when you slam on the brakes hard for a longer period of time the wheels do not lock up and stop turning before the car comes to a halt. This is a good thing because the moment a wheel beings to drag or skid, the driver has basically lost directional control of the car.
ABS works by using what is called the threshold braking technique, which basically brakes hard then eases off slightly and brakes hard again, thus using the principle that a tyre’s maximum stopping ability happens when it’s about to skid.
Lots of other safety systems – like stability and traction control – use the various sensors and valves that are a part of ABS. In most places around the world all new cars that are sold have to feature ABS as standard.
There’s an interesting misconception related to ABS, its primary task is to give the driver steering control during hard braking, not to reduce stopping distance however, depending on the type of road and conditions ABS may lead to reduced stopping distance. For instance, on wet sealed roads ABS will shorten the distance required for a stop, whilst on gravel or dirt tracks, skidding may actually decrease stopping distance because the car’s tyres can dig into the surface.
Interesting bit of trivia is that ABS has actually been banned in motorsports, like Formula 1 and V8 Supercars, because it reduces the level of skill required for drivers.
