anyone know how to turn off the abs as its rubbish in the snow car is an octavia 2002 1.8t 4x4:)

It's not switchable. You could pull out the fuse for it but I wouldn't advise it because if you crash into someone and it is found out the fuse had been removed, you'd be knackered insurance wise.

I know what you mean though about the abs being pants in the snow, I played with mine the other night down a deserted back road and it took me over 50 metres to stop from 20mph!

tell me about it if you put the brakes on then turn the engine off watch how much quicker you stop

do you know the fuse no?

Totally agree ABS is useless on snow ASR however has proved a really nice feature to have and has been lighting the dash like a strobe the last few days

as a thought if you put a popped fuse in they carnt say boo

do you know the fuse no?

I couldn't possibly tell you that it is fuse number 9.

ABS isn't designed to slow you down quicker its designed so that you can steer around things whilst breaking heavy rather than locking up and going straight on into what evers in front of you.

Not entirely true. The idea of abs is that the tyre has most grip just before it locks so the abs repeats this lock/release cycle in a controlled manner to stop you quicker in the wet or dry whilst allowing you to steer also. In snow it extends your stopping distance as it doesn't allow the snow to build in front of the wheels like conventional brakes and therefore you lose this valuable chocking action of the snow.

Ian

does 3" of snow infront of each tyre actually have much stopping power against 1500Kg travelling at 30mph then? i can't see it making any difference at all myself.

From this site ABS Frequently Asked Questions

In what circumstances might conventional brakes have an advantage over ABS? There are some conditions where stopping distance may be shorter without ABS. For example, in cases where the road is covered with loose gravel or freshly fallen snow, the locked wheels of a non-ABS car build up a wedge of gravel or snow, which can contribute to a shortening of the braking distance.

And this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system

In gravel, sand and deep snow, ABS tends to increase braking distances. On these surfaces, locked wheels dig in and stop the vehicle more quickly. ABS prevents this from occurring. Some ABS calibrations reduce this problem by slowing the cycling time, thus letting the wheels repeatedly briefly lock and unlock. The primary benefit of ABS on such surfaces is to increase the ability of the driver to maintain control of the car rather than go into a skid — though loss of control remains more likely on soft surfaces like gravel or slippery surfaces like snow or ice. On a very slippery surface such as sheet ice or gravel, it is possible to lock multiple wheels at once, and this can defeat ABS (which relies on comparing all four wheels, and detecting individual wheels skidding). Availability of ABS relieves most drivers from learning threshold braking.

A June 1999 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study found that ABS increased stopping distances on loose gravel by an average of 22 percent.[7]

HTH

Ian

If you're debating this matter then it surely shows that you're travelling too fast in the snow. If there's enough snow on the road to reduce the efficiency of the ABS then you should be leaving massive gaps between you and the car in front and using the gears to slow you down.

And if it's ice then ABS or not shouldn't make any noticeable difference.

I wasn't debating anything I was merely stating a fact.

I drove 180 miles of twisty B roads, Duals and motorways through the snow and never had any incidents so I think I was driving in a safe manner and speed and believe me we had it bad round here as many roads where not gritted.

I managed to have the ABS cut in while travelling at a thundering 4mph. I could see the snow ahead at some traffic lights so I deliberately approached very slowly but once on the snow as soon as I put my foot on the brake the ABS cut in. I had to very gentle on the brakes to be able to stop.

Then sitting at the lights I was a bit nervous as the next car pulled up behind me. I have been hit from behind at a set of lights so I know how much it hurts.

how about cadence braking?

how about cadence braking?

I think I went to school with her...

Seriously though, does it work if the car has ABS? I had a vague recollection that you can't easily do it on a car with ABS, but I might be wrong.

Does know one have a 1st gear then!!!!!!

I wasn't debating anything I was merely stating a fact.

I drove 180 miles of twisty B roads, Duals and motorways through the snow and never had any incidents so I think I was driving in a safe manner and speed and believe me we had it bad round here as many roads where not gritted.

that makes sense in deep snow and sand and even fairly deep gravel but sorry that would make no difference in the snow we had, it was only 1" so nothing to build up and we were sliding on ice. or does ice build up aswell?

We had a bit more than an inch here bud, guess it depends where you are. Today the roads are unusable. At least 4 inches on the mains alone :eek: apparently we have run out of grit in MK so no ones going anywhere to need their brakes.

I think I went to school with her...

Seriously though, does it work if the car has ABS? I had a vague recollection that you can't easily do it on a car with ABS, but I might be wrong.

You can do it, but why bother when the ABS will cycle an order of magnitude faster than your foot can?

More to the point is to try and learn to use just a little less effort than that which causes the ABS to cut in in the first place!

Well in Huddersfield we have a shed load of snow! Had about a foot on Monday and another inch or two this morning.

Managed to rip a bit off one of the plastic undertray/splash guard things last night, while reversing off some snow! The front of my car acts as a snow plough!

More to the point is to try and learn to use just a little less effort than that which causes the ABS to cut in in the first place!

this is what ive done as i really dont fancy pulling the fuse, however i was nearly caught out twice but luckily sorted it in time.

I think the main thing is relax, slow down and leave huge gaps, if it takes an extra 15 or 30 minutes to get to work or wherever so what. I saw someone overtake a car pulling into a petrol station and going over the slushy stuff in the middle of the road then hooning over a bridge without being able to see what was over the other side and no hope of stopping quickly.

My boss saw someone with a load of snow on the roof of their car, they braked, the snow slid down over the windscreen and the drove straight into a stationary car at a junction because they couldn't see a thing. Come on now it's not hard is it.

A guy at work is from Canada and he thinks it's hilarious how we react to snow in this country

i have never drove a car with abs in the snow use to old bangers with no abs thats how this thread started. i was shocked at the stoppin distance in my octavia compared to my old cars. i know the octavia may be heaver but stopping is still a problem in the snow