Re: Disabling ABS Brakes

[Chuck Van Pelt <cvanpelt@aracnet.com>]

I just autocrossed my '95 GLX for the first time this weekend. I have to
say that the antilock brakes actually helped me considerably to shorten my
braking distance into corners and to allow me to retain steering control
even after pounding the brakes hard enough to lock them up on a car with no
ABS.

I felt the ABS kick in several times while on the track and am convinced
that I gained a time advantage since I could remain on the throttle longer
going into turns.

Several pre-ABS VW's I saw ended up flying across the finish line at full
throttle only to loose seconds when they plowed into wall of cones on the
exit lane because they locked up all 4 wheels and slid into the cones. I
noticed that everyone of them was steering hard to the right to miss the
cones, but anyone who has driven on ice roads knows that you can't steer a
car when the front wheels are locked up.

As far as disabling the ABS, I don't know how...but I would recommend
keeping ABS active. At least try racing in a car without ABS and see how
you like it.

My $0.02.

Chuck Van Pelt

>I would like to autocross my '97 Jetta GLX next year, but I don't like how
>the ABS brakes work on the track.  They don't seem to "help" the car, they
>just "get in the way".
>
>Can I disable the sensors at each wheel?  How?  Or is there simply a relay
>I can remove?  I would like to be able to undo this if I was to ever sell
>the car.
>
>Thanks in advance!
>
>Mitch Lewis
>1997 Jetta GLX (white)
>
>-------------------------------
>email: mitchman@owt.com
>website: http://www.owt.com/users/mitchman/