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Re: Ice And ABS (NO LBC)

To: Nolan Penney <npenney@erols.com>
Subject: Re: Ice And ABS (NO LBC)
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 2000 22:11:00 -0500
Cc: Spridgets <Spridgets@autox.team.net>
References: <001501c04623$eed351c0$01dffcd1@default> <004301c0469c$65f6f5e0$f8f8e8d1@mbayweb.com> <3A04754B.1EFB3806@exit109.com> <3A04BAE9.F8E11A10@brit.ca> <3A060F2B.AF202178@erols.com>
Nolan Penney wrote:
> MmHm, an amusing thread, with plenty of idiotic claims.  Locking all the 
>wheels up
> and fooling the abs, using a wedge of snow to stop the car, etc. 

  ...longtime listers will know that I'm usually the first
guy to step in to try to control the spread of these
type of "disabling ABS is safer" urban myths, but... I
have to pipe up for this one, the snow wedge is for real.

  Again, "snow" means a lot of things to a lot of
people. If you live in the south, you probably think
of snow as "1cm of white powder" and you might have a hard
time beleiving that it could ever stop a car.

  However, if you live in the north, and you
hear snow and think of knee deep wet slime, the effect
is not only plausible it's pretty bloody obvious.

  Oh the whole, ABS is a no brainer, I'd take it in any
car overall. Only those "everybody is stupid except
me" types that feel they know better than every major
corporation could think otherwise. But then
again, "thinking otherwise" is seemingly the point
of their lives. (throw the word "pathetic" in there
somewhere if you feel so inclined)

  I mention this more as curiousity than
actually any kind of endorsement for disabling
your ABS. More of a parlour trick than any real thing
to base car decisions on.

  However, as much as I want to say "ABS stops faster
in any situation", the snow wedge is AFAIK the only
"curious exception" to an otherwise lovely rule. 

  Simply, it really does work. If you are in deep
snow and do a long controlled slide up to a stop
sign, you can even feel it as the big mound you
have to get over to get going again. If you can
get going again. ;>

  

-- 
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"Look Marge, Maggie lost her baby legs!" - Homer

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