Brakes?

Mnina,

ABS is designed to take advantage of available traction. It will not create traction where there isn't any.

While I've only experienced ABS kicking in on the car one time so far, I can tell you that there are many things which will affect ABS engagement, including but not limited to:

* tire compound (LRR compounds have a tendency to be harder, reducing traction)
* coefficient of friction on the road surface (some surfaces are slipperier than others)
* outside temperature (lower temperatures equate to harder compounds -- see above)
* weather conditions (needs no explanation)
* tire inflation (the overinflation of tires in the quest of higher fuel economy will have a negative impact on grip)

Everything has a tradeoff. Performace tires are grippier and provide better traction under optimum conditions. However, they also wear faster, have a higher rolling resistance and turn to concrete when it's cold out. LRR/Long-Life tires tend to have lower rolling resistance and last longer, but this comes at the expense of flexibility and, potentially, grip.

 

FWIW, in road racing where grip is THE most important thing, considerably higher than normal inflation pressures are used, but I agree that there is a point to where grip will be lessened.
As far as stopping distance is concerned, the two most important things are tires and suspension, best bang for your buck in reducing stopping distance would be the tires, get yourself a good sticky set of performance tires. Of course they may not last as long and there may be a slight decrease in mileage, but the car will stop in less distance

 

I have no problem with ABS, ------ but my brakes on GenIII are very "touchy"! They are a "light touch" at the worst/best of time to stop with. If this was the only car I drove, I'd get use to it and it would be no problem, but I drive two other vehicles, non-hybrid. Both have power brakes of course, but neither as sensitive as this car. An example: One day last week I washed the car, and put it away in the garage, as it was just going to get dirty immediately if I drove it. I back it into my garage. The next day I started it and drove it out of the garage, trying to do so slowly, so using the brakes. Every time I even touched the brakes, it was like they "clinched"! There was no "modulating" them. NOW, I know some of this may have been due to slight surface rust which formed after washing the car and immediately putting it into the garage before driving it long enough to dissapate any water off the rotors and warm them up, but I've done such before with other cars and never had them the brakes GRAB so. Does anyone know if the dealer has some remedy for such sensitivity of the brakes?? I've yet to inquire of them as I've gotten more good answers here than at the dealer so far. thanks.

 

What you are describing happens to me if I pull the car into a parking space, turn it off, and then turn it on 4 or 5 minutes later and begin backing out. A slight step on the brakes brings the car to an abrupt halt. After backing out though and putting the car in drive, the brakes behave normally again. I am not sure what is happening but others on the forum have described similar experiences. I have never had it happen if the car has been sitting for a long period though. I am not sure what the problem is but I think it might be a software glitch where the system needs a specific amount of time to reset itself and when you turn the car back on in that 4 to 5 minute time period, the cycle is disrupted somehow.