What's with this ABS fuss?

[E30 Wagen]

[JinormusJ]

[3vilE30]

I've driven many different car (work for a rental company) and ill say newer cars with abs require very little modulation of the break pedal for abs to kick in. Hell my e90 will pulse its breaks when I'm lurching forward with my foot on the pedal and this is where I see some issues with abs especially in slippery conditions for some of you folks. Not sure if its different with you guys but I have to mash my pedal in, in my e30,for abs to kick in.

[SubDad]

ABS is a freaking miracle.
I drive in ice and snow and rain and have been for gosh, well over decade now.
ABS is as big an advance as disc brakes were over drums, and radial tires over bias-ply. (Did I mention well over a decade of driving?)
As a non-ABS believer I tried ABS vs. non ABS as objectively as I could (including in the two wheels on glare ice - two on bare pavement scenario) and ABS wins in every situation except 100% deep snow.
I'm a convert. ABS is great.
And traction control saved my stupid speeding ass on an off-ramp, so I might have to re-visit that one, too.

[TobyB]

How does ABS provide a shorter stopping distance in slick conditions? I'm not arguing, I really don't know how it does it.

If it's really good, it will let the tire with less traction roll, while letting you add brake
to the tires that still have grip.
Easy example is if you put 2 wheels onto wet grass, and the other 2 are still on pavement.
A good driver will modulate the pedal to keep from sliding, and lose overall braking.
ABS will modulate each wheel to keep from sliding.

Do they all work this way? Well, usually- except where (as in the above example)
the car could spin- then they modulate further.

To those who can't sense traction at every wheel (almost all of us) it FEELS like it's
taking away braking.
Really, it's not. If it's good.
Even the E36 abs is good. I farted around with it in the wet on a partially gravel
road the other day- it knows what it's doing.

t