ABS Delete Any one runs without ABS

[nando]

I think you're incorrect, but of course I'd have to do some testing or find some documentation, otherwise we're just pissing in the wind. :p

[Luis325]

Im taking my ABS right now...
Bought a 1984 non ABS master cylinder form a 325e and the 2 brake front hard lines... And im done... il post my results when i drive the car @ the track... but doubt I will feel any difference since my ABS never worked...

[lifeiskaos]

My ABS has been deleted for 2 years. I tried to lock my brakes one time from ~50mph. Stomped with all my might and just stopped. Didn't lock any of the tires. Might be because my car is light and has decent tires, but still. I've never locked any wheels, even in the rain.

As far as I'm concerned, unless you're racing in the snow or rain or mud etc, ABS is just ugly and heavy :p

[Jean]

I didn't even have to delete ABS, it didn't have any haha.

[Raxe]

I didn't even have to delete ABS, it didn't have any haha.

Ditto.

[M3 Ryan]

Been without mine for 6+ years. Only one issue... Customer drove my car one day and locked up a tire, gave me a flatspot. Last time anyone gets to drive my car. big brakes and no ABS will do that to ya though.

[Mossman]

I have pump deleted, e36 m3 front brakes, ti rear brakes, e36 m3 master. Stops great, can lock in dry at low speeds but have never done it without trying. Wet it will lock at most sane speeds if you jab the pedal but no problem driving normally, haven't had to make any panic stops in wet and I don't know if I'd want to try tracking it in wet.

[Luis325]

been without mine for 6+ years. Only one issue... Customer drove my car one day and locked up a tire, gave me a flatspot. Last time anyone gets to drive my car. Big brakes and no abs will do that to ya though.

lol!!!!!

[etxxz]

I have pump deleted, e36 m3 front brakes, ti rear brakes, e36 m3 master. Stops great, can lock in dry at low speeds but have never done it without trying. Wet it will lock at most sane speeds if you jab the pedal but no problem driving normally, haven't had to make any panic stops in wet and I don't know if I'd want to try tracking it in wet.

similar setup. works terrible without have a brake bias valve. Add one on your FRONT line and transfer some power to the rear its a night and day difference. Real braking power.

Been tracking my car w/o ABS in its current state (s52 e36 m3 5-lug) for over two years. I'm very careful, violent and precise on my braking. I've yet to flatspot an r-comp tire roadracing. Drifting its a different story, i flatspot front tires right and left and i can say that ABS can surely help in that scenario. I WILL (try atleast) to make my ABS work again... atleast so i can decide what works best or not. I'm sure the computer will outbreak me in the long run.

[Fair!]

Indeed. And you are 100% correct. ABS was introduced on BMWs 25 years ago. What we now take for granted (4 channel ABS) took a couple more years to be implemented. It's called evolution of a good dea into a better idea.

In the late 1980's (5 years after introducing ABS on stret cars), even Motorsport and Teves struggled with the racing ABS system, until they hit the proper set-up. Let's be reminded that the ABS requirements for a street cars are not the same as for a racecar. Therefore, when using a street-developped ABS system on a tracked e30 (let's not forget either that street tires, R compounds and slicks don't behave the same way), the results might not be optimum. ;-)

Agreed - there are a LOT more variables at play in modern ABS systems than ten or twenty years ago. A friend of mine used to be an engineer at Roush Engineering and tried to get the Bosch engineering team to take a look at the ABS system on a fleet of cars they had built for the Bondurant Driving School that had some ABS "issues" when used with big R compounds. The Bosch engineering manager said "We can bring the test equipment and team out and tweak the system... for seven figures". He tried to explain to me just a small sampling of the variables that are utilized in a modern ABS system and my brain went "TILT". These are complex systems nowadays and yes, even they can reach a threshold outside of their parameters and "freak out".

I suspect the older E30 ABS system were much more crude and can be "freaked out" with a big change in grip levels or the like - and when an ABS system goes berserk they can "shut off all the brakes", as Lee warned about, slow cycle, or even lock the brakes. Its happened to me before on cars with a LOT more grip than stock, but as I explained in my previous post it took a lot of bad things happening at once to go into this "ICE MODE", where the brakes either stopped working or locked.

[gobuffs]

I built my car without ABS. At ofest last year I checked up and slightly flatspotted them at turns 1 and 3 at the start of a race. Had a vibration, and eventually the driver front delaminated and took out the bumper, fender and rocker. Added E36 ABS over the winter. In the few races I have done I have A LOT more confidence in the braking zones. I don't coast as much going into the corner due to more trust in not flatspotting the tires. Readily made me a few seconds faster. I try not to get into the ABS but I will admit I do get into it at times. Still learning how to brake the best. I love the ABS on my car.

[jlevie]

I've driven my Spec E30 with and without ABS on Spec tires and race slicks. The stock brakes on an E30 with race pads are more than enough to lock up a wheel with any tire you can fit in the fender wells. At the beginning of a race, a good driver can hold threshold braking w/o ABS, but as you tire the chances of locking up a wheel and flat spotting a tire increase.

In a Spec E30 configuration the rear brakes aren't as effective as they could be be. So my preferred technique is to get into the brakes just hard enough for the front ABS to engage, but not quite enough to trip the rears.

[etxxz]

^ good stuff Jlevie. Its a widely known issue with the e30 rear brakes, is anyone running a more aggressive pad in the rear to compensate?

[RangerGress]

My ABS has been deleted for 2 years. I tried to lock my brakes one time from ~50mph. Stomped with all my might and just stopped. Didn't lock any of the tires. Might be because my car is light and has decent tires, but still. I've never locked any wheels, even in the rain.

Fix your brakes.

Is anyone running a more aggressive pad in the rear to compensate?

Only me.

The link below is to an interesting thread at e30tech. It explains the behavior mentioned by the Pro3 guy in this thread, and also some weird braking behavior I was occasionally experiencing at Road Atlanta turn 3. Just before sliding off the track into the grass.

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89726&highlight=lock

[castros]

If your abs works good, keep it but if it does'nt work rip it out. We sell an abs delete unit if your interested.