Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes improving emergency stop distance

My 99 has Bosch ABS 5.3..I assume 2000's are the same.

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ABS Series: Bosch 5.3, Beyond ABS, Larry Carley, Brake & Front End, February 2001

As anti-lock brake technology continues to evolve, ABS systems are becoming more sophisticated, complicated and compact. Many systems today are capable of providing stability control, as well as traction control, and some have also taken over the job of handling front-to-rear brake proportioning. The Bosch 5.3 ABS system fits this description.

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Thats why the recall only included non-ABS (late model)Contours. No mech. Prop. valve on ABS models. I bet the SVT E1 has it. From a money standpoint, cheaper to use Bosch than a separate system or device.

I know I read we have EBD somewhere else, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I'll keep looking, but not too hard.

1999 seems to be the year that EBD was introduced. Seen an article on the 1999 Cougar that mentioned it. I have Traction Control too, which isn't/wasn't available on CSVTs.

I am sure someone in this group has some inside info source at Ford and can get a definitive answer on this...

I was under the primary assumption that ABS simply allows you to manuever your car while the brakes are locked up? A couple years ago in snow with bald tires behind a stupid driver my brakes just died but I was able to turn my car and go around the other car (in between it and mailbox...wierd I don't know how I got thru)

So could someone clarify ABS for a moron like me? TIA.

ABS keeps the wheels from locking under heavy braking. Locked wheels can't steer, so ABS allows you to steer under heavy braking by modulating the brakes using a hydraulic pump, solenoid valves and wheel speed sensors.

The hardware (Sensors, Hydraulic Pump, etc)that does this can also do proportioning, traction control and stability control. Bosch ABS 5.3 has this in it's module. The Bosch system under discussion is also used in Caddies and Corvettes (from my recent reading)and utilizes all the features. From what I seen, the PCM must be programmed for these features to use them on the ABS module. I have ABS, Traction Control and EDB (Electronic Brake Distribution). CSVT's don't use the Traction control but I am not sure about the EBD.

1999 CSVT's got all the fancy braking electronics. . .1998 CSVT owners were left with ABS only. My experience: I had crappy ford brake fluid before, and ABS would kick in on the slightest excited-brake-slamming pressure, it drove me nutz. Now, after I added the brake fluid, the baer brakes, the new pads, I'm experiencing braking like never before; maybe it's the pads, maybe the fluid, maybe it's the KDW's with the larger tire patch, BUT as far as my ABS interfering, It hasn't piped in to "save" me since I added the new fluid (since I did the fluid change after I installed the brakes and pads). . .it seems to me, in MY case, that fluid plays a more dynamic role than the ABS programming, since, like someone mentioned before, modulating the braking yourself is a bit more effective than the ABS.

i dunno if I'm making sense here, maybe I should post sober. . .

Your brakes do the best job right at the moment BEFORE the wheel locks up. ABS keeps your wheel AT that moment. Threshold braking? On ICE? You have obviously NEVER driven on ice before, the minute your foot touched the brake pedal, the ABS kicks in. Same way with accelerating, with both the Mystique, and the BMW, it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE not to activate traction control, and with the 6000, it's nearly impossible not to kick AWD in gear.

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You have obviously NEVER driven on ice before, the minute your foot touched the brake pedal, the ABS kicks in.

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Again, you need to learn how to drive. You're the 15 year old here...let's not get into experience and driver skill mmk?

EDIT: And traction control makes the contique useless in the snow. I can't believe you drive with it on. Same goes for the bimmer. I was in my bosses //M3 in the snow one time, with less than an inch of snow on the ground the traction control was going crazy, and in 3-4 inches the car was undriveable. Both problems solved with a flip of the off switch though!

Yes, I use Traction Control at all times. I dont know what's wrong with yours and your bosses, but it makes the cars very easy to drive in snow. I can drive faster with the TCS on because Im not spinning my wheels, the wheels are actually gripping the road surface. The BMW's is much more useful though (Ive driven with the TCS on and off, and with it off, that back end fishtails like hell with 290hp)

hey genius, I wasn't suggesting you threshold break on ice, only an IDIOT brakes like that on the ice, use your gears. . .furthermore, I got my B.S. in Ann Arbor, MI (embarassed to say after the Notre Dame debacle today, that's another story), so don't be presumptuous about anybody's driving experiences, since I've done the winter thing one too many times. . .and I never spun out even in the dead of a Michigan blizzard without the traction control, i was smart and invested in blizzaks. . .

Suneil

Exactly suniel, ABS is no replacement for a good driver...people got by fine for many years without it.

And you shouldn't be driving faster withe traction control on...that would be bad. If you're spinning like mad without TC you're doing something wrong, bottom line. And I don't see what traction control has to do with grip. TC senses wheel slip and cuts throttle to stop it, the same exact thing you can do with your foot..only less precise. On the bimmer, it made the car practically undriveable because the wheels would just shudder trying to get traction. But back to my original point, there is no mechanical replacement for a good driver...I suggest you get more in tune with your vehicles.

Thanks for the explanation. Either way the ABS probably saved my front end there.

Fairly bald tires in winter was an interesting experience though, nothing like being passed by Mustangs in the snow.