ABS>>>So Confusing

No one knows huh???

On Mon, 9 Apr 2012 18:11:03 -0700, "Ringo" wrote in rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata:

Well, you could try. What happens when you break really hard on a wet surface, preferrably in a bend? Can you feel the ABS doing its job?

My Wife's 97 Chevy Monte Carlo definitely has ABS (At least I think it does>>LOL), and I could not tell you what it would feel like, when it does its' thing :-).

The majority of 90's full size Chevrolets used an ABS system (Bosch type) which produces a slight "buzz" that the driver can feel in the brake pedal when the ABS activates. The Chevrolet Cavalier used a less expensive system that caused the driver to feel an abrupt loss and resumption of braking effectiveness.

Thanks. But the questions remains, does NOT having the little "ABS" light on my instrument cluster, specifically the Tach, BUT YET have the designated "ABS" 20A fuse, in that under the hood, fuse holder/ block, means that I have it or not :-)??

Open hood. Look for a silver or aluminum box with five or so metal pipes coming out on one side or top of the box. If it's not there, no ABS for you! It's possible that the wiring harness and fuse were pre-installed, and the build did not call for ABS. My 99 has an empty connector under the dash for ABS, and no ABS. (It was built that way) About the only other accessory not installed was heated seats. Don't really need them in central Georgia!

On the drivers or passenger side, under the hood??

Have a look at this picture from the miata.net forum:

Jeroen Technical Commissi> I have a 2000 MX5 Miata, and had gotten my Insurance Company to reduce

in

ABS, does that

Exactly where under the hood varies, depending upon the exact year, country, model, and so forth. You can certainly find the Master Brake Cylinder, and brake lines from at least the front wheels. The ABS connects to the lines from each wheel, as well as eventually to the master cylinder.

On my 99, there is no ABS light, but there is a place for one, with no visible markings. Again, there is a plethora of model dependent gauge faces, as well as aftermarket ones.

Thanks. I don't think I have that then. But if I get into a wreck and they call me on that lousy $10. it would have cost me, I will just act dumber than I look>>LOL>>, pointing to the Fuse holder, saying "There is an ABS 20A fuse designated there, and IN PLACE!" I can't believe that a BIG reputable (Have had them a number of years, GREAT RATES, even beating my AARP/Hartford rates I had), company would nickle and dime PPL for a lousy $10.00 just because they said that my VIN # indicated NO ABS. I told them, apparently mistakenly now, that it does, based on that FUSE.

Thanks for all your inputs :-)

forum:

Netherlands

They might not pay is the problem!

Me. I wouldn't have ever considered a Miata with an automatic but when I bought mine I knew I'd only be able to drive it for a limited time because of the arthritis in my knees, hips, back, etc..

That time is very nearly up, driving the car is now a painful experience and I notice my shifts are no longer smooth so it'll have to go soon but if it were an automatic I could keep it..... maybe? Maybe not, I don't think it would be as much fun with an automatic.

I can't speak for any other countries, but here in Canada the MX-5 is available with a " 6-speed Sport mode automatic transmission with overdrive and paddle shifters". Seems like a possible alternative.

Professor

It's available here as well but that's only in the newer models and they're out of my price range, plus it seems that the "A" type are the only Miata's I can fit into?

I wrote a long essay here when the "C" type first came out about how I wanted so much to like it but it was so miserably uncomfortable I gave up on it after about an hour's drive. (Thanks again to a GREAT sales man who rode with me to a gas station, used the dealer's credit card to fill the car and had me drive him back to the dealership where he got out and told me, "Don't be in a hurry to bring it back!"

After the cupholder on the door cut my left leg in half and the throttle position destroyed my right ankle I WAS in a hurry to bring it back!

"C" types are for people a little shorter than 6' 4"..... My 92 fits just fine! I can't move around in it and I don't get in it, I put it on, but it's comfortable once I'm in!

Well, I've got the opposite problem. I'm short...... extremely short. When I sat in an MX-5 at the latest car show, I had to move the seat up so far in order to clutch to the floor, the steering wheel was in my chest like a NASCAR driver. Is it just in the last couple of years that the paddles were available?

Professor

I think so, I don't think the "A" or "B" types had them.

Actually, that is a problem with the B's as well. Seems that all the "extra stuff" in the steering column was to blame, and Mazda never bothered to correct it. I'm also of "average" height, and end up moving the seat forward for in town driving, and all the way back for the road.

I'm 5'7" and will be 63 this year, with no arthritis yet that I know of, but getting a bit sore, all over. Too much inactivity during the winter months :-).

But I am also finding it harder and harder to get into my 2000 MX-5, with just 38,000 mi.

But will drive it as long as I can, cause I love that little ZOOM ZOOM ZOOMER>>LOL