Forrester 2001 noisy and weak brakes

You can request a high-friction brake pad when you get your brakes done. They wear out quicker, but they stop you quicker as well.

Remember, ABS allows control during breaking, but will increase stopping distance.

(Though you probably would feel it if ABS was engaged.)

My Outback has what I would describe as "hard" pads... i.e. the "stick" curve is longer and shallower than I like. It still stops, but light preasure on the pedal does less than I would like it to do.

ABS is designed to engage/disengage brakes under conditions where the wheels are likely to lock. (such as snow or rain) The idea is the computer can control the brakes faster than a human resulting in _reduced_ stopping distance and better control during extreme braking conditions.

The actual savings in stopping distance is ~3ft.

ABS often extends stopping distances, and I find the ABS on my Forester seems more prone to cut the braking than the ABS on my other car. On this NG I've read this complaint about Impreza ABS in general. I've even had the Forester ABS kick in over potholes a couple of times. In my Maxima it only kicks in for slippery stops.

Just had some visitors from California and they traded in their Forester for the same reason. They said that they couldn't stop the car quickly even in a panic stop. It scared them to the point that they traded it in for a CRV. They spent a lot of time at the dealer over it. Good luck...thay was the first I'd heard of it....Jim in Redmond, WA

Is that on an automatic transmission? There is an AWD variant on Subarus, not sure which models though, that utilizes 4-wheel traction control. It involves not just power distribution, but also employs braking pulses to each individual wheel as well to maintain control. This could explain the behavior over potholes that you describe. It could cause a certain wheel to slip momentarily and then pulse the brakes to restore traction.

No. I have a 2001 Forester and the brakes work great. It stops quick, straight and true, every time. The brakes are totally silent.

Your car has a problem. You need to get it checked out by a competent Subaru mechanic.

That's incorrect.

ABS's sole purpose is to improve *control* of vehicle during hard/panic braking.

ABS is generally recognized as NOT contributing to shorter stopping distances, but rather, longer, but more controlled, stops.

-- ABS Questions

a.. Should I pump the brake pedal when stopping in slippery conditions? You absolutely should not pump the brake pedal in a car with ABS. Pumping the brakes is a technique that is sometimes used in slippery conditions to allow the wheels to unlock so that the vehicle stays somewhat straight during a stop. In a car with ABS the wheels should never lock in the first place, so pumping the brakes will just make you take longer to stop. In an emergency stop in a car with ABS, you should apply the brake pedal firmly and hold it while the ABS does all the work. You will feel a pulsing in the pedal that may be quite violent, but this is normal so don't let off the brake.

b.. Do anti-lock brakes really work? Anti-lock brakes really do help you stop better. They prevent wheels from locking up and provide the shortest stopping distance on slippery surfaces. But do they really prevent accidents? This is the true measure of the effectiveness of ABS systems. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has conducted several studies trying to determine if cars equipped with ABS are involved in more or fewer fatal accidents. It turns out that in a 1996 study, vehicles equipped with ABS were overall no less likely to be involved in fatal accidents than vehicles without. The study actually stated that although cars with ABS were less likely to be involved in accidents fatal to the occupants of other cars, they are more likely to be involved in accidents fatal to the occupants of the ABS car, especially single-vehicle accidents.

There is much speculation about the reason for this. Some people think that drivers of ABS-equipped cars use the ABS incorrectly, either by pumping the brakes or by releasing the brakes when they feel the system pulsing. Some people think that since ABS allows you to steer during a panic stop, more people run off the road and crash.

Some more recent information may indicate that the accident rate for ABS cars is improving, but there is still no evidence to show that ABS improves overall safety.

Having done a side-by-side comparison of 2 vehicles identically configured one having ABS and one with normal brakes, the vehicle with ABS was able stop much quicker on an ice covered road than the vehicle without.

Henry Paul

The truth of this matter depends on the driver. Pick 100 people off the street, send em off in identical cars, one with ABS the other without with no other instructions, it'd be interesting to see how the sets do when confronted with hardpack snow and ice and need to stop. ABS's benefits can be undermined with a silly driver who wants to pump or finesse the brakes rather than just standing on them and lettin ght esystem do what it does really well--adatively adjust braking pressure to eliminate lockup skidding. Cus, as we all remember from that physics class in high school, the static coefficient of friction (which applies to a non-skidding tire) is always higher than dynamic coefficient of friction (as in a skidding tire).

For a non-professional driver who knows enough to just stand on teh brake pedal because they know their car has ABS...and in a panic braking situation ABS on average will certainly stop shorter cus the wheels won't skid.

Now, you put pro drivers knowing what to expect behind two otherwise identical cars, yeah, it's certainly possible the pro driver will yield a shorter stopping distance in a non-ABS car than the pro driver standing on an ABS set of brakes.

Myself, in Chicago, I'm happy to have ABS. In a panic situation, I'm rather confident ABS will do me more harm than good.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

??? Not sure if I understand people from Chicago... ;)

BTW: I believe neither of the race car drivers would notice a difference, since ABS would not affect brake performance at all unless sustained wheel lockup occurs. Which would be a fatal mistake on a race course - a second of skidding along can put a nice flat spot into a tyre...

..wop wop wop

Florian

Doh! I wrote that sentence exactly backwards.

I'm confident ABS will do me more good than harm I meant to say.

-- Todd H.

Having good brake shoes and tires are also contributing factors.