Electric ABS brakes

[Piet]

Has anyone run across this product before?
http://www.abspowerbrake.com/InstEHP.html

It would make a clean firewall.... and give me ABS....
A guy on nastyz28 installed it, and seems to really like it. (with pictures) http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/008022.html

Dunno... I currently think I will wait and see.....

[PRO TC]

its not realy abs. it has a accumulator that will help brake pressure. check out the september issue of super chevy page 93 thay installed it on the goodmark camaro. looks pretty nice.

pro tc

[fuzzyonion]

Many G.N. owners with the accumulator systems do indeed shtcan it due to reliability issues, in favor of hydroboost or vacuum boost. Buick and Pontiac used it on a few cars, including station wagons, for just a couple of years, but the master cylinders were not as pretty as the one on that link. They used it for standard brakes and for some antilock systems.

Chrysler also used the electric accumulator type power assist for some of their antilock systems in the early 90s. They quit using it soon after. It lasts a few years, then it costs lots of money again. The accumulator can cause some wierd problems if it goes bad.
I think BMW used the accumulator set-up for a while too... who knows who else made the same mistake ;)

PRO TC is correct. It isn't antilock brakes. You need at least speed sensors, a hydraulic control module, and an electric control module, before you can have antilock.

[CarlC]

Definately not an Antilock Braking System. It's just an assist unit. True ABS is an animal that no aftermarket company wants to tackle due to the complexity and liablility issues.

The hydraboost, is IMO, a better option from a reliability and functionality standpoint. If you want to upgrade the appearance perhaps you could have the HB ceramic or powder coated. If an aluminum MC is used it can be sanded and polished.

[LTorres]

Definately not an Antilock Braking System. It's just an assist unit. True ABS is an animal that no aftermarket company wants to tackle due to the complexity and liablility issues.

The hydraboost, is IMO, a better option from a reliability and functionality standpoint. If you want to upgrade the appearance perhaps you could have the HB ceramic or powder coated. If an aluminum MC is used it can be sanded and polished.

Just a note if anyone ever comes across this system. Before opening any hydraulic lines. Always de-pressurize this system. You should remove the key from the igintion and depress the pedal a min. of 50 times before attempting to overhaul or work on this system. This system is capable of producing extremely high amounts of pressure.

As always if you are not sure. Have a qualified technician assist you with your endeavor in regards to this system.

[CarlC]

Excellent point Laramie. The reserve system will hold pressure for weeks so proper safety precautions are needed.

[DarkBuddha]

These guys are slick using the name American Brakes and Steering since it gives them the initials ABS, which might mislead one into possibly believing the system is an antilock braking system. Anyone remember ABSTrax or BrakeGuard. Both were prosecuted by the NHTSA for promoting their product as an "ABS" system. Both companies did indeed assert lock resistance capabilities and reduced braking distances, which is exactly what the NHTSA said they couldn't do. Both companies claimed that independent third part research verified the accuracies of the claims. NHTSA just shut 'em down anyway. BrakeGuard is still around but doesn't make the same sort of claims anymore and primarily markets their stuff to the RV crowd. ABSTrax left the country to either South America or Africa, I can't remember which.

Anyway, I think the BrakeGuard and ABSTrax systems are also accumlators, or maybe reverse accumulators. They are definitely all hydralic, no electronics. As I understand it, they've got some sort of presurrized valve that takes up pressure beyond a certain limit. Supposedly when the system gets pressure spikes like from the brakes locking, the valve is compressed, reliieving some of the line pressure and supposedly unlocking the brakes.

Ironically, I first heard of both these products in the late '80s from ministock and regional road race folks that were using 'em. They seemed to think they worked pretty good. I recently found a couple of each for super cheap (they were over $200 new), so I might try 'em at some point to see if they're actually effective. It'd be interesting to see if they actually did shorten braking distances.