[robbutler1977]

I hit snow for the first time in my 2006 Colorado. I found out that the ABS really sucks on my truck! in order to stay alive I quickly googled on my phone how to disable the ABS so that I could stop in about 2 inch of snow with freezing conditions. when I hit the breaks to stop the ABS kicked in and started using light chatter kind of braking to slow down. and with that going on I could not do anything. if I let my foot off, I would have slid right though the intersection. I just don't think this ABS was designed for icy weather! in fact I thing its just designed for dry pavement and that is it. I am sure this has been brought up before but I could not find it. there was another person that had ABS problems but not any issues with snow or ice. it you could give some pointers or help I would like that. and I seen where someone ask how to disable the ABS without pulling the fuse? could there be a way to trick the sensor into thinking its reading? or put a Rectifier in place of the wheel sensor?
thanks for the help in advance.

if anyone asks, say the Butler did it!!!! :355group:

 

[ryley911]

Thought I was the only one thinking this. Glad I am not the only one who thinks the ABS sucks in icy/snowy conditions.

 

[hmmbagodden]

I'm am going to assume that you have limited experience driving, or braking in snowy/icy weather. On top of that you need to understand how ABS works, as you never pump the brake with ABS, it's doing that for you.

I drive in snow and ice half the year and would NEVER disable ABS. I am guessing that you were driving too fast for the conditions and if ABS kicked in, that means you had already started sliding. It is my opinion and the same with most drivers up here that you will stop just as soon with ABS, if not sooner (plowing snow with tires being an exception, but if you read my point below, you have no directional control).

If you disable ABS and you start sliding, you can no longer steer your truck, especially if the rear-end is light. That is an extremely dangerous situation and odds are you will hit someone or someone will hit you.

My recommendation? Let ABS do its thing and save your bacon. SLOW DOWN if it's slippery and leave plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. Do not pump the brakes.

 

[rshadd]

A properly functioning ABS works far better than anything you could ever attempt to do manually.

 

[08Canyon]

You didn't mention if you were able to stop better after having disabled ABS. By better I mean in a shorter distance under identical road conditions, repeatedly.

If that works for you then great. But I've never had a problem with ABS either.

Just remember, if you are in a bad accident and your vehicle is inspected and determined the ABS system is altered, you may be found liable.

I might suggest practicing more snow driving in that truck to become more familiar with how the system functions. If then you feel the system is functioning incorrectly then a trip to a brake specialist may be in order. In all of the reading I have done, if the ABS is malfunctioning at either of the wheels it will throw a code.

If you have not used ABS often, or have much experience in snow conditions (based on your history of WA.) it does take a little time to get used to. While ABS functions better than conventional braking, it is not to mean that you will brake as if on dry surfaces. I will assume that the amount of snow you have been in vs. the amount of your driving years if a very low percentage. All assumptions, of course. I only drive in snow a few times a season now, or maybe more, but I know I have to take it easy because my snow skills are rusty. Rusty enough that I don't want to be ditched or glissade down a hill.

And sorry but no, GM built the system to not be removed as an option for the owner.

 

[Sarge]

What about tires? What kind are you running and how worn are they?

But I'm with the above posters. Listen to @hmmbagodden. The man lives in Alaska, I think he knows what he's talking about when it comes to driving in snow. Yes, the ABS feels weird when it's engaged and your first instinct is something is wrong, but that weird ratcheting sound and shaking feeling through the brake pedal is perfectly normal.

 

[Portland ORado]

I don't think the ABS is the issue. I would suspect possibly worn tires or tires not really designed for snow/ice. Not sure how much snow/ice Killeen, TX sees on average in the winter, but may want to look at getting snow rated tires or carry chains during the winter.

 

[FixxxerKH202]

I actually agree with the op. I always have the fuse pulled. Our ABS cycles and pumps way too long when it engages, and S10's were the same throughout their life.

Using the gears works the best though, even in an automatic you will reduce the chance of sliding by a lot.

 

[Jaymes]

Although I think our ABS could be better, it does a better job at stopping while maintaining the most control over the truck. If your wheels lock up you only slide and cannot counter steer. The ABS in our trucks "pulse" quickly to maintain that control. I'm sure you know how it works but thats my .02.

Its probably not the ABS sucking, its most likely the road condition causing the problem as it is snowy/icy.

 

[Rick_crew]

I'm am going to assume that you have limited experience driving, or braking in snowy/icy weather. On top of that you need to understand how ABS works, as you never pump the brake with ABS, it's doing that for you.

I drive in snow and ice half the year and would NEVER disable ABS. I am guessing that you were driving too fast for the conditions and if ABS kicked in, that means you had already started sliding. It is my opinion and the same with most drivers up here that you will stop just as soon with ABS, if not sooner (plowing snow with tires being an exception, but if you read my point below, you have no directional control).
...

A properly functioning ABS works far better than anything you could ever attempt to do manually.

You didn't mention if you were able to stop better after having disabled ABS. By better I mean in a shorter distance under identical road conditions, repeatedly.

If that works for you then great. But I've never had a problem with ABS either.

Just remember, if you are in a bad accident and your vehicle is inspected and determined the ABS system is altered, you may be found liable.

....

What about tires? What kind are you running and how worn are they?

But I'm with the above posters. Listen to @hmmbagodden. The man lives in Alaska, I think he knows what he's talking about when it comes to driving in snow. Yes, the ABS feels weird when it's engaged and your first instinct is something is wrong, but that weird ratcheting sound and shaking feeling through the brake pedal is perfectly normal.

These guys are correct.

 

[10Canyon53]

:yeahthat: The whole point of ABS is to allow you to steer around an obstacle instead of locking your brakes up and sliding into it. I have 28 years experience behind the wheel, including hundreds of thousands of miles as a professional truck driver (and including a couple of years as a bus driver in the ice and snow). If you can't stop in time you are driving too fast for conditions.

 

[Joe canyon]

Using the breaks for a sudden stop in ice or snow is not going to happen. You coast to a slow roll then break.

 

[1BADI5]

:yeahthat: The whole point of ABS is to allow you to steer around an obstacle instead of locking your brakes up and sliding into it. I have 28 years experience behind the wheel, including hundreds of thousands of miles as a professional truck driver (and including a couple of years as a bus driver in the ice and snow). If you can't stop in time you are driving too fast for conditions.

^^ This guy nailed it.

Inexperience with the conditions, your vehicle and speed are all working against you here. Next time is snow......find an empty parking lot and practice driving and braking in there.

Having spent the vast majority of my life on the east coast and driving in the snow.......I'm very experienced. Yet everytime it snows.....I find a parking lot and practice.........as a refresher

I have tested my truck with and without the ABS activated............ I have been through intensive drivers training in my job and carry the rating of a Master Driver........I will tell you hands down, the braking is better with the ABS activated. I can count on one hand how many professional drivers I know that can do better w/o ABS.....the margin in which they do it is a slim amount.

End state, many of the members in here are speaking the truth

 

[FixxxerKH202]

Our ABS will normally increase stopping distance because the pump applies full pressure to the brakes and guarantees the wheel will lock inbetween pulses when it activates(some vehicles have systems that can differentiate pressure, but our trucks do not).

When you work them without ABS you can differentiate the brake pressure applied to the optimal amount of brake slippage to prevent the wheels from locking. When you are familiar with your vehicle can do it every stop by habit.

 

[Rick_crew]

Thing is,
much faster than any human can even begin to sense or perceive traction loss the ABS receives speed data from each wheel and can detect loss of traction/skidding AND react to begin to modulate the braking pressure to each wheel individually.

In other words, faster than you can even begin to feel wheel slippage, the ABS has both detected it and reacted to deal with it.

And as it does so as conditions change moment by moment (as the tire slides then hits a dry spot for a few inches then onto more slippery stuff again for example) the ABS is continuously changing it's action accordingly, hundreds of times per second. The actuators can't react at hundreds of times per second, but they're still faster at modulating brake pressure than you are.

Ice, snow, rain, or dry pavement (in a skid from panic-stopping) the ABS is gonna win.
It's just hard to let go and trust it when you feel the snow piling-up under the front wheel in a hard stop.

There've been a buncha tests with hard-core pro drivers that bear this out consistently.

 

[1BADI5]

^^ Your can also do the same with ABS by threshold braking............again, another skill that requires training and practice

 

[Joe canyon]

The thrill of driving in snow is more human than mechanical. :lolsign:

 

[Jaymes]

find an empty parking lot and practice driving and braking in there.

Thats exactly what I did this morning with some snow we got, except I did it on the roads around my school since no one was driving, plus it was a lot of fun and a great refresher on how the truck handles in snow and ice.

It was pretty icy.. from a dead stop I had to get moving by only using the clutch and the tires still spun a little.

 

[Rick_crew]

The thrill of driving in snow is more human than mechanical. :lolsign:

I was in Milwaukee through all of last winter (I'm from South Carolina).
You can have my snow-driving thrills, I'll be happy if I never see more snow.

I bought my truck new in Spring '05.
Except for a couple months, it's been in snowy areas every winter I owned it.
Gotta say, a 2WD crew-cab with the G-80 rear drives damn good in snow and ice, as long as it isn't deep. It's always stable and predictable.

 

[Joe canyon]

Thank you^^^ I'll take to the bank.