How to Brake Part 1
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The most common road crash is a nose-to-tail impact caused mainly by a lack of understanding of how to brake properly. We have all seen or heard it and anyone who has been driving for any length of time has probably experienced it first hand - the sickening screech of tyre on road followed by a very solid thump. It's most agonising to be in the stationary car at the front of the queue watching Mr Inattentive about to inflict the front of his car on you....
Being confronted with an emergency situation has one immediate affect - it rapidly raises your heart rate about threefold and fear takes control of your car. Understanding what is about to happen when you jump on the brake pedal is the only way of being able to calmly operate in this situation. A locked wheel will not stop you as fast as a wheel that is rotating with a braking affect. In fact, the best braking happens when the braking effort is being applied to the point just before lock-up.
You only have to watch a racing car on a track to see this first-hand - a lock-up mistake usually results in the car leaving the track or at best running wide in a corner and losing positions to other competitors. The other huge disadvantage of a locked front wheel is that it renders the vehicle out of control. No steering can take place if the wheel is not turning.
The most efficient method of stopping in an emergency is threshold braking, also sometimes called cadence braking.
Threshold braking involves technique and feel. Squeeze the pedal firmly so you get the feel of hanging in the seat belts as the weight of the car transfers forwards. This puts more weight over your front wheels - which is good, because it's the front wheels that do most of the braking. Now that you have a higher grip level to play with, all that is remaining is to keep an even and firm pressure on the pedal over the remainder of the stopping distance.
Knowing how hard you can press the brake pedal before the wheels lock up can only be found out through experience. But you need to understand this - if during an emergency stop you hear the ominous sound of tyre squeal and start to smell smoke, un-squeeze the pedal by a small amount to stop the lock-up and regain control! This is where some finesse is required. Come off the brakes too much, and your (so far) well controlled stop will suddenly speed up and extend the stopping distance that you initially required...
The most important advantage of threshold braking is that it leaves you in control and with the ability to steer around an obstacle. If you let fear take control, the brakes will be jabbed hard not giving time for any weight transfer and so locking the wheels. The result is an extended stopping distance without the ability of the driver to steer. It's for this reason that ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) was invented. -
2 points:
1. most pple will have no patience reading this...
2. most if not almost all cars are equipped with ABS and Traction control... with abs.. threshold braking is not needed at all... a driver in an emergency need juz jam on the brakes and sensors will regulate the braking pressure to prevent wheels frm locking... at the same time traction control will send torque to appropriate wheels to prevent cars frm oversteering or understeering... -
hey n0x,
1) i took the trouble of reading all those, its pretty good to know..
2) most cars have ABS but i believe tat only those more expensive cars are equipped with traciton control. btw my car has no ABS...
btw n0x, ure chenqien from mcf? -
Always go back to basics - Basics are the most important - ABS is in but if you have the basics of Threshold braking - Heel Toe, you can still do without it or complement it.
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1. i took the trouble for part 1 but cant continue with part 2.. ahhahaOriginally posted by YiFengz:hey n0x,
1) i took the trouble of reading all those, its pretty good to know..
2) most cars have ABS but i believe tat only those more expensive cars are equipped with traciton control. btw my car has no ABS...
btw n0x, ure chenqien from mcf?
2. my father's humble altis has abs and traction control... so no offence but ur car is quite old???
and yes i am chenqien frm mcf.. i believe i have pm u abt this b4..
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eh i tot now they got ABS then no need to so called so the methods?
unless you own like,... proton saga or eh... SAF rover??? -
QQ also lehOriginally posted by Cpt.ZR:eh i tot now they got ABS then no need to so called so the methods?
unless you own like,... proton saga or eh... SAF rover??? -
Haha .. but I still got use Heel Toe .. maybe for the style lolz ....
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AE86 initial D style wor...
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take the above advice and remember it. I noe the diff between ABS and threshold braking.. I have experienced my car's ABS kicking in b4... on a wet road at least.. its useless.. almost cozed me to kiss the butt of the car in front.. i oni missed coz the car in front moved forward.. bo insurance claim liao...Originally posted by n0x:2 points:
1. most pple will have no patience reading this...
2. most if not almost all cars are equipped with ABS and Traction control... with abs.. threshold braking is not needed at all... a driver in an emergency need juz jam on the brakes and sensors will regulate the braking pressure to prevent wheels frm locking... at the same time traction control will send torque to appropriate wheels to prevent cars frm oversteering or understeering... -
Wah, you racing ar? Tell us when you driving, so we can keep off the roads.Originally posted by arcadegamestore:Haha .. but I still got use Heel Toe .. maybe for the style lolz .... -
change a better brake pad and brake disc la.
If not dun follw so close, dun speed... -
1. LOL, its not really tat long anyway...have more patience!Originally posted by n0x:1. i took the trouble for part 1 but cant continue with part 2.. ahhaha
2. my father's humble altis has abs and traction control... so no offence but ur car is quite old???
and yes i am chenqien frm mcf.. i believe i have pm u abt this b4..
2. im driving a humble 1.3L korean car tat does not have abs...its not a old car, juz mine doesnt come equipped with one, but then i dont think it makes much a difference if u do defensive driving, always keep a safety distance. i've nv locked up my tires when braking so far. -
toe heel is a technique to drive fast and smoothly...a couple of my frens used it and they are pretty good with it.Originally posted by ditzy:Wah, you racing ar? Tell us when you driving, so we can keep off the roads. -
pple always have this wrong thinking that ABS will decrease ur braking distance, this is not the case. ABS stands for antilock brake system , and not DBS (Decrease in Brake-distance System)Originally posted by nOrmalbOi:take the above advice and remember it. I noe the diff between ABS and threshold braking.. I have experienced my car's ABS kicking in b4... on a wet road at least.. its useless.. almost cozed me to kiss the butt of the car in front.. i oni missed coz the car in front moved forward.. bo insurance claim liao...
ABS does not lessen ur braking distance, it will helps u gain control by preventing ur wheels from locking up and ur car skidding all over the place when u do hard braking.
so if u LPPL brake too late, kiss pple backside, u only have urself to blame for misjudging the distance / tailgating. -
but remember this
even though u applied emergency brake
and you found out you cannot avoid hitting the object in front
the next instint is to pull steering wheel left or right (depending on the situation) to siam the front object
if by doing so, you did not hit any object on your right or left
then you are save
if you hit any object either on your right or left, then good luck
remember the case where a m/cyclist lose control his bike when his rear tyre burst?
the van behind him tried to siam him by changing lane as emergency brake wont stop the van in time
thus unlucky for the van driver
his van went to knock another m/cyclist on his right thus killing the rider and he was arrested
dont know what is the outcome now -
interesting read
once i was travelling about 100k.. car in front of me suddenly stopped. I swerved to the right to avoid, the car behind me swerve to the left to avoid me.
adrenalin rush -
Ya it is meant to be more smooth not say reckless - hehe ... it keeps the downshift smootherOriginally posted by ditzy:Wah, you racing ar? Tell us when you driving, so we can keep off the roads. 
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Quite a rush .... lolz .... but very scary especially when ABS kicks in - Cause you know you are braking VERY hard already - and the car looms closer and closer.