ABS Disable

[Mocha90210]

Sorry for the bad workaround Mocha, it wasn't what I wanted to hear either.
GOM

No worries. ABS has been around too long for there to be an easy way to disable it. It’s too bad, seeing as how you can easily disable CMBS and traction control.

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[3925blue]

Called a Honda dealer other than mine today. They were surprisingly accomodating about it, and according to them the only way that will not interfere with other systems is if you unplug the 4 wheel spin sensors. You cannot do it from pulling a fuse, it is made to fuck you over.

Unplugging the wheel sensors will light up some dash lights, you lose ABS, VSA, and Traction Control, and you'll still have a car with an electric parking brake. But at least the ABS problem will be fixed. Make sure you find a way to seal the connectors from snow/debris so you can plug them back in. I have yearly inspections I'll have to have it plugged in for.

Sorry for the bad workaround Mocha, it wasn't what I wanted to hear either.

GOM

Far from perfect for a daily driver, but this is an excellent option for those that might autocross or otherwise race their Civic and need these systems disabled temporarily.

 

[5inn]

Far from perfect for a daily driver, but this is an excellent option for those that might autocross or otherwise race their Civic and need these systems disabled temporarily.

The ABS in the Civic does not seem bad. Some cars are notorious for ABS 'ice mode' but I have yet to notice this on the Civic at autocross. Disabling ABS in the methods described is also illegal in most of the less prepared autocross classes.

IMO if you are consistently getting ABS lockup you are doing something wrong. It's possible (and not very hard) to threshold brake without triggering the ABS.

 

[3925blue]

The ABS in the Civic does not seem bad. Some cars are notorious for ABS 'ice mode' but I have yet to notice this on the Civic at autocross. Disabling ABS in the methods described is also illegal in most of the less prepared autocross classes.

IMO if you are consistently getting ABS lockup you are doing something wrong. It's possible (and not very hard) to threshold brake without triggering the ABS.

I did not know about race rules like that. Thanks for the heads up. So they allow to be turned off by the in-car switch only?
I don't mean to thread hijack too much, but what class do you get stuck in if you have ECU mods like K-Tuner, but nothing else?

 

[5inn]

I did not know about race rules like that. Thanks for the heads up. So they allow to be turned off by the in-car switch only?
I don't mean to thread hijack too much, but what class do you get stuck in if you have ECU mods like K-Tuner, but nothing else?

It would depend on which club you would race with and their specific rules. The most popular nation wide club is through the SCCA. I don't believe it's legal to remove ABS at all until you get into Street Prepared.

Modding the ECU would be legal in the Street Touring categories. For reference classes start with Street -> Street Touring -> Street Prepared.

 

[jeb]

They lack driving skills BECAUSE they are given ABS. I didn't learn how to threshold brake overnight, but now that I do, what good is ABS if I can do a better job?

GOM

What makes you think you can do a better job than a computer? I’d bet my middle nut that the computer can do a better job of bringing the car to a safe stop while enabling you to steer.

 

[3925blue]

What makes you think you can do a better job than a computer? I’d bet my middle nut that the computer can do a better job of bringing the car to a safe stop while enabling you to steer.

Well, to be fair, he did mention straight-line threshold braking; you are talking about, with the steering and all, what he explicitly excluded. I would be willing to bet my nutz that a very skilled driver can stop shorter than ABS on dry pavement. Most of the time. Or maybe some of the time. Whatever. He just wants a way to disable it 'cuz it pisses him off. I guess.

 

[hichamaziz]

you must search on catalogues

 

[grumpyoldman]

To those seeking disabling ABS:

Suggestion from one of my mechanic friends; Disconnect only 1 wheel sensor, and the whole system should turn off.

Gonna give it a try this weekend. The ABS module is screwed to the firewall opposite where the passenger's knees would be. There is a huge connector on the ABS module itself.

I'm going to try out a few combinations this weekend:
1. Unplug 1 wheel sensor (if that doesn't work, then I'll try all 4)
2. Unplug that huge ass connector on the ABS module in the engine bay.

The engine bay stuff might be easier to keep clean than having an open connector (as weatherproofed as possible) in the wheel well, but it might affect other aspects of the brakes since the lines run through the ABS system. Although my friend told me that I might be able to get the connectors, in which case I'll plug in the opposite gender connector in and seal it with some silicone, something easy to take off come inspection time.

I'll keep you posted on the results as there seems to be some genuine interest for others like me and autocrossers.

GOM

 

[grumpyoldman]

The ABS in the Civic does not seem bad. Some cars are notorious for ABS 'ice mode' but I have yet to notice this on the Civic at autocross. Disabling ABS in the methods described is also illegal in most of the less prepared autocross classes.

IMO if you are consistently getting ABS lockup you are doing something wrong. It's possible (and not very hard) to threshold brake without triggering the ABS.

Maybe Honda is doing something wrong. Maybe they're forced by some gov't regulation to implement it a certain way. Maybe they want to raise the price of cars by implementing bogus technologies, like an electric parking brake or backup cameras that are always dirty and totally useless. Maybe they're trying to replace drivers with self-driving cars.

Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man.

GOM

 

[grumpyoldman]

What makes you think you can do a better job than a computer? I’d bet my middle nut that the computer can do a better job of bringing the car to a safe stop while enabling you to steer.

Shifting the Goalposts. Nice fallacy. We are specifically talking about straight line braking.

Ddweak.

GOM

 

[jeb]

Shifting the Goalposts. Nice fallacy. We are specifically talking about straight line braking.

Ddweak.

GOM

Not trying to shift the goal posts at all.

If you threshold brake correctly and as good as you say, you shouldn’t even NEED to disable ABS as your wheels won’t lock up.

Anyways your car do what you want, I for one embrace change.... but don’t be surprised when if other things don’t work correctly when the VSA/ABS is disabled.

Specifically, the EPS for example. The electric power steering uses the wheel sensors to know how fast the car is going. With out them, the EPS can’t dial back the power assist when you go faster, and will leave the steering over assisted and numb feeling. That ABS/VSA system is integrated into the car, and messing with it is going to frig something else up, possilby even giving a dealer cause to void your warranty.

Besides all the stupid reasons to do it, you’re going to have a ton of lights an messages on your dash, that would piss me off big Time.

 

[jeb]

Haha maybe not double, but I did miss the left turn that I wanted to make.

You guys are a bunch of poptarts. I’m really having fun with all your logic here.

If it was so slippery you couldn’t stop, what makes you think you could turn??

 

[Mocha90210]

You guys are a bunch of poptarts. I’m really having fun with all your logic here.

If it was so slippery you couldn’t stop, what makes you think you could turn??

The logic isn’t that hard to follow. Because the ABS kicked in to “help me stop” (which it didn’t), I wasn’t able to slow down to a speed that was safe to turn.

Does that help?

 

[Mocha90210]

I for one embrace change....

It’s not about embracing change. It’s about disliking something that doesn’t work well but is forced on you.

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