always – All about car

ABS is one of those exquisite inventions that automates cadence braking, a technique previously reserved for skilled humans, and makes the result available to everybody. Short for Antiblockiersystem, the initialism also conveniently stands for the English translation, anti-lock braking system. Introduced by Mercedes and Bosch in 1978, it’s now a standard fitment on every car. ABS not only saves lives but also, in less serious situations, a lot of tears, fights, gnashing of teeth, ‘if only’ soul-searching and money. Cadence braking is a technique used to generate the maximum possible braking force available from a tyre contact patch on a slippery surface in a given time and distance. Just as important, it allows you to maintain steering control at the same time. When a wheel is locked up on a wet road, for instance, the contact patch is generating less grip than the instant before it locked. Worse still, locked front wheels cannot steer a car. On a dead-flat skidpan, a car with all four wheels locked will drift along on the same trajectory, even if the driver twirls the steering wheel from lock to lock. To cadence brake properly (only in a car with no ABS), the driver stamps as hard and fast on the brake pedal as possible, cleanly releasing it completely each time to make sure the wheels rotate for a split second before being locked again. This does two things. It takes the contact patches to the point of maximum grip (just before the wheel locks) as frequently as possible. The effect is to provide the maximum amount of braking effort over the distance travelled. Second, each time the wheels rotate briefly, the tyre will roll in the direction it’s pointing, steering the car. ABS does a similar thing, better, and in the case of the latest Bosch ninth-generation system, 40 times a second. An ABS system consists of a unit containing electrically operated hydraulic plunger valves, an accumulator (a reservoir to store hydraulic fluid under pressure) and a pump. When the ignition is switched on, the pump pressurises the reservoir and, at the instant a wheel is going to lock, the valve controlling that brake will partially open to block further pressure to that brake, regardless of how hard the driver is pressing the pedal. If the wheel continues to lock, the plunger of the valve moves further, bleeding fluid into the accumulator. Once the lock-up has been prevented, pressure stored in the accumulator is used to reinstate pressure at the brake caliper and the process starts again and for as often as necessary. What the driver feels and hears is a high-speed juddering vibration from the brake pedal and clicking noise that feels weird, but it’s essential to keep braking as hard as possible. ABS is a wondrous technology, not just because it’s complex, but because it’s robust enough to be trusted, always. Its ability to control individual wheel braking has also enabled other major safety systems such as DSC/ESP and brake-based lane-keeping systems. Putting drivers straight Lane-keeping support, as opposed to ‘assist’, actively steers the car firmly but gently back into lane. Cameras detect the lane marking and, on cars with electric steering, the system can take partial control of it to steer. Alternatively, Bosch ABS 9 allows brakes to be gently applied on one side to steer the car in that
Origin: Under the skin: Why you can always count on ABS

A real crowd pleaser! A firetruck car hauler at the Osoyoos show last weekend.Cam Hutchins This weekend on the B.C. car show calendar is one of my favourites of the year. Friday night it’s back to my old alma mater for the Centennial High School Show Shine, and Saturday it’s out to Mission Raceway Park for the Langley Loafers Old Time Drags. My fellow classmates and I are celebrating our 40th grad anniversary in September, and since lots of us are car nuts we’ll be bringing our cars to the parking lot of Centennial’s new school to help support the future grads. A lot of our teachers from back in the day were also into cars and I remember one memorable teacher, Geoff McElgunn, who taught my brother Jeff, myself and my nephew Andy, mechanics. We had an enormous amount of school shop space back in the day and we worked on all kinds of cars – it was great. Andy went into mechanics as a trade and Geoff retired a few years ago but is still active in the show, has a great old Mopar convertible and was instrumental in getting a Cuda race car for the students to drag race at Mission Raceways. Another alumnus who is a total car nut is Mo Davidson, who was inducted into the Greater Vancouver Pioneers of Motorsport for Drag Boat racing in 2016. Mo brought his boat to the show last year. In 1984 at an official Fraser Valley Drag Boat Association sanctioned event, Mo’s “Red Baron” drag boat covered a quarter mile in 5.7 seconds, setting a record that was still intact in 2016 at his induction. Last weekend I got to see a couple of old classmates from Centennial and Montgomery before that. Thursday evening I went to Stones Speed Shop in Chilliwack to photograph the 1934 Ford “Mindrel Coupe” for a showboard for the Cactus Jalopies Show in Osoyoos. Long-time pal Bernard Cote is working at Stones. And I caught up with another buddy, Ray Brenner, up in Osoyoos with his awesome fenderless 1934 Ford with the massive “boots” at the rear. The cars in Osoyoos were astounding, and I finally got to see JF’s Acadian in person. I also got to see an incredible “tribute” to the classic AFX Funny Car Mustangs of the past. This ’66 fastback Mustang has a 15-inch stretched nose and the rear axle was moved forward 10 inches. Powered by a supercharged 302 it has power windows and doors and was owned by Bob and Lynne Wade. Another wild car was a 1957 Chevy that was found in a wreckers in Washington State 35 years ago. Originally Brian Reinholz only wanted the rare power windows and power seat, but for double that price he got the whole car that was virtually complete. It only recently got finished with a Jimmy 6-71 blower from an actually 6-71 two-stroke diesel he found and stripped apart. The patina is awesome and its registration clearly states…”Go ahead and touch it!!” I look forward to seeing you all tonight and remember, because we grew up in Coquitlam, this is a rain or shine event. Bring a kid along and get a photo of them sitting in my old Chevy truck, as it is also a “hands on” experience. SHOWS JUNE 7 What: Ninth Annual Centennial High School Show Shine Where: Centennial School Student parking lot, 570 Poirier St., Coquitlam When: 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Admission: Free Registration: Starts at 4 p.m. $15 per vehicle Info: Cam at 604-551-3650 or camsfam@shaw.ca JUNE 8 What: Burrard Yacht Club Classic Boat Car Show Where: 10 Gostick Place, North Vancouver When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: Donations to the Disabled Sailing Association Registration: Open to Collector Vehicles Register at burrardyachtclub.com Info: 604-980-0817 or classiccar@burrardyachtclub.com Website: burrardyachtclub.com JUNE 8-9 What: 32nd Annual Cache Creek Graffiti Days Where: Cache Creek Community Park, Cache Creek When: Saturday Poker Run 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday show shine 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday smoke show 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday swap meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission: Free Registration: Free and open to all vehicles 1972 or older. Info: 250-457-7661 or bcelliott@coppervalley.bc.ca Website: cachecreekvillage.com JUNE 9 What: Pontiac Car Club Show Shine Where: KMS parking lot, 300 – 19600 Langley Bypass When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission: Free Registration: 9 a. to noon $20 and open to Pontiacs, GMC trucks, Oldsmobiles and Buicks Info: 604-468-3695 or tbeale58@telus.net Website: pppcc.com What: 29th Annual Sockeye Run Show Shine, Where: Steveston Community Centre, Richmond When: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: Free Registration: 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. $15 and open to all vehicles Info: 604-271-5858 email, coordinator@sockeyerun.com or webmaster@richmondlions.club Website: sockeyerun.com What: Murray GM Corvette Camaro Show Where: Murray GM Abbotsford, 30355 Automall Dr., Abbotsford When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission: By donation to BC SPCA Info: 604-857-5200 or info@murraygmabbotsford.com Website: murraygmabbotsford.com What: Steve Marshall Ford Open Car Show Where: 3851 Shenton Rd., Nanaimo When: Noon to 4 p.m.
Origin: Back to school isn’t always a drag