The BRAKING Effect


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We all tend to go ga-ga over the engine performance and the acceleration (0-60 details), but what matters most in case of a sudden obstacle or eminent danger is how effective are the brakes, and how long do they take to come to a standstill.

Somehow most manufacturers don't reveal this information in their marketing gimmicks, and as individual buyers we also don't inquire much on this.

ABS, EBD, Airbags are safety features and are essential but the primary safety feature in my opinion is BRAKING power. So would request everyone in the community to pitch in with details of the brake effect (distance from 80 to 0 and time taken to achieve it). It will help in deciding which is the car on indian roads with supreme braking power, and which one has the least.

The thinking here is never follow a car at high speed with a more powerful brake than yours and never allow a car to follow you at a high speed which has a lower braking power than you. [clap]

I always got a feedback that safari has a bad braking and hence I avoid having a Safari behind me on a highway at high speeds. So I had got a number for its braking and my cars
80-0 kmph braking
Tata Safari Old (4x2) - 31.8 meters
Santro (my car) - 31.7 metres (3.2 sec)
 
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Nice one. But the biggest problem on Indian roads is not about how effective the car breaking is. It depends on how the car is maintained and what's the drive attention towards roads. I have seen the drivers chatting with there colleagues on highway considering that there won't be any obstacle on there path. The best way to avoid such situation is to ensure there is sufficient distance between 2 cars. In other countries the car behind has to take care that the distance between our car & the front car should be few meters but in India its exactly opposite. Whenever I travel on I ensure that if I have a car travelling at good speeds behind me I usually reduce my speed and give him to win the race :)
 
Thread Starter #3
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got some more info
(arranging in descending order)
mercedes bens a class - 24.11 m
VW passat - 24.95 m
mercedes e class - 25.27 m
maruti dezire petrol - 25.7 m
renault scala petrol - 25.97 m
audi a4 - 26.15 m
honda amaze petrol - 26.92 m
tata manza diesel - 27.0 m
polo gt tsi - 27.11 m
honda city(3rd gen) - 27.24 m
renault duster 110 diesel - 27.29 m
old dezire diesel - 27.63 m
ford fiesta petrol - 28.6 m
hyundai verna petrol - 28.6 m
hyundai i10 - 28.78 m
maruti astar - 30.38m
santro petrol - 31.7 m
tata safari old (4x2) - 31.8 m
ford ikon diesel - 32.35 m
logan/verito diesel - 33.07 m
 
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Old Swifts/Dzires had horrible brakes, I wonder how they feature in the above list.

On the contrary, Manza (non ABS) brakes are good. It has saved me few times from rear ending morons ahead.
 
Thread Starter #5
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Old Swifts/Dzires had horrible brakes, I wonder how they feature in the above list.

On the contrary, Manza (non ABS) brakes are good. It has saved me few times from rear ending morons ahead.
Not quite sure of your observations, but in theory, the braking is not linear. So maybe manza's initial response curve is good and by the time speed is in control, you are safe, but in old dezire, initial response is late and the last bit is immediate, so you do not feel the braking effect immediately... just speculating here though.. expert anwers/ opinions required...

the numbers i have got are from standardized road test reports i could lay my hands on..
 
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If these are official figures then good.

Also any research on brakes for A/T cars ? As they should be better brakes than geared counterparts.
 
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Guys, there are also differences between the variants of the same car. When I was to buy my Swift (2014), I drove several ZXIs in various dealerships and found the brakes to be as good as my outgoing Wagon R. When I got my VXI, the brakes were just too soft and I have several instances where I panicked at the end of my braking run. Like someone mentioned, initial brakes are late to respond and the final brake bite is quite good. And I found evidence that MS is aware of this problem- the facelifted VXIs 2015 models now come with ABS which is a fix for exactly this problem and a result of the Euro NCAP controversy

At 2nd service, I offered that the dealership install the ABS system in my car at my cost but, to their loss, they didnt take it seriously

Ameyam
 
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Friends,any data available for Ritz petrol? Mine is non ABS car. So far I did not face any problem with brake ,but I can tell that I felt bite of brake more prominent in ABS version. It is also said that effect its brake felt less at low speed. I never faced problem but I had to press brake harder at very low speed. At the time of purchase it was said ABS may be installed against extra cost. Friends may tell how much is the cost now?
 
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Friends,any data available for Ritz petrol? Mine is non ABS car. So far I did not face any problem with brake ,but I can tell that I felt bite of brake more prominent in ABS version. It is also said that effect its brake felt less at low speed. I never faced problem but I had to press brake harder at very low speed. At the time of purchase it was said ABS may be installed against extra cost. Friends may tell how much is the cost now?
ABS cannot be installed after market as of now.You have to buy the ABS variant.However as a Ritz owner,would say its good at high speed braking.
 
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Likewise the Swift. It brakes well at 30kmph+. Its the low speed bumper to bumper braking and the lack of effect thereof that troubles me.


Ameyam
 
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I always been skeptical about my K10's braking. Earlier bite was good. Now, I doubt about the stopping distance. Should check with ASS. Any tips to improve the braking.

Also I am damn afraid of braking suddenly since, I was hit by vehicles coming from behind thrice[frustration].No no, I dint brake suddenly.2 times by 4 wheelers and 1 time by Bike(Bike one can be neglected because the person who was riding the bike was old person and hit me when he tried to balance some gunny bag. This was inside some village on worst roads). Also any tips to avoid these situations.

When i try to brake and if some one is behind me I feel like [gun]
 
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With aids of ABS and BA, the vehicles can be controlled better. But, the braking distance is larger in cars with ABS than non-ABS version. I drive a Liva with ABS and the stopping distance is larger than our previous Alto. ABS makes the car well balanced and manoeuvrable during hard braking but the stopping distance is slightly larger.

@CARleone: You always have open empty roads at the early morning hours to check the brakes! Do not try anything in traffic or the person following you would have his airbags tested for sure.[lol]
 
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Disadvantages of ABS in indian roads-

Potholes.
Callliberation of ABS in potholes is in question.
If at all the tyres reach inbetween the pothole and road surface, vehicle under motion, ABS doesn't sense(Tried in Verna,Swift), the only option left with user is again press the pedal (ie,press pedal,leave again press it),then it works fine.
 
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ABS will increase braking distance. But this does not mean non-ABS cars are not safe. Case in point- someone gets into your way and you brake hard. If your car has ABS, you can swerve and avoid the object. But in order to do that, the system prevents the wheels from turning as slow as possible, so braking distance increases. If your car doesn't ABS, punching the brakes this way will lock your tires. Deceleration. With rolling friction is stronger than sliding friction. So if you lock, you will travel further before you stop. And because the tires are skidding, you will have no directional control. However you can work around this by braking hard initially & unloading the brakes & steering just at the end. Your feet then act as ABS. It doesnt work on a wet road though

The correct way to brake is to initially brake softly & then harder. That way the person behind is warned in advance and gets time to react. That way you can reduce chances of being rear ended. Of course. If you brake suddenly to avoid an accident, none of these apply

Ameyam
 
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