ABS or not?

number3

Member
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2001 Mazda Protege
Hey all, please excuse the idiotic question, but is the 01 protege supposed to have ABS? I think I found the module but I'm not sure, also there is a plug in the fuse compartment for a 60a fuse but I don't have one in hahah. I think I'll put one in and try it out in the freshly fallen snow. Any suggestions? I'm also looking into doing any preliminary modding until the financial situations cool down a bit. Any ideas for cheap/free! mods that would be worthwhile? Thanks in advance!
 
ABS was optional. If you look underneath your car at the front axles, you should see a little tooth gear around the outside of the axle end right next to the wheels. Also, you would have a wiring harness that goes down from near your wheels, is connected to each strut, and goes up into the car.

If not, you don't have ABS. I don't in my '01 LX 2.0, and I sure wish I did :(
 
look at your user manual and look in the fuse box under the hood. if there is a fuse there, you have it, if not, then you don't. and putting one in wont help.
 
I do appreciate the benefits of ABS, but honestly, good tires will do more for braking than ABS. Invest in some sticky tires.
 
learned a long time ago from a driver's training course instructor (for getting a speeding ticket) the best way to find out is:
1) for yourself
2) go fast on a back road and nail the brakes.

be safe out there.
 
DX & MP3 trim levels don't come with ABS. ES and p5's all do tho, IIRC. Not sure about the LX, but I would guess not seeing as it has rear drums... I prefer not having ABS in a small car honestly. In a heavier car it's nice, but for the curb weight being ~2700 lbs, and since this car gives you good feel with the handling, I can control my skids better than ABS can. Pump, pump, pump it up!
 
DX & MP3 trim levels don't come with ABS. ES and p5's all do tho, IIRC. Not sure about the LX, but I would guess not seeing as it has rear drums... I prefer not having ABS in a small car honestly. In a heavier car it's nice, but for the curb weight being ~2700 lbs, and since this car gives you good feel with the handling, I can control my skids better than ABS can. Pump, pump, pump it up!

ABS was optional on the LX - you can have ABS with drum brakes. Also, I realize our cars are lighter weight, but I have to disagree with you on the point about control. ABS cycles your brakes several times each second - a human foot, maybe once every 1 or 2 seconds.

There's no way that a human foot can do a better job of keeping a car from locking up than a properly functioning ABS system.
 
ABS was optional on the LX - you can have ABS with drum brakes. Also, I realize our cars are lighter weight, but I have to disagree with you on the point about control. ABS cycles your brakes several times each second - a human foot, maybe once every 1 or 2 seconds.

There's no way that a human foot can do a better job of keeping a car from locking up than a properly functioning ABS system.

I realize drum brakes don't impact ABS... But as its a cheaper brake system, it's not unusual that since ABS is an "upgrade" and more expensive, it would be withheld as well... Which is why it is an "option."

And I'll just beg to differ with you about the ABS system being better.

ABS systems use a consistent braking pattern that is not always optimized for braking distance. It's merely safer and allows people who don't know wtf they're doing to be able to steer their vehicle while braking. It doesn't allow to to stop faster, but rather allows you to steer & control your vehicle while braking.

On that note, ABS is great for the majority of people driving FAT ass SUVs and being bad drivers who FREAK out when they need to stop quickly and SLAM their brakes, locking them up in the process. If you know how to control your braking and pump them instead of slamming them, ABS is not more efficient when it comes to most braking distances/surfaces. Flat out.
 
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I realize drum brakes don't impact ABS... But as its a cheaper brake system, it's not unusual that since ABS is an "upgrade" and more expensive, it would be withheld as well... Which is why it is an "option."

And I'll just beg to differ with you about the ABS system being better.

ABS systems use a consistent braking pattern that is not always optimized for braking distance. It's merely safer and allows people who don't know wtf they're doing to be able to steer their vehicle while braking. It doesn't allow to to stop faster, but rather allows you to steer & control your vehicle while braking.

On that note, ABS is great for the majority of people driving FAT ass SUVs and being bad drivers who FREAK out when they need to stop quickly and SLAM their brakes, locking them up in the process. If you know how to control your braking and pump them instead of slamming them, ABS is not more efficient when it comes to most braking distances/surfaces. Flat out.

Could you please explain this a little further? It was my understanding that it is always advisable to stop your car as quickly as possible, which is what a constant brake application would do. However, because of wheel lockup, you can't just hold your brake down - unless you have abs, which keeps your brakes from locking up.

In what sorts of situations would it not be advisable to stop with ABS?
 
He's right, ABS isn't for shortest stopping distance, it's to prevent wheel lockup and maintain steering, like snow, ice, gravel, rain, crap like that where if you slam the brakes, lock em up and now you just slide and turning your wheel does nothing. The ABS in our cars sucks, I hate it, I'm still trying to get used to it. I wanna pull the fuse, but I don't want the light (please don't do that) My miata with no ABS stopped and felt so much better, I had complete control with that car (but apples and oranges) The best way to stop is at the perfect friction point of where the pads are slowing the rotor, but not just grabbing and holding on. It's hard to get that, so the second best is using abs and avoiding as much as possible.
 
DX & MP3 trim levels don't come with ABS. ES and p5's all do tho, IIRC. Not sure about the LX, but I would guess not seeing as it has rear drums... I prefer not having ABS in a small car honestly. In a heavier car it's nice, but for the curb weight being ~2700 lbs, and since this car gives you good feel with the handling, I can control my skids better than ABS can. Pump, pump, pump it up!
Not all P5's came with ABS, that was an option for those too. Along with side skirt air bags.
 
Not all P5's came with ABS, that was an option for those too. Along with side skirt air bags.

Thank you for the correction. :)

And yes, ABS' purpose is to allow you to steer and control your car during HARD braking. It's not designed to shorten stopping distances. You are not supposed to just hold down brakes without ABS. You are supposed to pump your brakes. With ABS pumping this is unnecesary and actually hurts your braking performance.

On that note its a bit of an argument whether ABS is beneficial in racing/performance applications, its basically personal preference. Talk to an old school driver and he will typically tell you ABS is crap... But ABS does have its purpose, that is for sure. Quite simply on a light car with a stiff/responsive suspension, I feel that I have a better control of my cars center of gravity and coefficient of friction... But that's my preference, I just like the control you get with raw braking. Rear wheel drive coupled with non-ABS 4 wheel disc is just pure enjoyment. :D You can counter oversteer and understeer relatively effectively by changing your braking habits thru corners. ABS is easier to control however and doesn't really provide any decrease in performance on stopping distance on well paved roads.
 
DX & MP3 trim levels don't come with ABS. ES and p5's all do tho, IIRC. Not sure about the LX, but I would guess not seeing as it has rear drums... I prefer not having ABS in a small car honestly. In a heavier car it's nice, but for the curb weight being ~2700 lbs, and since this car gives you good feel with the handling, I can control my skids better than ABS can. Pump, pump, pump it up!

my es does not have abs. when i slam the brakes the tires slide. and i looked at the fusebox and there was no fuse for abs so i put one in not knowing if i had it or not and i still slid when i would brake
 
^ Guess I didn't recall too correctly, haha. Well apparently ABS was nothing more than an option on ES models & p5's. Still, most have ABS. :D

And just to clarify, you can still lock up tires/slide with an ABS in place... Some systems are implemented better than others but there is NO cure for recklessness/excessive speed.
 
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