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<< Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. ABS does not stop you faster. ABS is only there to allow you to steer somewhat while braking (if you're skidding, you can't steer). >>
YES IT DOES. ask any physicist.
"Stopping a car with ordinary brakes may result in wheel lock; that is, the wheels lock in position and are not able to rotate. When this happens, the tires skid and the coefficient of kinetic friction determines the braking distance. "
"Cars equipped with an antilock braking system (ABS) have a sensor that releases the brake pads the instant the wheel locks up. After a brief pause the brakes are then quickly re-engaged. If they don't lock up again all is well. If they do, the ABS releases the brake pads again. This processes can repeat many times a second. In any case, the tires are not allowed to lock for more than a few milliseconds. The car is then stopped using the force of static friction alone."
basically static friction is easier to stop a car then kinetic friction. >>
Talk to my last quarter university physics prof. I'll give you wet conditions, but not dry. Even what you just quoted doesn't make sense by your explanation. In that case, your brake rotors are slipping (hey, kinetic friction!) 🙂
Here's a mind bender - which stops you in a more straight path, locked up front wheels or locked up rear wheels? >>
ABS only turns on if your wheels lock up. So if you're on a dry (or wet) road with reg brakes and stop without locking up, you should be able to stop in the exact same distance if you had ABS brakes, since the ABS feature never would have activated.
Dionx's example does make sense. Think about it. On ABS brakes your wheels will lock up for fractions of a second and then will be corrected - most of the time the equation will have static friction. But if you just slam on normal brakes and skid until you stop, there will have been a whole lot more kinetic friction. >>
What I was saying is that it's either your wheels sliding, or your brakes sliding 🙂 You either have static friction at the wheels and kinetic at the brakes, or kinetic friction at the wheels and static friction at the brakes. 😛