ABS delete question on brake lines

[OneJArpus]

Abs >

 

[Maple191]

Wow so now you think your smarter then the people who've designed to correct the mistakes the driver makes wow. There is a reason ABS is standard on most cars now.

ABS is like a Condom, I'd rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.

Remember saftey 1st, fun/pleasure 2nd

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

Lol. Wow. If you can modulate brake pressure that well you are wasting your life not being a professional race driver. In unexpected emergency situations where you need to stop as fast as possible abs will win every, Single, Time.

No matter what you think you're skill level is I guarantee its not as effective as abs. As pi said, abs modulates each wheel INDIVIDUALLY. which you will never do no matter how good your skills are.

Save the ricer mods to the civic owners and keep your advanced, stability-saving braking system the way Toyota engineers spent millions upon millions perfecting.

As JJ said... crack me up, lol.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

No one ever said I wasn't a good driver. In all seriousness... I thought the mk3 abs pump was only 3 channel.... not 4.

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

also should note that the roads here are pretty nice, and I see almost no winter driving (think ice or snow) although it would be driven almost every single day, same as all of my other cars. BTW I've been driving a corolla for several yeas now without abs, and I've locked up my tires plenty of times to where I would have wrecked the shit out of it, but MODULATION of brake pressure (if only the slightest ease off the pedal) would save my car. It's happened more times than I can count. You guys are not me. You don't know what it's like to be, you don't know how I drive, or how good I am at it. I hate saying BS like this, because that's just asking for bad luck, but I said it. I'm dead set on having no ABS as I personally feel SAFER without it.

On snow and gravel , newer systems use pulse rate reduction to improve performance while still maintaining control. It's been my experience though that locking the wheels is no panacea in such conditions anyway.

oh man, that's sketchy.... it all depends on the conditions!!! I've encountered all sorts of snow. ranging from lots of grip to 0

I honestly can't think of a reason not to have ABS on the street. If you are regularly actuating ABS on the street, you are either driving like a retard, you need a lot more tire under the car, or both. As far as track driving is concerned, for a pure track car, sure, ditch the ABS if you think you can outbreak it. Your laptimes will reflect the truth. In my BMW on track, I rarely even actuate the ABS due to the amount of tire I have under the car - with that said, that system is far more advanced than the supra's.

pretty much the only time I would engage it would be on purpose. I push my cars to and over the limit so I'm as familiar as possible with how they will react.

that said, in regards to advancement of technology... I DID like the 4 wheel abs on my 07 tacoma... very nice.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

It is true that the A70's ABS is 3 channel. A sensor on each front wheel, and one in the transmission tail housing, so it treats both rear tires as 1 set. This is not as good as the A80, where it's 4 channel, but I still say that it's saved my car.

The situation, by the way was in late summer, so it wasn't snow, it was sand under the right side tires where the ABS saved it. I came to a stop with the ABS buzzing like an angry wasp. The guy behind me had his car yaw when the right side brakes locked up, and the left side brakes didn't. He lost a tail light and a lot of paint off of the rear quarter, because there was no amount of pressure on the brakes that would allow for control in that situation which would still stop you from driving into the semi which had jack-knifed in the oncoming lane, or in the case of the guy behind me, driving into me. I had about 2 meters to spare. (The semi was also the source of the suddenly appearing thin layer of sand on the side of the road.)

With one brake pedal, I cannot control the right front brake separately from the left front brake. The ABS system can. I could have braked marginally better with full 4 wheel ABS, but I don't think that it would have been that much better. The left front tire was doing most of the work.

As for my driving skills, I used to race. I did a lot of ice racing, too, which is a real blast, since you're pretty much constantly over your traction budget, no matter what you're doing. I'm pretty sure that I could hold my own against a majority of drivers, even in this crowd. (Though there are definitely people on this forum that I would expect to be better than I am.) I agree that I'm not you, I don't drive where you drive, and you do know yourself better than I ever will. I do, however drive a similar car to you, and have driven it in most conditions, and I do know what ABS can do for me. Like you, the vast majority of times that my ABS kicks in, I did it deliberately. I make a point of taking my car out to unpopulated areas and taking it to, and past its limits so that I know exactly where those limits are. I know that I can take my '89 to a stop from 100 mph with the tires squealing all the way, without the ABS ever pulsing. I figure that if I can do a proper threshhold brake that way, the ABS is certainly never stopping me from being able to do it. Therefore, all the ABS would do if I were trying to do that, and it kicked in is let me know that I screwed up. I suppose that it's possible that it might kick in if I had better tires and better brakes, and threshhold braking were that much better. I'll worry about that if/when I buy upgrades that put me in that category.

You might well feel safer without ABS. You might also FEEL safer driving than flying, but I would still put my money on the airline and the ABS system.

That said, the added complexity of the ABS system does mean that there are more components which can potentially fail, but this then becomes essentially the same argument as people who say that they feel less safe with seatbelts, since some people have been trapped inside a car by a failed seatbelt system. In terms of sheer numbers, it's meaningless.

I suppose that that one incident for me was also something of a freak, but I can't think of one time ever that the ABS has done something that made me feel less safe, and countless times when it gave me better control of my car, whether or not I could have managed without it. (Many times it pained me greatly to admit that I couldn't have.)

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

all good points... sounds like a real bad case of bad luck for anyone thrown into a tight space with loose sand on the road. I'm glad abs saved your car, and while I appreciate that. I would personally like to take a bit of risk in trade-off for more driving enjoyment.

You do have a really good point about threshold braking though. Although, my 89 wouldn't ever squeal the tires. Ever. (unless I whipped it or matted the throttle) I could still stop it on a dime from 120, fast enough to make my passengers either about shit themselves or roll headfirst under the dashboard (had that happen, no front passenger seat + guy not wearing seatbelt like I told him to) Then again I don't think I really did any real threshold braking in that car. It was either easing on it the proper amount (trying not to make a scene or scare people) or just jamming on it full stop.

Maybe I've been lucky until now, but I rather enjoy sliding out of control with no fail-safes other than the controls given to me. I've definitely attempted to use my ABS in the past in emergency situations (diving in rain, no wipers, freeway was no longer where it used to be + stoplight.) I blew through the stoplight doing at least 90+ and the ABS wasn't hardly doing a damn thing to slow the car down.

Generally though when I do brake at the limit of traction I almost always push it a hair past where it should be; not really sure why... I guess it's just a way of getting better acquainted with the limit of adhesion. In real emergencies though, that's when that experience is needed as you can get the car to skitter to a stop/through a turn/maneuver... just to the point where your tires are saying "dammit wth are you doing!?"

 

[Nick M]

yeah... there is this thing called limit of adhesion... you can still steer while braking..

I know, I said steer while locked, or what would be locked. You haven't had to do it, as shown by your explination below about things I am very familiar and educated on.

It sounds idiotic,

Well, yeah. (you set yourself up, I had to do it)

On top of that my reaction time is nowhere close to being slow.

You think your abilities are better than the most accomplished race car drivers? Because they can't beat it either.

BTW pumping the pedal is NOT what you want to be doing. There IS a correct way to modulate pressure WITHOUT pumping the pedal. That's barbaric at the very least. You just want to use the correct amount of pressure. That is all. The amount may vary depending on what it is you're doing, but I am correct in saying that.

Actually, it constantly varies with grip on the road and speed, and the modulator applies and releases pressure 10 times in one second, simulating pumping the pedal. A technique developed long before you were born. Remember, the world didn't start the day you got here. I am not telling you to not do it. I am telling you that you shouldn't do it, and you are not better at modulating pressure than a machine.

Pretty sure its well known you can stop faster by locking up the tires in snow, right? Obviously without as much control...

I am pretty sure that is wrong. And you can not steer when the wheel is locked.

Watch specifically what happens at 6:00 minutes with human control (proffessional driving instructor) not locking, but modulating.

[video=youtube;L19NRBhg1JU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L19NRBhg1JU[/video]

 

[Rollus]

Hi, interesting subject.

Do you plan to use something like this as replacement?

http://daymotorsports.com/prodindex.php?g=~BRAKES~Brake+and+Clutch+Pedals~

 

[Maple191]

ABS actuates upto 15x per second per chanal. So for your supra that would be upto 15 pumps and release per second and you would require 3 brake pedles

 

[Grandavi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wont pumping the pedal disable ABS on our cars? I know in my Odyssey it did. If ABS engaged and you let up and then pressed again quickly, the ABS computer would disengage.

To the OP though, you didn't really ask a question about the ABS delete. You originally asked about replacing brake lines. Now... from what I read, I am assuming you thing that the car would brake just fine without ABS. This is true except in the case of actually needing ABS. ABS should only engage when you need it (same as air bags). So, I am curious, why do you want to delete the ABS system? Is it because yours has failed or is failing? Is it simply because you think your better off without it? Lets get down to the issue here... lol. I think that you can agree with the majority that the ABS system is designed for a function that replaces the "human panic" system of slamming on the brakes to allow for vehicle control under a fast braking or traction loss scenario. Your car will brake just fine without it in a normal "stopping" situation, but when it engages, it will outperform your foot capabilities simply by design.
Also, I dont know if you would be adding liability if you were to remove a safety feature from your vehicle. If you were to be involved in an accident that involved severe body injury or death of someone else, they do look over your car quite carefully. An ABS delete could move liability to you personally away from the insurance companies (not a very happy situation).

By the way, thanks for that "blast from the past" ABS video Nick. It pretty well says it all.

 

[mark1987supra]

Me personally would just stick with having ABS. Hey if you don't like it so be it your opinion. But ABS only activates when there is difference in the wheel speed sensors, and modulates brakes faster than any person can.

If you are still going to do it Ok it is your decision and your car. I think that their is a difference in the master cylinder bores between ABS and No ABS. It would be easier to find a car without ABS and transfer everything over to your car from the master cylinder to all the brake lines. Toyota took time to create a proper brake system everything in the system and your life will depend on making sure your have everything correct. You need to calculate and draw out master cylinder bore, brake line id size, caliper bores, all valve id's, and all fitting id's. I think that you are looking at more work than you think.

Gosh I remember watching that ABS video in high school auto shop over 10 years ago and yes it does say it all.

 

[suprarx7nut]

also should note that the roads here are pretty nice, and I see almost no winter driving (think ice or snow) although it would be driven almost every single day, same as all of my other cars. BTW I've been driving a corolla for several yeas now without abs, and I've locked up my tires plenty of times to where I would have wrecked the shit out of it, but MODULATION of brake pressure (if only the slightest ease off the pedal) would save my car. It's happened more times than I can count. You guys are not me. You don't know what it's like to be, you don't know how I drive, or how good I am at it. I hate saying BS like this, because that's just asking for bad luck, but I said it. I'm dead set on having no ABS as I personally feel SAFER without it.

oh man, that's sketchy.... it all depends on the conditions!!! I've encountered all sorts of snow. ranging from lots of grip to 0

pretty much the only time I would engage it would be on purpose. I push my cars to and over the limit so I'm as familiar as possible with how they will react.

that said, in regards to advancement of technology... I DID like the 4 wheel abs on my 07 tacoma... very nice.

I dont mean to be a dick here, but I think this is an important safety issue and if we can't convince you then maybe we can convince some other reader and save injury or worse. Having a bad idea before you know all the facts is understandable. Being presented with all the facts and still following through with the bad idea puts you on the fast track for a Darwin Award. Again not trying to be a dick, but trying to help keep you and your mk3 safe so you can continue to enjoy racking up the miles.

Above you say you've locked up the wheels and then used modulation of pressure to control the braking, supposedly better than ABS. The moment you lock up the tires you have lost. Plain and simple. The moment the tires lock up ABS would have won. To perform any better than ABS you would need to control each wheel (or front left, front right and rear as a pair in the mk3) to the maximum amount of brake pressure before lock up. The ABS sensors detect variance in wheel speed and will detect slip BEFORE any wheel has actually locked up. The ABS system does not skid then let off brakes, then skid, then let off. It modulates pressure while slip occurs and BEFORE skid occurs. Humans are NOT CAPABLE OF DOING THIS even on one wheel, let alone 3 or 4 channels. Mario Andretti couldn't do it and neither can you or I. For reference, excellent human reaction time is ~0.15 seconds. ABS reaction time is ~0.010 seconds. That's ten times faster than a human with EXCELLENT reaction time and approximately 100 times faster than an average human reaction time (1 second).

In a planned braking event we can modulate pressure pretty well and stop effectively, under control and without locking up the wheels. In an unplanned emergency stop though, it is extremely difficult to achieve a "threshold brake" even if you're a professional race driver.

Admittedly, there are situations were ABS is less effective. Those situations can be gravel snow and dirt and the reason ABS isn't as effective is because locking up the wheels is your best option and ABS works hard to not allow that. Threshold braking wont gain you much in these situations. Threshold braking will very rarely outperform ABS and only by a small margin. ABS, however, can make a HUGE difference in a panic braking scenario. Even in the instances of dirt/gravel/snow where ABS may yield a longer stopping distance it will still give you much more vehicle control.

Insurance: If your insurance company ever learns that the ABS system on your car has been tampered with or removed they can deny coverage of your incident. That means you could be liable for all damages in an accident that may not otherwise have been deemed your fault. In a good scenario that means you pay extra damages for the other party out of pocket to repair their car. In a bad situation that could mean you're paying for $100,000's in medical bills and disability. It's a bit of a stretch, but not outrageous. When auto injury lawyers seek payment in an accident, this is the sort of thing they look for. Removing factory safety and performance equipment from your car you can be seen to be putting others around you at risk. Telling them your threshold braking skills are out of this world won't cut it.

If you're so certain you can stop better than ABS you can easily test it. Find an open stretch of road and grab a friend with a good stopwatch. Perform a stop from a given speed, say 70mph. The trick is to have your friend at random yell "STOP!" so you have no idea when to expect it. Time it with the ABS fuse pulled and use your threshold braking method. Then plug in the ABS fuse and simply jam on the brakes. I would wager you will see nearly no difference between the two or the ABS will win. In addition to the shorter (time-wise) stop, with the ABS version you will have more attention and focus dedicated to your steering and overall vehicle control. The threshold method requires a ton of focus just on braking force, let alone steering.

You're lucky to have ABS already fitted to your car. Don't foolishly remove it thinking you are more competent in an emergency situation than a highly advanced computer taking hundreds or thousands of measurements a second to create the ideal braking force for each wheel or wheel set.

If you dont believe me (I'm just a random car forum stranger) take a look at some technical white papers produced by brake manufacturers or OEMS. One from Stoptech is below:

In order to best explain how the ABS "depends" on the base braking system, let's have a look at a typical ABS event at the micro level - from the processing algorithm's perspective.

Say you are driving down the highway at 75 MPH (the posted speed limit, of course) when all of a sudden the truck in front of you spills its load of natural spring water across all three lanes of traffic. Now, this alone would not be so bad, except the water is still sealed in 55-gallon drums - one of which would certainly make a mess of your car's front fascia. Time to take evasive action.

Being the trained high-speed individual that you are, you immediately lift off the gas, push in the clutch (you are driving a manual transmission, right?), and simultaneously nail the brake pedal...but in the heat of the moment you hit it a little too hard.

Meanwhile, the ABS is hanging back watching the world go by, seeing a constant stream of 75 MPH signals from its four wheel speed sensors. Let's call this "observation mode." Upon your application of the brake, however, the ABS snaps to attention, its antenna up, ready for action. You have just hit the brake pedal after all, and who know what's coming next.

After 50 milliseconds (it's actually much faster than that - 7 to 10 milliseconds is typical - but it makes the math easier) the ABS takes another snapshot of the wheel speed information in an attempt to figure out what's going on. This time the wheel speed sensors are all reporting a speed of 74 MPH. Doing a quick calculation, the ABS determines that in order to have slowed 1 MPH in a 50ms period the wheels must be decelerating at a rate of 0.91g's. Because you are driving a sports car, the engineer who calibrated the system 'taught' the ABS that your car is capable of decelerating at this rate, so the ABS continues to hang back and watch the event from the spectator's booth. No problem so far.

The next 50ms, however, are a little more interesting. This time around, the wheels are reporting 72.5 MPH. Now, it may not seem like a big jump, but to slow 1.5 MPH in a 50ms window equates to a deceleration of 1.36g's. Not alarming, but the ABS 'knows' that based on this deceleration level, the wheels are probably beginning to slip a little more than they should - after all, your car is probably not decelerating at quite 1.36g's..and any error between the two indicates slip.
ABS is now in "ready mode." It's probably too soon to jump in, as the wheels might spin back up on their own in the next 50ms loop, but things are definitely looking bad!

As the first barrels of spring water bounce left and right, missing your car by inches, you stay on the brake pedal but push even harder. This time around, the left front wheel speed sensor is registering 68 MPH - a 4.5 MPH drop in the last 50ms, or a deceleration level of 4.1g's. Doing the math faster than you can (after all, you are busy dodging barrels of spring water), the ABS quickly comes to the conclusion that, unlike the left front wheel at this moment, the car cannot possibly be decelerating at 4.1g's. Best case is that the car was decelerating at 1.0g (or thereabouts) over the last 50ms, so the 'real' vehicle speed is still somewhere around 71.5 MPH, even though the left front wheel speed is reading 68 MPH - a 3.5 MPH error.

So, based on a wheel deceleration of 4.1g's, a slip level of 5% (3.5 MPH 71.5 MPH), and a couple other factors not listed here, the ABS jumps in and enters "isolation mode." (Note that the wheels are nowhere even near "wheel lock" - the 100% slip point.) The first thing the ABS does is shut off the hydraulic line from the master cylinder to the left front caliper, isolating the driver from applying more pressure - after all, it was the driver that got us into this mess in the first place.

Next, the ABS starts work in "decrease mode," releasing the excess pressure from the left front caliper in order to allow the left front wheel to reaccelerate back up to the vehicle's actual speed - 71.5 MPH in this case. Since the ABS knows how quickly the wheel is decelerating (4.1g), how fast the car is actually going (71.5 MPH), and the pressure-torque characteristics of the left front caliper/pad/rotor assembly (we'll come back to this one in just a second), it can precisely calculate how long to open its release valve to vent that extra pressure, leaving just enough pressure in the caliper to maintain 1.0g of deceleration (or thereabouts).

Let's say that calculated time turned out to be 10 milliseconds (this again makes the math easier later on). Bang! Valve opens, pressure is released, and 10ms later it closes, leaving just the right amount of pressure in the caliper so that the wheel spins back up to exactly 71.5 MPH, but continues to decelerate at 1.0g. Everything is going as planned.

Time to close the loop and enter "increase mode." Once the ABS sees that the left front wheel has returned to near the 'real' vehicle speed, it slowly reapplies pressure from the master cylinder to make sure that maximum sustainable brake force is being utilized. To this end, the ABS calculates precisely how long to pulse open the isolation valve, slowly building pressure at the left front caliper until once again the left front wheel begins to slip. It performs this calculation based on - you guessed it - how quickly the wheel is re-accelerating, how fast the car is actually going, and the pressure-torque characteristics of the caliper/pad/rotor assembly.

In our hypothetical little world, the ABS calculated that four pulses of 5ms each were necessary to build the wheel pressure back up to the point that the wheel began to slip again, returning to "isolation mode."

The cycle is repeated on all four wheels simultaneously until either the driver gets out of the brake pedal, or until the car has come to a stop. Hopefully, this did not include punting a spring water barrel or two along the way as the ABS kept all four wheels slips in the 5%-10% range, allowing you to turn and swerve to your heart's content as the drums bounced out of your path. Happy car, happy driver.

 

[Poodles]

All this is as simple as removing the ABS fuse...

If you really wanted to be spiffy, you could wire a switch to cut power like removing the fuse would do, only from in the cabin.

 

[Zrain25]

I still don't get the point of delete abs.... It's not like it weighs 100lbs. Ur not gonna gain anything from removing it....

But it is ur car do as you choose

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

jesus christ you guys are makin my head hurt. I don't have time to read all this right now. gonna have to save it for a later date. Lots of good info here advising me not to get rid of my ABS. Sorry, I don't panic in emergencies (my mom was a terrible driver I've been in far too many accidents to count.) I simply don't blink, panic, NOTHING. All I do is respond appropriately. So if that's too much for you guys to understand, then so be it.

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

All this is as simple as removing the ABS fuse...

If you really wanted to be spiffy, you could wire a switch to cut power like removing the fuse would do, only from in the cabin.

refer to earlier posts. I had a buddy that did this. DID NOT TURN OUT WELL

I know, I said steer while locked, or what would be locked. You haven't had to do it, as shown by your explanation below about things I am very familiar and educated on.

so you were present when I've done it multiple times in the past? oh, wait you weren't, otherwise you wouldn't be talking ignorantly about events that have already occurred multiple times.

Well, yeah. (you set yourself up, I had to do it)

yes, I said it, thank you for re-iterating a point I already made. :nono:

You think your abilities are better than the most accomplished race car drivers? Because they can't beat it either.

Could be for all I know. Apparently my skills make such an impression on people I was this close || to racing in a hooters cup car. So are you prepared to tell me what MY reaction time is like? Didn't think so.

and yes, i'll be back guys, like I said, I'm out of time ATM... gotta run.

 

[Poodles]

How would it not turn out well? That's exactly how you disable the ABS system.

You're also forgetting the brake master cylinder is different on an ABS and non-ABS car.

This really has nothing to do with your reaction times at all, it's the simple fact that you can't do what an ABS system can do. It can modulate faster, it can control the wheels independantly, and you won't flat spot your tires.

There's been MANY supras on this board that have been wrecked because they lacked ABS. FFS race cars run ABS systems.

You can't do this no matter what you think:
[video=youtube;mKiTAcXK6M4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKiTAcXK6M4[/video]

Ultimately it's your car, but don't expect people to not try and talk you out of a stupid decision.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

That old video just before the 7 minute mark looked pretty much exactly as my memory says. The stop on the gravel shoulder was as I remember.

Maybe ABS hasn't saved your car. Maybe you'll be lucky and it never will. I know though that my car wouldn't have had a second chance at making that stop once, and for that, I'd never remove the ABS, because reaction time and skill would never do what simply cannot be done.

For your incident of going through an unexpected red light at speed... I'd have to say that if the ABS wasn't stopping you, not having ABS wasn't going to stop you either.

I'd also say that it might be enlightening for you to devise some tests to see exactly how you can perform, and give them a try.

 

[Backlash2032]

Well. I guess I'll take your ABS system and put it on my car...

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

I NEVER claimed to be able to do what ABS can, and I was very specific about saying that I DO NOT like what ABS does for me or my car. I'm 25 now, I know I'm still somewhat young, I've had close to 100 thousand miles of driving experience (most not on the highway, but still at least 1/6 highway.) I'm not stupid, and I am extremely cautious about anything I do/any situation I go into. I'm not sure why disabling the ABS unit worked out so poorly (probably because it's not supposed to be) and the issue with the master cyl. But in either case I do still plan to get rid of my ABS, no matter the cost or work involved. (to do it right obviously.)

One more thing. you guys are such great advocates of ABS, but tell me this. Why are so many cars made without ABS. If safety is priceless... why? Are cars without ABS not capable of braking safely? I'd like to know what would be said about this, because like I've said. I've done a lot of driving in cars without ABS, and I much prefer it to ones with. Although I did note, the 4 wheel ABS in my pickup was pretty nice.

as far as I can tell ABS is just for idiots with no driving skill / OR extenuating circumstances. I've been in a LOT of dangerous situations without ABS on my car and had no issue whatsoever pulling off the correct maneuvers demonstrated by the cars with ABS in that video. Simply put, those tests do not take into account individual driving style. It only assumes that everyone will drive the same. Sure, most people might. IM NOT MOST PEOPLE get this through your head guys.

Above you say you've locked up the wheels and then used modulation of pressure to control the braking, supposedly better than ABS. The moment you lock up the tires you have lost. Plain and simple.

as stated locking was intentional, so in that light, no I actually achieved exactly what I wanted which was to become better acquainted with the limitations on my car/tires/condition.... you sir are incorrect.

ALSO I NEVER claimed to be more competent in an emergency than a computer. it simply boils down to this. I don't panic, my skill is high enough, and my caution great enough that I DO NOT REQUIRE computers to help me in an emergency.

To the OP though, you didn't really ask a question about the ABS delete. You originally asked about replacing brake lines. Now... from what I read, I am assuming you thing that the car would brake just fine without ABS. This is true except in the case of actually needing ABS. ABS should only engage when you need it (same as air bags). So, I am curious, why do you want to delete the ABS system? Is it because yours has failed or is failing? Is it simply because you think your better off without it? Lets get down to the issue here... lol. I think that you can agree with the majority that the ABS system is designed for a function that replaces the "human panic" system of slamming on the brakes to allow for vehicle control under a fast braking or traction loss scenario. Your car will brake just fine without it in a normal "stopping" situation, but when it engages, it will outperform your foot capabilities simply by design.
Also, I dont know if you would be adding liability if you were to remove a safety feature from your vehicle. If you were to be involved in an accident that involved severe body injury or death of someone else, they do look over your car quite carefully. An ABS delete could move liability to you personally away from the insurance companies (not a very happy situation).

well, like I said.... and I just keep on repeating my self over and over and over... but here goes again. I prefer to not have abs because I don't like the way it feels, I don't like the way it acts, it's never helped me, and I've never needed it. Simple as that. I don't panic in emergencies. And every car that I've had without ABS was perfectly safe and controllable, YES even in extreme circumstances.

Oh, good point about the insurance though... definitely something to consider.