ABS

What is the benefit of sliding the car through the turn? With the SVT's relatively low low-end torque it would not as easily recover from the slide. I understand by sliding you can get through a turn faster but you end up with a slower exit speed than just driving through the turn.

I am a rookie when it comes to roadcourse driving so my perceptions and understandings may be off or skewed.

Please educate me ecspecially since you guys are use to driving smaller cars and I have limited experience.

Sorry to go off-topic you may PM your answer if you wish.

Sort of back on topic are there any rear brake bias plugs for the SVT. On first and second generation Taurus SHO's they use bias plugs to provide more equal pressure to the rear wheels and it does not affect ABS operation. This is an aftermarket mod for them. They say the car is more stable going into the turn with them. Keeps the car flatter. maybe the SVT is not in the same catergory as the SHO but Ford could still the same thing with the Focus.

heres a link Bias plugs

For those of you asking questions like what am i doing? why slide through a turn etc here is your answer since I am horrible at explanations. This is the one website thats got most of the idea right.

http://www.modernracer.com/tips/leftfootbraking.html

What all of you need to understand is that on a basic level the svt is like any other ff platform vehicle (that is it WILL EVENTUALLY AT THE LIMIT UNDERSTEER)

I have driven like this since I started driving, and have always driven ff platform vehicles as such through turns. This method allows you to go as fast as you can and then go further. Again not sure if anyone is practicing it but many high level ff racing is done this way. Its not so much to get the brakes to lock up as it is for me to get the weight to the front of the car MY WAY. Old school drivers will appreciate this. This method reduces/eliminates the understeer scenario, when perfected you will only lose through a turn and can accomplish this technique with relative ease and extremely light braking (provided you dont have abs)

Finally yes abs is great it is wonderful but to depend on it is to not realize the full potential of your vehicle. Learn to brake NOT using abs first then use abs, you will be that much faster and better at braking. A well trained and seasoned driver, whether through a track or road driving, will always know how their car reacts and what its limits are. Abs, imho takes a component of control away from the driver, I dislike this and enjoy knowing what my car is doing and the level of control I have over it. Again I've driven 1g dsm (horrible handlers i might add) and zx2's (respectable handlers) both this identical way and without abs. ABS gets in my way and does not give me the response nor the control I desire. The very best drivers choose not to use their abs.

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Ok let me see if i can do a general explanation....

The idea is go in with the pedal floored (in the proper gear) (if you do this your exit speed will still remain high) you will know when the car is understeering because the body will begin to tip slightly (for those inexperienced racers) and your car will feel likes its "plowing" through the turn. When this point happens you keep the pedal floored and lightly press the brakes until the car starts to aim the way you want. The idea is when you brake you shift the weight to the front of your vehicle, when you accelerate you shift the weight to the rear. If, in a high speed turn, your car is understeering the way to fix this is to shift weight, while accelerating, to the front of the vehicle (where the vehicles drive wheels are. The front brakes wont lock up (your gassing the pedal). The only minor side effect will be a MINOR MINOR slide. i have performed this in the svt (with abs ) at 90 on a hairpin by my house. the vehicle will do a smidgen of a slide. What happens to recover from this slide is when you feel the vehicle aimed the way you want to.... let go of the brake (hence the reason i said lightly press it) Theoretically look at it guys... ff car of course the rear brakes are gonna lock up nothing is there, when you let go of the break (abs or not) because you STILL have the gas pedal floored the rear end will unlock quick and you will have held full throttle through a turn with ALOT less braking than you usually do. I have never braked before a turn with this technique. Again don't take my word for it try it. The entire prupose is not to slide and look like im driftin or anything the purpose is to put the weight in mmy ff car where it is MOST IMPORTANT in a turn on the drive tires (in our case the front) No one is questioning the svt has low tq but going into a turn fast at full throttle doesnt need low tq.

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