ABS and Traction Control for my 68
02-10-2009, 12:50 AM
#1
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ABS and Traction Control for my 68
My 68 is using the complete drive train, and front and rear suspension from a Mark VIII and I'm planning on plumbing the brake and fuel lines when I get out of college for spring break in a month or so. I'm trying to decide to use the ABS unit or not. What are your guys thought on the subject. I've got all the wiring and stuff from the Mark so it really wont be any trouble to put it in the only extra work would be mounting the unit somewhere. Any opinions?
02-10-2009, 01:27 AM
#2
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Location: Elk Grove, CA
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I'm going to assume you mean a Mark VII, not a Mark VIII, because the latter uses a 4.6L mod motor, which is not an easy swap at all.
Also, how are you planning to run the front suspension from the Lincoln? Mark VII's run on the fox chassis and use a modified McPherson strut front end.
In any case, my opinion: big fat NO. It'd be a severe PITA, and probably wouldn't work properly anyway unless you used all of the Mark VII brakes, and even then it wouldn't work well because the car isn't going to have the same balance, weight, traction, steering geometry, spring rates, etc. ABS systems are very vehicle-specific. Lots of R&D goes into designing the system to work with one particular vehicle. Change one thing, nothing works right.
Also, how are you planning to run the front suspension from the Lincoln? Mark VII's run on the fox chassis and use a modified McPherson strut front end.
In any case, my opinion: big fat NO. It'd be a severe PITA, and probably wouldn't work properly anyway unless you used all of the Mark VII brakes, and even then it wouldn't work well because the car isn't going to have the same balance, weight, traction, steering geometry, spring rates, etc. ABS systems are very vehicle-specific. Lots of R&D goes into designing the system to work with one particular vehicle. Change one thing, nothing works right.
02-10-2009, 11:38 AM
#4
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Well, even if, I still wouldn't recommend it.
ABS is a good thing on a street car in almost all circumstances. It pumps the pedal much faster than you could ever hope to, allowing you to brake quickly while still being able to steer the car. It doesn't decrease stopping distance, but being able to steer in a panick stop is a big deal.
But, like I said, it's not something you want to mess with trying to retrofit into a different vehicle. Way too much of a PITA, with uncertain results and not much benefit.
Stability management is a different thing altogether, and something that might actually be built into the Mk VIII. I hate stability management. That is for people who can't drive. It tends to force understeer which may help people who don't know how to handle a vehicle, but having the vehicle do the complete opposite of what you want/expect it to do is rather disconcerting.
ABS is a good thing on a street car in almost all circumstances. It pumps the pedal much faster than you could ever hope to, allowing you to brake quickly while still being able to steer the car. It doesn't decrease stopping distance, but being able to steer in a panick stop is a big deal.
But, like I said, it's not something you want to mess with trying to retrofit into a different vehicle. Way too much of a PITA, with uncertain results and not much benefit.
Stability management is a different thing altogether, and something that might actually be built into the Mk VIII. I hate stability management. That is for people who can't drive. It tends to force understeer which may help people who don't know how to handle a vehicle, but having the vehicle do the complete opposite of what you want/expect it to do is rather disconcerting.
02-10-2009, 12:39 PM
#5
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Like I said everything is already in place its just a matter of installing the ABS pump. And yes I meant Mark VIII and yes I used the front and rear suspension.
Like I said in my first post its just a matter of mounting the ABS unit and running the brake lines. The Mark VIII has traction control but it uses the ABS to control it so its either both or neither. The traction control can be turned off with the push of a button.
Like I said in my first post its just a matter of mounting the ABS unit and running the brake lines. The Mark VIII has traction control but it uses the ABS to control it so its either both or neither. The traction control can be turned off with the push of a button.
Last edited by stangtjk; 02-10-2009 at 01:04 PM.
02-10-2009, 01:01 PM
#6
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I figured since everything the same other than weight and wheel base everything would work as it should if it was hooked up. This is not going to be a drag car or track car just a fun daily driver. I think I'll hook it up and see what happens. If it doesn't work out its just a matter of unplugging it and running some new brake lines.
