Ice mode solution?

AutoX Z

I'm getting pretty sick of the ice mode on my car and have tried to try and fix it. Because of the SCCA rules Im pretty much limited to changing pads and fluid. Has anyone figured out a way to at least improve the braking performance with these restrictions?

Also FYI this is a daily street driven car and will only be used for autox. Please keep this in mind and don't bother recommending track-oriented solutions.

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cossie1600

The grippier pads only make it worse.

spearfish25

I swear that ice mode actually kicked in while I was on ice this past winter and caused my fender bender. Hate it. I want a class action lawsuit.

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Jordo!

I'm not familiar with this...?

Is this another VDC thing -- associated with the "icy" warning that comes on?

We don't get much ice in Floriduh, so...

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cossie1600

If you get on the brakes HARD on bumpy pavement, or just pull any sudden decel, the brakes will actually release slightly. Imagine you hit the brakes and expect 100% braking power, the brakes actually let go and only give you 10-20%. It's a scary feeling, but it seems to be a common thing on newer cars now. The problem is mostly with people that races, shouldn't be a problem when you drive on the street. It's called ice mode because the car can do the same thing when you hit an ice patch (brakes release upon hitting ice quickly)

This is my theory, some people might disagree.

AutoX Z

No it's a problem with the ABS computer. In heavy braking situations (tracking and autox) the abs wll engage early and limit the overall braking to maybe 30%. It seems to get worse with heat and "stabbing" the brakes.

It would make sense that pads with better bite would make it harder to be gentle on initial application and make ice mode happen more frequently. Maybe the solution is to use a less aggressive pad and give up some overall braking performance. I've also considered playing with dramatically different pads front and rear to change the brake balance.

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Shamu

Its interesting that you say that as my first run at SD NT I had no ABS Ice mode ISSUES, but after my co driver ran brakes were much warmer and then I got abs issue 2ND AND 3RD RUNS. I almost squirted the brake calipers and rotors. Wish I had tried that but I thought no heat wouldn't cause that!

I'm hearing that maybe changing proportioning more to the front and putting smaller calipers/pads on rear might be a solution. Its the issue with rears locking up that causes the computer to freak out. Less pad up front would be opposite of what you want to do if this is the case. Makes sense if you think about dynamics of braking on our cars. Weight shifts from rear where things are already light and those big rear calipers and rotors start to lock up rear wheels. Has anyone experimented with putting crappy pads on the back?

My class I have more options than stock guys. Has anyone in stock tried throwing terrible pads on the rear? Thats how I used to balance my race car sometimes. If issue is truly wheel speed problem because rears are locking up too easily why not put the worst pads ever back there. Or if you can down grade to base model rear brake - I dont know is there a difference? For my car we are going with old 350 Z Brembo caliper and rotor which is smaller. You poor stock class guys cant do that.

Man and I feel for you stock guys on oil temps. even with GTM cooler on my car we were seeing 220 oil temps and we were spraying the cooler.

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AutoX Z

It's definitely heat related. With good 5 minute spacing between runs it will usually only happen when braking near or at the end of a run. However at local events when we end up lapping closer to 2 minutes apart it will happen during every major braking event.

You should be able to just pull the ABS fuse in SP or disable it in some other way.

For me it's time to start playing with pads. I'm thinking hawk hps may be a good starting point as people are always criticizing their initial bite characteristics.

Oh and don't spray your brakes with water between runs unless you want to crack and/or warp your rotors instantly. And for engine temps we leave the engine running with the defrost cranked at full heat and the hood open to cool the car. We can usually keep it 220-240 with no cooler

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ChrisSlicks

Just don't try the HP+, those were a dismal failure for me, even just front only. I think the problem with the HPS is that they will still be affected badly by heat. The Mintex Extreme has a reasonable heat rating (not as high as XP10) and not a very hard bite. It has worked well for me although I am no longer on stock calipers.

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Jordo!

Oh, okay -- can't you just disable the ABS?

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AutoX Z

Not allowed in the class I compete in.

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Jordo!

Ergh... yeah, you'll probably have to play with pads then.

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cossie1600

Well I don't think the computer is faulty, it is doing its job by throwing the car in ice mode under sudden decel on just one side. You are right, less aggressive pads seem to lessen the problem. Autozone pads might do the job for you. I had a tough time staying out of ice mode with my RE11 with my XP10 at the track

It's a common problem with the 350 and Corvette too.

flashburn

So is there basically no fix for this (other than disabling ABS)?

I haven't yet faced "Ice Mode", but what exactly do you do when it happens? It sounds like it would cause a potential off-road/wall incident if you are braking at maximum threshold.

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cossie1600

you can back off the brakes slightly and reapply or just pray that it will grip eventually. on the track you will notice it hit at roughly around the same spots, i sometimes go out of line just to avoid the bumps. at autox you just have to train yourself not to freak out and fight throgh it