ScorpioGTX1
Member
- :
- 2012 Mazda 2 GS M/T
Anyone who knows me knows that I despise ABS. It makes you stop longer on dry pavement, wet pavement, gravel, snow, and pretty much every surface imaginable.
Sure, it has advantages over simply locking up your brakes (namely the ability to steer), but with a little bit of driving skill that isn't a problem. Go to an empty parking lot, hit the brakes, control the brake pressure, and repeat until you learn how to threshold brake. Now you can stop faster than ABS and can still steer to avoid obstacles. Congratulations, you're now a better driver for it.
I've been driving a car without ABS for the past 6 years, so I wasn't enthralled with having ABS forced upon me in the 2. At least Mazda gives you the much-needed option to turn off DSC, but that darn ABS is still crap on snow. It kicks in way too early and destroys your ability to stop fast. So I began a mission to destroy it.
Pull some fuses, they said. It will be easy, they said.
And... yeah, it pretty much is.
As you'll see in the owner's manual, there's no dedicated ABS fuse, just two DSC fuses (DSC-P [7] and DSC-V[8]). So I started pulling them out and observed the results.
DISCLAIMER: Proceed at your own risk. I will not be responsible if you kill yourself while being an idiot or destroy your car while being an idiot. Don't be an idiot and you should be fine, though. But still, proceed at your own risk.
Pulling both fuse 7 and 8:
DSC and ABS are both disabled. Steering feels normal. Dashboard is lit up like a christmas tree, though. ABS, DSC OFF, Brake System Warning Light, Power Steering Malfunction Warning Light, Malfunction Warning Light, and Check Engine are all on.
Pulling fuse 8 only:
DSC and ABS are both disabled. Power steering does not operate normally though. You can still drive the car, but the steering feels weightier (though I believe not as much as power steering being completely off). ABS, DSC OFF, and Check Engine lights are on, but strangely the Power Steering Malfunction Warning Light is not. I do not recommend driving with only fuse 8 pulled.
Pulling fuse 7 only:
This seemed to have the best results. DSC and ABS are both disabled. Power steering operates normally. Only the ABS, DSC OFF, and Check Engine lights are on.
Note: After my experimentation, I replaced all the fuses, but the check engine light remained on. After turning the car on and off a couple times though, the light went away.
All in all, the 2 brakes far better on snow without ABS. I love it.
Sure, it has advantages over simply locking up your brakes (namely the ability to steer), but with a little bit of driving skill that isn't a problem. Go to an empty parking lot, hit the brakes, control the brake pressure, and repeat until you learn how to threshold brake. Now you can stop faster than ABS and can still steer to avoid obstacles. Congratulations, you're now a better driver for it.
I've been driving a car without ABS for the past 6 years, so I wasn't enthralled with having ABS forced upon me in the 2. At least Mazda gives you the much-needed option to turn off DSC, but that darn ABS is still crap on snow. It kicks in way too early and destroys your ability to stop fast. So I began a mission to destroy it.
Pull some fuses, they said. It will be easy, they said.
And... yeah, it pretty much is.
As you'll see in the owner's manual, there's no dedicated ABS fuse, just two DSC fuses (DSC-P [7] and DSC-V[8]). So I started pulling them out and observed the results.
DISCLAIMER: Proceed at your own risk. I will not be responsible if you kill yourself while being an idiot or destroy your car while being an idiot. Don't be an idiot and you should be fine, though. But still, proceed at your own risk.
Pulling both fuse 7 and 8:
DSC and ABS are both disabled. Steering feels normal. Dashboard is lit up like a christmas tree, though. ABS, DSC OFF, Brake System Warning Light, Power Steering Malfunction Warning Light, Malfunction Warning Light, and Check Engine are all on.
Pulling fuse 8 only:
DSC and ABS are both disabled. Power steering does not operate normally though. You can still drive the car, but the steering feels weightier (though I believe not as much as power steering being completely off). ABS, DSC OFF, and Check Engine lights are on, but strangely the Power Steering Malfunction Warning Light is not. I do not recommend driving with only fuse 8 pulled.
Pulling fuse 7 only:
This seemed to have the best results. DSC and ABS are both disabled. Power steering operates normally. Only the ABS, DSC OFF, and Check Engine lights are on.
Note: After my experimentation, I replaced all the fuses, but the check engine light remained on. After turning the car on and off a couple times though, the light went away.
All in all, the 2 brakes far better on snow without ABS. I love it.