LocostUSA.com

I've been looking around a bit and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. Ignoring whether or not this sort of system is necessary (or even a good idea...) for a Locost, does anyone know if there's a box out there than can be programmed to either pulse the brakes or relieve braking pressure per wheel on command? I know Bosch sells full ABS kits, and I know several suppliers (and standalone ECUs) have traction control capabilities that affect the ignition.

But my understanding of many modern cars is that they have an ABS/traction control/stability control box that is able to brake or relieve pressure to each individual wheel as necessary. I think something like this would be a hoot to play with, does it exist in a DIY form?

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Ford 5.0 into an M3
mikaelvroom.com | @MikaelVroom

Dont know about braking kit, but if you have a complete unit out of an existing car, I dont see why it could not be adapted. I do have a working ABS unit out of a 94 Acura Integra that I will no longer need. I paid $100 for it. Yours for $50 plus shipping. It would need a car battery sized space for mounting. PM me if you want it.
You would need wheel sensors and toothed wheels.
Traction control is more of an engine control unit thing as you pointed out. I know that Megasquirt supports this on the more advanced setups and I am sure other stand alones can work as well.
I dont know of any stability control stuff in the aftermarket.

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Parts left out cost nothing and cause no problems!!

A simple ABS system might be do-able using an older system. They were basic in nature and only relieved the pressure to keep a wheel from locking up before hte others. You might be able to take an entire system off one of the vehicles that used it. This was a real basic function and did not work very well on the cars I had. Lock up them all and it didn't do anything. Some of these only looked at the 2 front wheels and the driveshaft speed (not individual rear wheel speed).Today's cars are much more sophisticated. They can apply pressure to the system to provie traction controla and stability control. This requires more elctronics including some steering wheel angle input, a high pressure pump, high pressure control valves and some interface with the engine control unit. This is not anything that I would play with myself and I do a lot of stuff others would not attempt. But you did say "Ignoring whether or not this sort of system is necessary (or even a good idea)..." Keep us informed as you go onward.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I have very mixed feelings about this sort of stuff. On the one hand it should make for a faster car. On the other hand, it's expensive, results in a heavier car, a more complicated car, with more stuff to break, and more stuff to fiddle with when it doesn't work as expected. While traction control is available for my drivetrain, I haven't bought it for all the above reasons.

FWIW, in my day job we produce autonomous systems. When some situation suggests making the system "handle the issue on its own", we have to think very hard about whether it'll be a net positive result, or if we're making the system too smart for our own good. That is, will it make for a better product, or make it easier for users to get confused, and actually cause more problems than it fixes?

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
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If you are after traction control rather than ABS then a product is available ....

http://www.racelogic.co.uk/index.php/en/other-products

It is rather expensive (500 GBP as I recall, before wheel sensors.

There is a video on the site somewhere showing it in use on a 7, with remarkable improvement in drivability; however, as Kurt suggests, it may not be the aim of this group!

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

Anything seems easy from a birds-eye view. My thought is the difficult part in working with an OEM unit will be actually interfacing with the box - how do I tell it what to do? Are there discrete inputs for every action, or do I have to know the manufacturer's proprietary communication protocol?



In my personal experience, the ABS systems on cars made in the last ~5 years are head and shoulders above what was used 10+ years ago. The brake pulses that my 2001 model year car was able to manage were so slow that I could beat the ABS stopping distance every time in the snow by turning off ABS. The older systems were only good for keeping the car pointed (roughly) straight under heaving braking in poor conditions. They did nothing to enhance actual braking performance - there's no way it was fast enough to hold the tire at the edge of lockup. If I got anything, it'd have to be recent and decent.



I'm an engineer at a control systems company, the worst thing you can do with our product is to put it in Manual mode.

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Ford 5.0 into an M3
mikaelvroom.com | @MikaelVroom

I think this may be what you're talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BaFhWz_zhY

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Ford 5.0 into an M3
mikaelvroom.com | @MikaelVroom