retrofitting abs

[linke30]

so a old man pulled out in front of me today. realised that he wasn't going to stop so turned and hit the brakes.
wheels locked up and of course it seemed as if I hadn't touched the brakes as I slid, couldn't turn/avoid the traffic island in the middle of road.
ive only hit the offside front on the kerb but it felt pretty hard.
car drives fine so far, bit of damage to the bbs and tyre which sucks but could be worse I guess.
got me thinking about getting abs on the car but looks like a lot of work with potentially untested 2nd hand parts.
is it something that people do?
just wondering if its worth the work/hassle or if it can be fairly easily achieved?

[Speedtouch]

Which model and year of E30 do you have?

It can apparently be "easily removed" according to the Zone Wiki:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Brakes#ABS

However, fitting it would at least require the slotted/splined wheel hubs that trigger the sensors, so first check to see if your car has those.

Then there is the plumbing in of the ABS pump unit in the engine bay, which will require new brake pipes made up, also the fitting of the ABS ECU in the glovebox - check if your car has the wiring loom/socket for it.

[Brianmoooore]

Easy enough to do as part of a full restoration, with plenty of spares on hand, but a lot of work on a complete, on the road, E30.
Pump mounts need welding in place, new brake lines made up, interior needs taking apart to fit looms, and all four hubs are not likely to be drilled for the sensors.
TBH, the money would be better spent on driver training. Cadence braking is just one of the lost driving arts, unknown to younger drivers. Assuming all wheels are on approximately the same road surface conditions, then a skilled driver will be able to stop a car in a straight line in a shorter distance than with the aid of ABS.
Where ABS really comes into its own is when the wheels on one side of the car are on the loose stuff, or when you are forced to brake hard in a corner.

[drakesmith]

Aka ice, snow.

I drive a top range mid range power car and hate the ABS and DSC set up on it.

[linke30]

i dont plan on doing a full restoration anytime soon! maybe one day then.
it was one of those situations where there was very little options and in a small area. with abs It would of help to avoid the island that little bit.
I blame the cold and the large amount of salt on the road to be honest.

I have done a bit of reading, and apparently all car with rear discs have abs? I do have rear discs but no abs light and no sign of pump ect in the bay.

roof is leaking now so that will be main problem now!

[Cloggy Saint]

My touring has rear discs but no abs.

[DanThe]

If your going to the trouble of fitting ABS then using a later system from 2001+ cars is a massive upgrade to your braking system

[Brianmoooore]

I have done a bit of reading, and apparently all car with rear discs have abs?

MOST E30s were sold with rear discs. It's only saloons with smaller engines that had rear drums, and even these had rear discs IF the ABS option was specified.
Going solely by my own experience, I would estimate that less than half of E30s with rear discs had ABS.

[martauto]

TBH, the money would be better spent on driver training. Cadence braking is just one of the lost driving arts, unknown to younger drivers..

I did a course many years ago ( ROSPA) 13 weeks at night school and we covered this but it really was all about avoiding situations similar to these.

Mart.

[linke30]

ah well! I can live without. car seems 100% fine after the incident so I shall just have to learn from it.

[flybynite]

If your going to the trouble of fitting ABS then using a later system from 2001+ cars is a massive upgrade to your braking system

Dan

You sound like you have done this It is something I have wondered as I am retrofitting ABS and to do it is a lot of work for an old system.

The pedal feel issue with the early E30 ABS also gives me concern so I was trying to find out what changed in later E30 to fix it I don’t want to move away too much from E30 stuff as the car is fairly original but if there is a better solution I’m all ears

Haven’t read of too many people doing it successfully. What needs changing from the 2001 cars I’m guessing it is E46?

[DanThe]

Yes ive fitted it to my own track car and quite a few other E30's, E36's and even back onto an E46 that had it stripped out

[flybynite]

So before I go amassing a load of E30 Abs stuff to retrofit, what from the E46 goes in? I am still curious about what the advantage is.

What is done with the traction control side, I would assume it will be still looking for a yaw sensor.

Is it much work to make the E46 sensors fit in the E30 housings?