Gross Vehicle Weight?
- Thread starter RonL
- Start date
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Yes, that's all true. Passenger vehicles are generally designed to have enough power to lock the brakes as good design practice. FMVSS 105 requires passenger vehicles to stop in 215 feet, heavy trucks have a much longer distance. You'd have a hard time doing that if you didn't have the power to lock the wheels. Yes, I know it's more efficient to brake at the threshold, but if you don't have the power lock the brakes, you don't have the power to get to threshold, either.
James86004
Expedition Leader
The very day I bought my Series III I got a chance to lock the brakes. I was traveling 45 mph on Glendale Avenue in Phoenix, and I noticed an adolescent boy riding in a grocery cart on the sidewalk, being propelled by his friends. Just as comprehension of the possible outcome of this dawned on me, the cart hit a crack, tipped over, and spilled the boy into the road right in front of the 300ZX in front of me. The car swerved around and ended up smashing into the curb. I locked up the single-leading-shoe drum brakes and left some pretty impressive skid marks. The boys ran away. Noone was hurt.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
Yeah, I've always been able to lock the brakes on my Series Rovers. Well, with the exception of my '62 which I drove for years on the farm with no brakes at all, aside from the transmission brake. 