1994 CHEVROLET CORVETTE brakes

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
You can steer around the obstacle while
braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps
receiving updates on wheel speed and
controls braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the
time you need to get your foot up to the
brake pedal.
If you get too close to the
vehicle
in front of you, you won’t have
time to apply your brakes if that vehicle
suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the
brake pedal down and let anti-lock work
for you. You may hear a motor or clicking
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noise and feel the brake pedal move a
little during a hard stop, but this is
normal. When your anti-lock system is
adjusting brake pressure to help avoid a
braking skid, the “ABS ACTIVE” light
will come on. See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Active Light” in the Index.
ASR (Accelerated Slip Regulation)
System
Your vehicle has an ASR system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially
useful in slippery road conditions. The
system operates only if it senses that the
rear wheels are spinning too much or
are beginning to lose traction. When this
happens, the system works
the rear brakes
and reduces engine power (by closing the
throttle and managing spark) to limit
wheel spin.
The “ASR ACTIVE” light will come on
when the ASR system is limiting wheel
spin. See “ASR Active Light”
in the
Index. You may feel the system working,
or you may notice some noise, but this is
normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when
the ASR system begins to limit wheel
spin, the cruise control will automatically disengage. When road conditions allow
you to safely use it again, you may
re-engage cruise control. (See “Cruise
Control” in the Index.)

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle to change its path
when you
turn the front wheels. If there’s
no traction, inertia will keep the vehicle
going in the same direction. If you’ve
ever tried to steer a vehicle
on wet ice,
you’ll understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve
depends on the condition of your tires and
the road surface, the angle at which
the
curve is banked, and,your speed. While
you’re in a curve, speed is the one factor
you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp
curve. Then you suddenly accelerate.
Both control systems
- steering and
acceleration
- have to do their work
where the tires meet the road. Unless
your
ASR system is on, adding the
sudden acceleration can demand too
much of those places. You can lose
control.
What should you do if this ever happens?
Ease up on the accelerator pedal, steer the
vehicle the way you want it to go, and
slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that
you should adjust your speed. Of course,
the posted speeds are based on good
weather and road conditions. Under less favorable conditions
you’ll want to go
slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as
you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can
“drive”. through the curve. Maintain
a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of
the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more
effective than braking. For example, you
come over a hill and find a truck stopped
in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out from
between parked cars and stops right in
front of you. You can avoid these problems
by braking
- if you can stop in time. But
sometimes you can’t; there isn’t room.
That’s the time for evasive action
-
steering around the problem.
Your Corvette can perform very well in
emergencies like these. First apply your
brakes. It is better to remove as much speed as you can from a possible collision.
Then steer around the problem, to the left
or right depending on the space available.
An emergency like this requires close
attention and a quick decision. If you are
holding the steering wheel at the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions,
you can turn it a full
180 degrees very
quickly without removing either hand. But you have to act fast, steer quickly,
and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once you have avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is
a good reason to
practice defensive driving at all times and
wear safety belts properly.

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If other cars are lined up to pass a
slow vehicle, wait your turn. But take
care that someone isn’t trying to pass
you as you pull out to pass the slow
vehicle. Remember to glance over
your shoulder and check the blind
spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your
shoulder, and start your left lane
change signal before moving out of
the right lane to pass. When you are
far enough ahead
of the passed vehicle
to see its front
in your inside mirror,
activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane.
(Remember that your right outside
mirror is convex. The vehicle you just
passed may seem to be farther away
from you than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle
at a time on two-lane roads.
Reconsider before passing the next vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving
vehicle too rapidly. Even though the
brake lights are not flashing, it may be
slowing down or starting
to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy
for the following driver to get ahead
of you. Perhaps you can ease a little
to the right.
,130
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say
about what happens when the three
control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what
the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep
trying to steer and constantly seek an
escape route or area of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the
vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid most
skids by taking reasonable care suited to
existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids
are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to
your Corvette’s three control systems.
In the braking skid your wheels aren’t
rolling. In the steering or cornering skid,
too much speed or steering in a curve
causes tires to slip and lose cornering
force. And in the acceleration skid too
much throttle causes the driving wheels
to spin.
A cornering skid
is best handled by
easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal. Remember: Any
ASR system helps avoid
only the acceleration skid. If your ASR
system is
off, then an acceleration skid is
also best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your
foot
off the accelerator pedal and quickly
steer the way you want the vehicle to go.
If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be
ready for a second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water,
snow, ice, gravel, or other material is on
the road. For safety, you’ll want to slow
down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down
on slippery surfaces because stopping
distance will be longer and vehicle
control more limited.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving too fast through large water
puddles or even going through some car washes can cause problems, too. The
water may affect your brakes. Try to
avoid puddles.
But if you can’t, try to
slow down before you
hit them.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much
water can build up under your tires that
they can actually ride
on the water. This
can happen if the road is wet enough and
you’re going fast enough. When your
vehicle is hydroplaning, it has little or
no
contact with the road.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it
can
if your tires haven’t much tread or if
the pressure in one or more is low. It can
happen if a lot of water is standing on the
road.
If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and
raindrops “dimple” the water’s surface,
there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher
speeds. There just isn’t a hard and fast
rule about hydroplaning. The best advice
IS to slow down when it is raining.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
0 Turn on your low-beam headlights -
not just your parking lights - to help
make you more visible to others.
0 Besides slowing down, allow some
extra following distance. And be
especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more
clear room ahead, and be prepared to
have your view restricted by road
spray.
Have good tires with proper tread
depth. (See “Tires” in the Index.)
133 ...

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
What can you do about highway
hypnosis? First, be aware that
it can
happen.
Then here are some tips:
0 Make sure your vehicle is well
ventilated, with a comfortably cool
interior.
0 Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road
ahead and to the sides. Check your
rearview mirrors and your instruments
frequently.
0 If you get sleepy, pull off the road into
a rest, service, or parking area and
take a nap, get some exercise, or both.
For safety, treat drowsiness on
the
highway as an emergency.
Hill and Mountain
Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is
jifferent from driving in flat or rolling
terrain. If you drive regularly in steep
zountry, or if you’re planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
Keep your vehicle in good shape.
Check all fluid levels and also the
brakes, tires, cooling system and
transmission. These parts can work
hard on mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most
important thing to know is this: let
your engine do some
of the slowing
down. Shift to a lower gear when you
go down a steep or long hill.
0 Know how to go uphill. You may
want to shift down to a lower gear.
The lower gears help cool your engine and transmission, and you can climb
the hill better.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where you1
tires meet the road probably have good
traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice between
your iires and the road, you can have a
very slippery situation. You’ll have
a lot
less traction or “grip” and
will need to be
very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.”
Very cold snow or ice can be slick and
hard to drive on. But wet ice can be even
more trouble because it may offer
the
least traction of all. You can get “wet ice”
when it’s about freezing (32°F; OOC) and
freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid
driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there. Whatever the condition
- smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow
- drive
with caution. Keep your
ASR system on.
It improves your ability to accelerate
when driving
on a slippery road. Even
though your vehicle has the ASR system, you’ll want to slow down and adjust your
driving to the road conditions. See “ASR
System” in the Index.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your
ability to make a hard stop on a slippery
road. Even though you have the anti-lock
braking system, you’ll want to begin
stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti-lock”
in the Index.
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Allow greater following distance on
any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road
might be fine
until you hit a spot that’s
covered
with ice. On an otherwise
clear road, ice patches may appear
in
shaded areas where the sun can’t
reach: around clumps of trees, behind
buildings, or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear. If you see
a patch of ice ahead of you, brake
before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation. You should
probably stay with your vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here
are some things to do to summon help and
keep yourself and your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard flashers. Tie
a red
cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you’ve been stopped by the snow. Put
on
extra clothing or wrap a blanket around
you. If you have no blankets or extra
clothing, make body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor mats
- anything you can wrap around yourself
or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but
be careful.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Brake Master Cylinder
Your brake master cylinder is here. It is
filled with DOT-3 brake fluid.
There are only two reasons why the brake
fluid level in your master cylinder might
go down. The first is that the brake fluid
goes down to an acceptable level during
normal brake lining wear. When new
linings are put in, the fluid level goes
back up. The other reason is that fluid is
leaking out of the brake system.
If it is,
you should have your brake system fixed,
since a leak means that sooner or later
your brakes won’t work well, or won’t work at all.
So, it isn’t a good idea to “top off’ your
brake fluid. Adding brake fluid won’t
correct a leak. If you add fluid when your
linings are worn, then you’ll have too
much fluid when you get new brake
linings. You should add (or remove)
brake fluid, as necessary, only when work
is done on the brake hydraulic system. When your brake fluid falls to a
low level, your brake warning light,
“SERVICE ABS” light and “SERVICE
ASR” light will come on. Also, the
anti-lock brake and Acceleration Slip
Regulation systems are disabled. See
“Brake System Warning Light” in the
Index.
What to Add:
When you do need brake fluid, use only
DOT-3 brake fluid
- such as Delco-
Supreme
1 l@ (GM Part No. 1052535).
Use new brake fluid from a sealed
container only, and always clean the brak
fluid reservoir cap before removing it.
193 ...

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Service and Appearance Care
NOTICE:
Don’t let someone put in the
wrong kind of fluid. For example,
just a few drops of mineral-based
oil, such as engine oil, in your
brake system can damage brake
system parts
so badly that they’ll
have to be replaced.
Brake fluid can damage paint,
so
be careful not to spill brake fluid
on your vehicle. If you
do, wash it
off immediately. See “Appearance
Care” in the Index.
Brake Wear
Your Corvette has four-wheel disc brakes.
Disc brake pads have built-in wear
indicators that make a high-pitched
warning sound when the brake pads are
worn and new pads are needed. The
sound may come and go or be heard all
the time your vehicle is moving (except
when you are pushing
on the brake pedal
firmly).
I NOTICE:
I
Continuing to drive with worn-out
brake pads could result in costly brake repair.
Some driving conditions or climates may
cause a brake squeal when the brakes are
first applied or lightly applied. This does not mean something is wrong with your
brakes. Brake linings should always be
replaced as complete axle sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal does
not return to normal height, or if there is
a rapid increase in pedal travel. This
could be a sign of brake trouble.
Brake Adjustment
As you make brake stops, your disc
brakes automatically adjust for wear.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a modern vehicle
is complex. Its many parts have to be of
top quality and work well together
if the
vehicle is to have really good braking.
Vehicles we design and test have
top-quality GM brake parts in them, as
your Corvette does when it is new. When
you replace parts of your braking system
- for example, when your brake linings
wear down and you have to have new
ones put in
- be sure you get new
genuine GM replacement parts. If you
don’t, your brakes may no longer work
properly. For example,
if someone puts
in brake linings that are wrong for your
vehicle, the balance between your front
and rear brakes can change, for the worse. The braking performance you’ve come to
expect can change in many other ways
if
someone puts in the wrong replacement
brake parts.
. . .I94