Thankyou Mercedes & SBC

[merc85]

As above would like to say thankyou to Mercedes and Sbc for quite possible saving my families life today.

I was coming back from Chelmsford in essex on the A12 Dual carridge way section, had my 3, 5, 7 year olds on board along with my wife up front, when i was over taking a slower moving Honda CRV and the Truck in front of that at 65mph i was in cruise control at the time.

id just passed the CRV when the truck pulled out violently into the outside lane straight infront of me, he pulled out so hard i thought the truck was going to jack knife! no indcation just saw his brake lights and smoke from the trailer.

I simply didnt have time to do anything apart from hit the brakes... the truck managed to get back control the Honda swerved into the gap id created by braking hard as he couldnt brake quick a enough! me and the honda recovered from aprox 15-20mph and the truck carried on its way. it had swerved round a Campervan which was doing roughly 35-40mph on the inside lane, perhaps he didnt see it i really dont know

I felt the ABS through the pedol, i heard the tyres screach i think the 1st was the nearside frt then the rear dunno but the car remained straight and true, to my amazment and furtune there was nothing behind me, had there been i wouldnt like to have guessed the outcome as they wouldnt have stopped quick enough.

SBC gets alot bad press but today i can safley say it gets my vote.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Glad everyone is ok and a tragedy was avoided.

If you look past the replacement cost v current market value, it's a brilliant system and it has come to my rescue on more than one occasion.

 

[AMGeed]

It has it's critics, but SBC is a great braking system. Glad to hear it saved your day!

 

[Dryce]

My feeling is that MB went backwards with the 2006 facelift on the W211.

I've always maintained SBC gets a bad press when behind the fuss it stops a good day becoming a bad day more often than it gets credit for.

My current car has much bigger discs and more rubber than my W211 and stops very competently - but nothing like the controlled instant brutality of SBC.

 

[toby1]

Not sure how SBC helped but at least it's a happy ending. Do you mean BAS?

 

[renault12ts]

I'm glad everyone is ok.

But, is there a suggestion that another car without SBC would have crashed?

 

[Dryce]

Not sure how SBC helped but at least it's a happy ending. Do you mean BAS?

SBC + BAS.

The SBC system is active. You hit the brake in an emergency and it gets the brakes on quicker and harder with more control than an ordinary setup with just BAS.

Never ever follow a pre-facelift W211 too closely. It can stop very very quickly.

 

[Dryce]

I'm glad everyone is ok.

But, is there a suggestion that another car without SBC would have crashed?

Well clearly that's the OP's view.

But is it actually the case? Well not an easy thing to prove.

My feeling is that SBC saved me on two occasions in 7 years. I suspect it saved my wife once.

But again that's my view and not exactly provable or backed by hard evidence.

 

[whitenemesis]

SBC, brakes quicker and harder and more importantly perhaps, meters the braking force independently to each wheel to ensure maximum braking efficiency whilst keeping the car under control.

merc85 - glad it all worked as it should. Having experienced SBC "in anger" myself I can totally agree with it's worth!


From MB training docs

Advantages of SBC
• Improves metering of required brake pressure
– each wheel can be precisely controlled
• Improved BAS function
– monitors release of accelerator pedal
– application of brake
– maximum pressure available immediately
– Pre-filling of system (overcoming play)
– when the BAS function is anticipated (identified by the rapid release of the gas pedal), slight pressure is applied
• Optimal brake force distribution front to rear and side to side (EBP)
– allows brake proportioning front to back and side to side
• No pedal vibration during ABS operation
– eliminates “distraction” to the driver during critical moments
– indicator light in instrument cluster signals traction loss
• Improved driving dynamics: ABS, ASR, and ESP
– faster response to brake request inputs
• Pressure reduction at standstill
– reduces stress on components
• Dry braking function
• wiper input via CAN
• ~every 7 to 14 minutes
• brake actuation changes time interval

 

[Dryce]

I felt the ABS through the pedol

A minor detail - with SBC you don't get the pulsating feedback that you get with 'normal' ABS. So if you felt something it was more likely the car's nose being down hard on the front suspension and transmission of vibration from the tyres and road surface.

 

[Stratman]

Twice I've had BAS take over the braking for me, on neither occasion did the pedal pulse.

In both my current W203 and previous W202 it stopped in a distance I would not have believed possible, avoiding metal to metal contact with plenty of room to spare.

 

[Bellow]

If the rapidity of brake application is so important, why are most of you driving automatics still using only one foot? Adopt left foot braking and the 0.75s (HSA allowance time) delay in transferring foot between pedals vanishes.

 

[MancMike]

Glad it saved the day.

There's also the feature where if you lift of the gas suddenly (something you'd only do if you're about to slam on the brakes) it primes the brakes for you, so the brake biting point is far higher, saving precious milliseconds. Then of course it detects the ferocity of the brake stamp and if it considers it sufficient to call it an emergency situation it'll get the car braking 100% on your behalf while your rubbish meat and bones are slowly moving down applying your feeble pressure.

I've only had one panic situation since having the car, when on a crossroads, on approach, my lights changed from amber to green, and so I went from hovering over the brakes, back on the gas, then a car can shooting through, I saw it in my peripheral vision, stamped on the brake (in the heavy rain) and the way the car digs in and instantly sheds speed is really impressive.

 

[Dryce]

Twice I've had BAS take over the braking for me, on neither occasion did the pedal pulse.

ABS and not BAS is the system that normally causes the pulse/vibration feedback when it overides the braking system.

 

[Druk]

Everything that's been said. The current 212 gives nothing like the confidence in it's braking ability as my old 211.

It's a sad day I ever left the croft.

 

[merc85]

Thanks for the kind words everyones ok, and im so so glad im back with MB.

Yes perhaps it was just vibration through the pedol it all happened so quick tbh, but i cant belive how quick the car scrubbed the speed off and also kept straight. i hate the A12 dam awful road.

 

[meeeb]

Not being familiar with the mechanics (or electronics) of modern braking systems, I'm wondering why the tyres screeched? I thought that ABS was so efficient because it prevents lock-up.

There are more initials floating about in this post than daisies in spring, so has it been established what system the OP has?

 

[whitenemesis]

Seems clear enough, the OP has SBC.

Evolution!
ABS (Anti lock Brakes 1984)
+ ASR (Automatic Slip Regulation 1991)
+ ETS (Electronic Traction System 1994)
+ ESP (Electronic Stability Program 1996)
+ BAS (Brake Assist System 1998)
= SBC (Sensotronic Brake Control 2002)
SBC = Sensotronic Brake Control, the next level of
brake control !

 

[merc85]

Sorry just incase a few havent relised my car is (53) reg s211 e320 cdi

 

[br0ke]

Just as a matter of interest did the seat belts pull you back. Mine did that once under an emergency braking situation. It actually felt like the car was clenching it buttocks waiting for the impact and then about 30s later it relaxed and the seat belts went loose. A bit surprising but very reassuring that it all worked as and when it was meant to.