> The best brake distance is always achieved by riding the brake a hair before any wheel locks up
The only way to know where that limit is, is to exceed it, cut back to rolling, then ease back in. I used to do this in my old Mustangs and Thunderbirds. Then when I got an ABS Continental, I was completely unable to brake effectively without engaging the ABS. And with ABS you can not just back of enough to get the wheels rolling again.
The worst was a Ford Focus with rear drum brakes and single channel ABS. One of the rear drums would lock up during normal stops (even with the wife driving, don't just assume that I'm an aggressive braker) and this would engage all four wheels ABS. This was on a brand new 2008 model and the dealership garage considered it to be normal behavior.
That said, my last ICE car was an Impreza with very good brakes and decent ABS.
On dry pavement, ABS is modulating the brakes to keep the tire rolling, it's mechanically doing threshold breaking. Did the Continental have a relatively high curb weight and relatively small tires?
In conditions with reduced friction it doesn't work as well as good manual braking (but you maintain steering).
The Continental was much heavier than a Mustang and heavier than a Thunderbird too. It was also front wheel drive, which may have had an effect. In normal driving I never had a problem with the Continental, but I like to test the limits of my cars in the rain and that Continental was certainly harder to brake in the wet past its limits than were the Mustangs or Thunderbirds. I don't remember all the details, we're talking decades ago, but for anything other than straight line breaking I preferred cars without ABS at the time. Even if ABS ostensibly helps you steer.
The worst was a Ford Focus with rear drum brakes and single channel ABS. One of the rear drums would lock up during normal stops (even with the wife driving, don't just assume that I'm an aggressive braker) and this would engage all four wheels ABS. This was on a brand new 2008 model and the dealership garage considered it to be normal behavior.
That said, my last ICE car was an Impreza with very good brakes and decent ABS.