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ABS makes stopping faster in panic situations for people who haven't practiced panic braking and keeping the brakes right at that threshold.



I think that very important point is worth repeating, and to state the obvious is ABS "cycles" brakes between near lockup and release, and that actually increases stopping distance over the experienced driver as you mentioned.



Keep in mind that ABS trades off tire skidding for additional heat.

Brakes convert the energy of the car in motion to heat energy via pad/rotor friction. You have to manage that heat. Larger rotors not only give better leverage but they also provide a larger heat sink. A simple example would be to touch a lug nut after you exit the highway and pull into a service station. The lug will be warm. The brake rotor and hub would likely burn your fingers. Even driving home after work will put enough heat into the brakes to feel (or burn) by hand.

In a 10.9" B-body rotor you've got maybe 10 pounds of rotor with venting to disperse the heat. The rest of the mass in the hub portion of the rotor does soak up some heat but it has no way of dissipating that heat. Without serious ducting and forced air they won't last long when pushed hard. It's also one of the reasons you need high temp grease for wheel bearings (they make their own heat too).
Have you ever stomped the brakes at high speed and been able to smell the pads and rotors cooking?

The MB rotors I use tip the scales at 27 lbs. The majority of that weight is in the vented surface area. It can dissipate much more heat than the small factory stuff. The cross drilled holes take some weight out of the rotor and offer a tiny bit of venting.

Here's a video of the SLR's carbon ceramic brakes glowing after a single stop from 120 mph.

http://www.youtube.com/v/apDIP5PU1WU

You can see how serious they were about cooling the brakes by the ducting running into the hub as well as the top of the caliper.

We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon