Safe Driving and Understanding your Brake System

Safe Driving and Understanding your Brake System Usually, we don't think much about our car's brakes. We step on the pedal and the car slows down or stops, and that's it. Consider, though, that a driver steps on the brakes tens of thousands of times in a year's worth of driving. Sometimes it's going to be a light tap on the pedal, and other times a hard stop.

Considering that brakes wear slowly and can last 60 000 to 90 000 kilometres according to your driving style, it can be hard to really know when they're wearing down to a point where they need replacement. That's why it's important to have a good understanding of how your brake system is designed, and how it works.

Disc Brakes

Disc brakes are similar in principle to the handbrakes on a bicycle. Your wheels are bolted to smooth steel discs, called rotors. The rotors then have a calliper that encloses them and holds two pads of hard ceramic or semi-metallic friction material. When you step on the brake pedal, hydraulic pressure from the brake master cylinder (located on the firewall in the engine compartment) travels through the brake lines and activates a piston in the brake callipers. When the piston activates, it forces the brake pads against the rotor's surface, slowing the vehicle down via friction.

Drum Brakes

Drum brakes are an older system that has fallen out of favour for new vehicles since disc brakes are simpler in design with fewer parts and also offer better braking performance. Still, there are plenty of vehicles on the road that still uses drum brakes, especially for the rear wheels.

Drum brake systems use a pan-shaped drum, with the wheel studs passing through the drum. Inside the drum is a pair of curved brake shoes that fit the contour of the drum's lining. When you step on the brake pedal, a hydraulic wheel cylinder forces the shoes outward against the drum's lining, and they then retract again with stiff return springs.

ABS Brakes

Since the 90s, antilock brakes have been a feature on most cars and are now standard equipment on many. ABS systems were actually developed for aircraft and are designed to enhance control by preventing lockup and skidding. ABS systems include sensors that monitor the rotational speed of each wheel, sending several pulses per second to a processor. When any wheel starts to slow down more than the rest and seems like it could be on the verge of locking up, the processor and a series of pumps and valves meter the braking force differently to the wheel(s), heading off the likelihood of a skid.

Your car's brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it can attract water. Unlike oil, which is heavier and will separate from water, brake fluid can actually support it, leading to problems with corrosion and damage to rubber seals. In extreme cases, droplets of water in the brake fluid can "boil off," leading to brake fade during hard braking.

Check your brake fluid level and condition regularly. Brake fluid should be light amber and clear in colour. If your brake fluid is cloudy or dark, you'll need to flush the system completely, refill it with the correct brand and rating of fluid and then bleed the system of any air bubbles. From time to time, scrape a screwdriver blade along the bottom of the brake fluid reservoir in the master cylinder. If the screwdriver has any gunk on it when you pull it out, that's a sign that the fluid's contaminated.

Signs of Brake Trouble

Since your brakes wear down so slowly, it can be tough to recognize when it's time for brake service. These are all signs of worn brakes, however:

Vibration or pulsation through brake pedal while braking
A tendency for one or more wheels to lock up and skid while braking
Pull to one side while braking
Excessive brake pedal travel toward the floor while braking
Brake pedal feels "soft" or "spongy" underfoot

It's also important to listen to any noises the brakes might make. Groaning, screeching or squealing noises are all trouble signs. A metallic screech is especially worrisome - many brake pads are designed with a steel tab that protrudes from the backing plate and drags on the rotor when the pads' friction material reaches a minimum thickness. This wear indicator is designed to alert the driver that it's time to change pads.

On other pad designs that don't feature a wear indicator, a metal-to-metal grinding noise indicates that the friction surface is worn clear through to the rivets and backing plate. In that case, the only braking ability you have is coming from metal-to-metal contact, which is obviously very dangerous and will quickly destroy the smooth surface of the brake rotors. To keep your brakes at optimum performance levels, it's recommended to replace your rotors with your pads. But if you hear metal-to-metal contact, replacing your rotors is a must.

Making Your Brakes Last Longer

Watch your speed

Braking from 100 km/h means arresting about a third more kinetic energy than braking from 80 km/h. The formula for braking is to multiply half the vehicle's weight by the square of its speed, so braking effort goes up exponentially with speed. That extra 20 km/h of speed causes a lot more brake wear and heat than you might think!

Use your right foot only

Some people have adopted the habit of braking with the left foot, and that's a good habit to break. If you use your left foot on the brakes, you're constantly tempted to hover that foot over the brake pedal and tap the brakes when you don't really need to.

Coast

See that off-ramp coming up? Don't brake right when you get up to it. Instead, just let your foot off the gas a good way back and coast up to it, then let your car scrub off speed as you negotiate the turn. Coasting and avoiding using the brakes altogether can cut a lot of brake wear.

Anticipate stops

Start braking a couple of hundred meters back when you come up to a red light, rather than waiting until the last minute and stabbing the brake pedal. You might even be able to time it so that you roll up to the intersection just as the light turns green. This also means looking down the road and getting the big picture. One way to develop this habit is to use a dry-erase marker and draw a thin line at eye level on the windshield. Get used to keeping your focus above that line and rely on peripheral vision for lane management and spatial awareness of other vehicles.

Upgrade and save

Brakes are a part where it doesn't pay to cheap out. There are several compounds and formulations for brake pads, all of which have different wear characteristics, and in just about every instance cheaper pads won't last as long. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish; go ahead and spring for the better-quality brake pads available at your nearest Goldwagen store.

Brake wear can vary. If you tow heavy loads often or drive in hilly terrain, you may need to replace your brakes faster. Sensible driving habits help a lot, though, and you should remember to have your brake pads' condition checked at every oil change.

Do not forget to visit your nearest Goldwagen store to get the brake system parts for your vehicle