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Understanding Disc Brakes

By: Adam Wolfe Losing ones brakes is one thing that every motorist is worried about.To actually stop a car that is moving, a vehicle’s Brake System relies on the brake disc. A break disc has the following chief components, as seen on a single- piston floating caliper

Parts of a disc brake

* The brake pads
* The caliper, which contains a piston
* The rotor, which is mounted to the hub

The understanding of these key auto parts will largely affect how one can learn more about how break discs work.Dissimilar with our ordinary bicycle where a caliper squeezes the brake pads directly to the wheel, in a disc brake, the brake pads squeeze the rotor instead of the wheel, transmitting the force using hydraulics instead of through a cable. The resulting friction between the pads and the disc then reduces the speed of the disc.

Looking at it in a dork's viewpoint, when a car moves, it produces a form of energy described as kinetic energy. The brake system of a car converts this energy to heat by using friction. It is because of this friction that most car disc brakes are vented.

Vents

Cooling in a vented Disc Brake is done through a set of vanes that pumps air through the disc. Flanked by the two sides of the disc, this disperses the heat generatedgiven off by the friction between the pads and the rotors.

A unique characteristic of the single-piston floating-caliper disc brake is that it is self-centering and self-adjusting. The caliper glides from side to side but each time the brakes are pressed it has the ability to go to the center. One must take note that there are also no springs that pull the pads away from the disc making them always stay in light contact with the rotor. This makes sure that much application of pressure in the brake pedals are not needed to engage the brake pads. Because the pistons in the brakes are much bigger in diameter as compared with the ones in the master cylinder, this is a very important aspect to consider. In case of rotor wobble where there is added space between the rotors and the pads, it will take numerous applications of the brake pedals before sufficient fluid is pumped into the brake cylinders to engage the retracted pads.

Self-adjusting disc brake

It does not follow that extra pistons will actually result to a better disc brake. The four-piston fixed- caliper design or the dual piston fixed brake designs employed by older car models have been close to being phased out because of a single-piston's dependability and affordability.

Emergency Brakes

In terms of emergency brakes, they are differentiated from the normal disc brakes on all four wheels by the mechanism by which it is triggered incase of total primary brake failure. For this purpose, the use of cable remains one of the popular choices. This type of brakes can usually be seen as a separate drum brake integrated into the hub of the rear wheels.

Other popular options include cars which have a lever that turns a screw, or activates a cam. This then presses the piston of the disc brake.

Servicing Your Brakes

Brake pads should be examined every now and then to see if they need to be replaced. Usually, a piece of metal, called wear indicator assists the motorist to know when it is time for him to change pads. When there is already noticeable wear on the pads, the tiny metal comes in contact with the discs, producing a squealing sound.

The inspection opening on the caliper also lets one to see just how much friction material still remains on the pads.

What to look for during inspection:

Deep scores worn into the brake rotors. This is especially a result of a damaged brake pad left for too long on a car.

Warping. The brake rotors may also lose their flatness causing it to shudder or vibrate during stopping.

Both of these problems may be solved by a simple refinishing wherein some material is removed from the motor to even its surface out. Though this is an undemanding option to take, this should be done only when the rotors are really badly warped or scored. Doing so more often might reduce the life of your brake rotors, thinning them every time a material is removed. One should know the allowable thickness for every rotor as found in its shop manual to know when a replacement is considered necessary.

Knowing these auto parts and how they work will greatly save a car owner a lot of money and give one the piece of mind that his ride will not bail out on him unexpectedly.