Brakes

Vehicle brakes

Modern cars have brakes on all four wheels, operated by a hydraulic system. They maybe disc type or drum type brakes.

The front brakes play a greater part in stopping the car than the rear ones, because braking throws the car weight forward on to the front wheels.

Car setups can invole of disc at front, drums at rear, or disc all round!

Hydraulic Systems

A hydraulic Braked circuit has fluid-filled, master and slave cylinders connected by pipes.

When the brake pedal it pressesed a piston in the master cylinder forces fluid along the pipe.

The fluid travels to slave cylinders on each wheel, fills them with fluid which forces pistons out to apply the brakes.

Fluid is evenly distributed around the system.

Heavy braking can cause your car to skid as so much weight may come off the rear wheels that they lock.

For this reason, the rear brakes are deliberately made less powerful than the front.

Modern cars now adays have complex anti-lock (ABS) systems that sense in various ways how the car is decelerating and whether any wheels are locking.

Such systems apply and release the brakes in rapid succession to stop them locking.

Disc brakes!

A disc brake is a disc that turns with the wheel. The disc is cuddled by a caliper, in which the calliper has hydraulic pistons in, which work by pressure from the master cylinder.

The pistons press on a set of pads that clamp against the disc from each side to slown the vehicle or stop it. The pads are shaped to cover a broad sector of the disc.

There may be more than a single pair of pistons, especially in dual-circuit brakes.

The pistons move only a tiny distance to apply the brakes, and the pads barely clear the disc when the brakes are released. 

All cars have disc brakes on the front and a lot of models have discs at the rear as well. Brake pads and disks wear out. They have to be inspected at every service and renewed when they have worn to a specified minimum.

We supply and fit brake pads or disks at lowest prices guaranteed! Please ring 01903 202140 for a free QUOTE.