Brakes are one of the most critical components in your car and support an entire multi-million-dollar industry, including tuners, driving enthusiasts and motorsports competitors.
Even though standard brakes may suffice for those who commute and occasionally hit the track, upgrading can provide extra stopping power if desired. Upgrades come into play here.
Brake Pads
Brake pads in vehicles convert kinetic energy to heat energy to slow or stop it altogether, thus saving fuel. They must absorb this thermal energy quickly in order to avoid overheating and survive intense braking conditions without incurring damage.
In this research study, two prototype friction pad formulations were tested against gray cast iron discs. High-resolution photography and scanning electron microscopy observations as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis enabled further examination of pad material properties.
Raw LS and NAO pad materials exhibit similar ultimate strength when in their normal states, yet the former is far more resilient than its counterpart. When subject to thermal damage, NAO material’s already fragile state becomes even more brittle and susceptible to large cracks forming under strainful braking tests; long steel fibers present in LS pad materials help cushion this effect and prevent large fractures forming under stress tests; additionally LS pads show less oxidation tendency, thus decreasing excessive rotor wear risk.
Brake Rotors
Constant friction between brake pads and rotors produces heat that must be managed to prevent overheating of the system, while its ability to transfer and dissipate heat determines both performance and durability.
Drilled and slotted rotors are designed for optimal ventilation and heat dispersion to provide the ideal surface for brake pad contact under high stress environments like racing or track use. Drilled holes help cool the surface, reduce heat buildup, while slots remove dust, debris, and gas buildup in order to avoid pad entrapment.
Drilled holes also reduce the thermal capacity of rotors by removing mass, which could result in distortion to outer surfaces under high stress/temperature conditions, leading to warping or cracking of outer surfaces under higher stress and temperature conditions. A floating disc provides a solution to this problem by adding another piece of hardware between rotor and mounting bell.
Brake Discs
A brake disc is a thin disc which sits between the friction surface of a brake pad and wheel rim. A disc may be solid, vented, or floating.
Solid discs consist of one piece of Cast iron for both their rotor and mounting bell, making them very reliable and easily manufactured, making them widely available. Unfortunately, however, they can be heavy contributing to unsprung mass and warp at higher temperatures which reduce performance.
Ventilated discs come in three varieties – solid, slotted or drilled. The latter feature holes or slots cut into their rotor to increase air flow and decrease heat build-up.
They tend to be lighter than solid discs and can be constructed out of various materials, such as Martensitic stainless steel or Grey cast iron. One key advantage of this design is that it can be machined for a smooth finish, which reduces force necessary to clear away dust or dirt from your brake discs.
Brake Lines
Brake lines carry pressurized brake fluid from the master cylinder to each of the brake calipers, and are an essential safety-relevant component that should be regularly examined to avoid corrosion and damage.
Braided steel lines are popular with hot rodders and classic car enthusiasts as they give an attractive aesthetic to engine bays. Furthermore, their use relieves stress on connections as they’re less likely to swell under pressure; plus they are much cheaper than hard stainless-steel tubing.
Braided stainless-steel brake lines utilize a Teflon (or generic PTFE) inner hose with a stainless wire braid outer sheath. The stainless wire braid resists expansion caused by pressure inside the hose core, improving braking performance by more directly transmitting operator input (hydraulic pressure) to brake friction surfaces. In comparison with rubber lines, metal brake hoses also remain undamaged by physical damage like punctures from rocks or branches and their ends may even be flared to provide leak proof connections at each end.