Brakes are perhaps the most underrated and unappreciated component of a vehicle, although it works to keep you safe, and bring your car to smooth stop every time. The physics that goes on behind the metal interior is truly fascinating.
When you gently step on the pedal, a non-compressible liquid works to make a set of callipers squeeze the rotor attached to the wheel. Due to friction and heat generated in this process, the car will come to a stop, keeping you, pedestrians and other vehicles and drivers on the road safe.
In this article, we will let you in four reasons why this humble system is important for your ride.
Problem Detection
Unlike most vehicular problems that would require a professional to diagnose after systematic observation, brake-related issues can be diagnosed by the driver himself, because it can be felt quite clearly behind the wheel. When bringing your ride to a stop, if you feel like it requires way too much force than normal, makes an annoying squeaking sound or vibrates abnormally, it’s an indication that something is not right with the brake-system.
Be sure to take your vehicle for check-up and check on the state of the pass, which is usually the first component of the system to fail, and is designed to make the screeching noise so that the driver can easily tell that there is a problem.
Regular Maintenance
Giving your braking system the care, it requires in a timely manner is crucial in ensuring long-lasting, undisrupted-performance. A great way to make sure you don’t miss out on the scheduled maintenance work is by keeping a schedule in your owner’s manual or having application on your mobile phone which will send reminders and keep you notified about upcoming appointments.
Make it a habit to regularly check on the state of the brake-pads by yourself, and change them when there is only about 1/8th is remaining. Be sure to use only the best quality parts here, because having a bad set of pads is the same as not having them at all.
Step Lightly
As a driver, you must try and make life easier for the braking-system by gently applying brakes as much as possible without stepping on it heavily, continuously! Continuous hard applications will not give the pads or the rotor enough time to dissipate the generated heat, which over time will lead to the untimely wearing off of the components.
Eventually, there will come a day when you will step on the peddle at a red light expecting the pads to the hard work, but will go on to knock on the vehicle in front of you, and will be forced to look back on the bitter memories of your non-eco driving.
Load Consideration
If yours is a vehicle that is involved in load carriage all day every day, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, you will have to pay extra attention for the maintenance of your braking-system because of the added wear and tear involved. If proper care is not given at the right time, you will find yourself stranded on the side of the road, with a jammed rotor unit, while on the job.
Therefore, do not hesitate to squeeze in an extra service day to your maintenance schedule and subject the ride to a complete check-up.
