Automobile Brakes

If the accelerator in a car makes you fly by providing you with those wings, the brakes bring you to a stop.
So it is imperative to know about the functioning of brakes, so push the pedal and read on.

A typical braking system consists of a disk brakes in front and a disk or drum brakes system in the rear wheels. The link from the master cylinder to each wheel is provided by a combination of tubes and hoses.Other important components of the automobile brakes which are relevant in the Indian context include the parking brakes and the anti lock braking system or ABS.

If the accelerator in a car makes you fly by providing you with those wings, the brakes bring you to a stop.

So it is imperative to know about the functioning of automobile brakes, so push the pedal and read on.

A typical braking system consists of a disk brakes in front and a disk or drum brakes system in the rear wheels. The link from the master cylinder to each wheel is provided by a combination of tubes and hoses

Other important components of the brakes which are relevant in the Indian context include the parking brakes and the anti lock braking system or ABS.

The ultimate braking system which is attached to the wheels could be of two types

Disc brake system: In the disc brake system, when the hydraulic fluid is pressed it forces itself into the caliper which presses itself against the piston which inturn squeezes two brake pads against the disc thus forcing the wheels to stop.

Drum brake system: In a drum brake system there is a cylinder which pushes the brake shoes out and the friction linings are pressed against the drum thus forcing the wheels to stop. It has to be remembered that drum brakes are definitely more expensive that their disc counter parts. The master cylinder on the other hand is a couple of cylinders bundled into one; the wheels of either side are served by one cylinder so if one fails you can bring the car to a halt with the help of the other one.

Most cars in the country are provided with parking brakes or hand brakes as they by pass the hydraulic system which is used in the brakes. The parking brakes can be used to bring the vehicle to a halt should the other braking mechanism fail in a car.

A new system which has been introduced in the country off late is called the ABS system or the Anti Lock Braking system, a little understanding of the system will do us good. In a normal braking system the wheels get jammed as soon as the brakes are applied hence leaving little scope for the driver to maneuver the obstacles he or she might have confronted. This also results in an extended skid which causes extensive damage to the tires.

The system is computer controlled and whenever it senses that one or any of the wheels is turning slower than the others it sends a signal to remove or reapply pressure to the affected wheel to keep it turning. This is done much faster than any human being on this planet can do, thus enabling fullest stability to the car with effective braking.