Brakes Overview
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:14 pm
Your engine converts potential energy stored in gasoline into kinetic energy. Your brakes convert kinetic energy into heat.
Through all of this you get from point A to point B.
We want your brakes to efficiently convert motion into heat and we want them to effectively dissipate the heat generated.
The hydraulic system (master cylinder, lines, and wheel cylinders or calipers) is devoted to communicating your desire to slow or stop the car to the pads (disk brakes) or shoes (drum brakes) that use friction to convert the kinetic energy of the rotating disks and drums into heat.
You are here if your hydraulics do not communicate your desires properly or if the "friction generators" do not generate friction evenly at each wheel, or perhaps they just bring too much attention to themselves by squealing. Leaky hydraulics prevent you from developing the pressures you need. Uneven friction causes swerving.
The brakes are engineered to be simple and robust. Do not fear working on them. They were designed with the mechanic in mind, meaning the engineers had to make repairs and maintenance fairly idiot-proof for liability reasons.
(to be continued)
Through all of this you get from point A to point B.
We want your brakes to efficiently convert motion into heat and we want them to effectively dissipate the heat generated.
The hydraulic system (master cylinder, lines, and wheel cylinders or calipers) is devoted to communicating your desire to slow or stop the car to the pads (disk brakes) or shoes (drum brakes) that use friction to convert the kinetic energy of the rotating disks and drums into heat.
You are here if your hydraulics do not communicate your desires properly or if the "friction generators" do not generate friction evenly at each wheel, or perhaps they just bring too much attention to themselves by squealing. Leaky hydraulics prevent you from developing the pressures you need. Uneven friction causes swerving.
The brakes are engineered to be simple and robust. Do not fear working on them. They were designed with the mechanic in mind, meaning the engineers had to make repairs and maintenance fairly idiot-proof for liability reasons.
(to be continued)