Buying and maintaining car brakes

Car brakes are probably the most vital part of your car to have working and working well. When you come to buy, fit and maintain brakes then you need to know what you are doing, what to look for and why it pays to invest in the best brakes you can.
Whatever goes wrong with your car as long as you can still brake you can usually avoid catastrophe, steering is handy as well of course. At the same time brakes can suddenly stop working for a number of reasons: though most often where brake pads have worn down. Brake pads can run out very suddenly so that when you go to brake they can simply not work or not work very well. You can check your brake pads as well the shoes and discs for damage though and even changing parts is usually not that hard.

To test your brakes an emergency stop on a quiet and straight road is a good idea: you may be able to tell if all brakes are stopping equally; if your car veers at all one brake may not be working as well as the others or one may be working better than the others and binding. If you were to brake while turning a corner this could lead to a skid or spin. Another test worth doing too is to move slowly and see how far down you have to push the brake before you feel the pads bite on the discs or drums. If you pedal is nearly on the floor at this point then you may well need new brake pads and you should inspect them more closely. With wheels off check each of your vehicles wheels; don’t assume that they will all be in the same condition. Brake shoes should be firm and should move smoothly locking on the disc or drum equally. If the shoe doesn’t move smoothly it may need tightening, replacing or debris such as a stone may have got into the mechanism or even between the pad and the brake. A stone in your brake pad can stop the pad making contact with the disc and damage the disc. The brake discs or drums are attached to the wheel so when the brake shoe pushes the pads on to the disc or drum it stops the entire wheel. Disc and drums should show do signs of damage including cracking or warping that could be caused by heat.

The parts you choose if you do need to replace your brakes at all will make a difference to how quickly you can brake and how long the parts last. Some manufacturers produce pads and disc using the latest materials developed in motor racing, others are basic-standard. With brake discs especially material can make a difference. Ceramic brake discs can be gripped much more effectively by your pads so will allow you to stop more quickly and they should also resist heat that can be created by constant heavy braking that can damage metal brake discs.

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