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Lovert Mafukure
Brakes are very essential and make up the most important part of a vehicle and since they are that important you may need to take care of them so they in-turn can help you stop before the big bang.
Brakes are only as effective as you take care of them, they need inspection every time you do your minor service. Your brakes are also only as effective as the parts you use! It is advisable to use original spares as much as you can if they are available, they are expensive but they will always be worth your while.
The braking system is made up of the brake disks, brake pads, brake drums, brake shoes and brake callipers. Naturally, you will find disks and pads on the front and drums and shoes at the back. Some cars however, have disks and pads at the back or a combination of both. You will find some sports with brake disks with shoes incorporated into them at the back.
Taking care of your brakes is easy. It entails driving carefully to avoid unnecessary hard braking which puts a lot of strain on the braking system. It also entails taking time to check your brake components for wear and tear. By the time they start grinding, they are way overdue for replacement. Eight out of ten times it also means more parts may need to be replaced due to excessive wear from metal to metal contact.
So, you may be asking what happens when the brakes are not serviced in time. Well, brake pads are made out of soft material and when that soft material wears away, the squeaking and grinding will start and brake performance will go south and your braking distance gets longer and longer. Morden cars are so well insulated that if you are the type that keeps windows closed with your air conditioner on, you may never hear anything amiss on your wheels hence the need for inspection every now and then.
If you find yourself changing brake pads too often you might have other issues in need of attention. There are a couple of reasons why your brakes may be wearing away fast. First of all, you will replace your brake components faster if you are driving a lot within the city limits than the person who does a lot of highway driving. Every time brake pads are replaced, there is need for inspection of other components for wear or abrasion to make sure the new pads will last the mile.
In some cases, the brake disks can warp due to excessive heat. Replacement of pads therefore needs to be after thorough inspection or pads may wear out faster than normal. Pads can even crack due to uneven disks so the disk needs to be as smooth and even as possible. When disks have warped, bent or are grooved, they affect the effectiveness of your brakes. At times you can feel vibrations when you step on the brakes due to warped disks. Make it a point to always check them when replacing brake pads.
Driving styles also affect the life of your brake components. Don’t rest foot on brake pedal just like you shouldn’t rest on the clutch pedal. Some people like using two feet to drive automatic cars which is wrong. If your foot isn’t on the accelerator pedal it may need to be on the brake pedal or vice versa, there is never a time where you will need to use both at the same time unless you want to damage something.
Lastly, stay away from cheap brake pads. It’s natural to go for the cheaper parts but with my experience, cheap parts cost you more in the end. Cheap brake pads do not take their time to wear out and some of them house metal chunks that will eat into your brake disk leaving ridges, so instead of just replacing brake pads you then have to either replace the disks as well or get them resurfaced and that costs money.
You may also notice rapid disk wear with the use of cheap brake pads. They say short cuts are often wrong cuts and with cheap pads it also means cheap materials were used and oftentimes they are harder materials that wear out brake disks.
Most of the cheap pads make a squeaking sound throughout their lifetime and that already says a lot about the quality.
Till next time – Steer Safely.
@lovert116 – Automart Used Spares Centre – Quality Used Japanese Spares -+263 772 33 99 38 – [email protected]/ Facebook: @automartusc
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