We are not all flat-landers who live, work and commute day by day on flat prairie land. Many live in hilly and mountainous areas. You would think that braking system effectiveness and reliability would be top on the list of most motorists and automobile owners when it comes to service and maintenance attention and schedules yet sadly break system inspection and service is at the bottom of most automobile owner’s priority and items to do list when it comes to their vehicles.
One simple question to ask most motorists. When was the last time you changed your hydraulic brake fluid. Brake fluid, is inexpensive yet deteriorates over time with dirt, moisture and humidity. You would think that simple routine “bleeding of the brakes” to drain out the brake fluid, and then replace it with new fluid would be a standard auto repair service. Hydraulic brake fluid should be replaced on a standard 2 year schedule. More often perhaps in cases of extreme service - taxis, police cars, vehicles in frigid cold winter climes. Yet most vehicles enter the auto junkyard with the exact same brake fluid which filled their car’s brake cylinders, reservoirs and brake lines when the automobile was manufactured at the factory level.
In the past the four wheel drum brake shoe was more than adequate for road comfort and safety. However the drum brake system has one major drawback. Because Of the excessive heat buildup, the brakes fade, or lose their power to slow down or stop the car, truck or S.U.V. vehicle. To overcome this problem, a new type braking method and system was introduced and is now the standard. The newer type of brake system that replaced the standard drum brakes was introduced. These disc brakes are superior as they deal with friction generated heat a lot more effectively.
When you step on the brakes momentum throws most of the automobile’s weight in a forward direction. Approximately 60 % of the braking force generated in a vehicle is created and exerted by the front wheels, as opposed to the rear wheel brake system. For balanced braking it is necessary to have greater braking and stopping capacity at the front end of the car. Thus in the development and manufacture of autos and automobile models generally disk type brakes are employed at the front wheels, with less expensive older style drum brakes at the rear.
Motorists often take their brake systems for more than granted and as a result these systems suffer little maintenance, attention and care. Yet in an emergency handling system a brake system that is in good stead may make the difference between a safe short stop and a messy and needless collision,. Consider that in your vehicle maintenance and inspection schedule and schedules.