When you double the speed of your car, your braking distance quadruples. As shown below, every time you double your speed, you multiply your braking distance by four.

The braking distance of a vehicle can be affected by:

• poor road and weather conditions, such as wet or icy roads.
• poor vehicle conditions, such as worn brakes or worn tyres.
• a greater speed.
• the car’s mass – more mass means a greater braking distance.

10 things that can affect your stopping distance

• Speed. Your stopping distance is actually made up of two factors – thinking distance and braking distance.
• Brakes.
• Tyre Pressure.
• Tyre Wear.
• Tyre Quality.
• Road Conditions.
• View of the Road.
• Distractions.

The effect of vehicle weight on stopping distance. The heavier the vehicle, the more work the brakes must do to stop it and the more heat they absorb. You must drive slower to be able to stop in the same distance as on a dry road. Wet roads can double stopping distance.

A heavily loaded truck will take longer to stop than an empty truck. The brakes, tires, springs and shock absorbers on heavy vehicles are designed to work best when the vehicle is fully loaded.

Which of these lights cannot be checked at the same time? Turn signals, brake lights, and four-way flashers.

Which of these does NOT affect your choice of gears? Tire tread type. You wish to turn right from a two-lane, two-way street into another.

Stab braking: Release the brakes when the wheels lock up. As soon as the wheels start rolling, put on the brakes fully again. It can take up to 1 second for the wheels to start rolling after you release the brakes. If you reapply the brakes before the wheels start rolling, the vehicle will not straighten out.

All this techniques can be applied with road cars, but ABS system is enough to control this situations.

• Threshold braking.
• Cadence Braking.
• Trail braking.
• Reverse Trail Braking.
• Brake drift.
• Coasting.

Vehicles with or without ABS can still lock up, depending on how hard the breaks are applied, conditions on the road, or in the case of ABS, mechanical failure. ABS acts as an automatic stabbing affect even when you apply constant pressure on the brake pedal, as in controlled breaking.

Controlled braking: 1) Can be used while you are turning sharply. 2) Involves locking the wheels for short periods of time. 3) Is used to keep a vehicle in a straight line when braking….

1. Not enough weight on the front axle.
2. Over acceleration.
3. Turning too sharply.
4. All of these can cause a vehicle to skid.

Most serious skids result from driving too fast for road conditions. Drivers who adjust their driving to conditions don’t over-accelerate and don’t have to over-brake or over-steer from too much speed.

Defines stab as brake till lock let off then brake till lock let off… Defines controlled as bake as hard as you can without locking.

Stab braking is the a system which is prevalent even today in cars without anti-lock braking system. It is a kind of wheel locking mechanism, where you brake hard and the wheels get locked immediately. When you hear the screeching sound, you release the brake pedal and hit it hard again within a second.

12-15 seconds

How should you check that your service brakes are working properly? Wait for normal air pressure, release the parking brake, move the truck forward slowly, and apply the brake pedal firmly. The braking power of the spring brakes: Depends on the services brakes being in adjustment.

Never apply the brake pedal if your spring breaks are activated. Brakes can be damaged if they are subject to both springs and air pressure.

5.1. Spring brakes are usually used to meet these needs. When driving, powerful springs are held back by air pressure. If the air pressure is removed, the springs put on the brakes. A parking brake control in the cab allows the driver to let the air out of the spring brakes.

You should know that your brakes are fading when: A Pressure on the brake pedal is released and speed increases.

Brake fade is a term used to describe the temporary reduction or complete loss of braking power of a vehicle’s braking system. Because brake fade occurs when the brake pads are overheated, the phenomenon is only temporary and braking performance usually returns once the brakes have cooled down.

What are the symptoms of a bad brake rotor?

• VIBRATION. When rotors are warped or very worn, the contact between it and the brake pad can be imperfect.
• NOISE. Worn brakes are noisy and persistent squealing or squeaking is a sure sign of problems.
• VISIBLE DAMAGE.
• STOPPING DISTANCE.
• WILL I NEED TO GET THE ROTORS REPLACED?

If you ever encounter brake fade, turn to a qualified technician to assess the situation. Brake fade that’s due to excessive heat buildup is likely to go away once your brakes have cooled down, but some types of brake fade don’t fade away with time.

Preventing brake fade:

1. Avoid riding the brakes as repeated use can easily overheat the system.
2. Where possible, avoid heavy braking.
3. Slow down – the faster you drive the more work your brakes will have to do.
4. Anticipate the need to slow down by thinking ahead.

1200º F

3. How can you improve braking performance?

1. Increase disc radius. Larger discs will allow for more brake torque as the brake pad will apply pressure at a larger radius, allowing for a higher moment.
2. Increase caliper piston area.
3. Line pressure.
4. Friction coefficient between the pad and rotor.

Top 7 Best Performance Brake Rotors

• Editor’s Pick: Power Stop Evolution Brake Rotor.
• EBC USR Series.
• BAER Sport Rotors.
• Brembo UV Coated Brake Rotor.
• Hawk Performance Sector 27 Rotor.
• DBA T-Slot Rotors.
• StopTech Sport Select Rotor.
• How do Performance Brakes Improve Braking Performance?

Auto Adjustment

1. Remove the road wheel.
2. Remove drum.
3. Now SLOWLY depress the brake pedal you should hear the adjuster clicking out as the shoes move.
4. After 3 or 4 clicks refit the drum.
5. Drum and wheel back on test the handbrake it should be better.

You can increase your vehicle’s stopping power and distance by increasing the size of your brake rotor. Even upgrading the size of the brake rotor by a diameter of 1” will make a difference.