Brakes are one of the most important parts of a vehicle; they are the stopping devices of any moving thing. There are different kinds of brakes system, but the two most common types are the drum brakes and the disk brakes which we usually see on cars, bikes, atv and other land moving vehicles.
Brakes are a necessity for they save lives, thus, we have to make sure they are in tip top condition at all times. Here are some ways and procedures on how to maintain your disk brakes.
Brake Pads, there are a lot of different compositions designed for different purposes. Brake pads that are used to stop a street car may not be effective on a race car. And racing brake pads will be so hard that premature wear will occur if they’re used on a street car.When to change a brake pad? Brake pads are equipped with some method of alerting the driver when it's time to replace them. Commonly they have a thin piece of soft metal that causes the brakes to squeal when the pads need replacing. Or the indicator could be a soft metal tab embedded in the pad material that lights a warning light when the brake pad gets too thin.
Brakes rotors should be periodically replaced, but usually less often than the brake pads. Remember the harder the brake pad is, the faster the disc will wear out. Discs rotors start out at some particular thickness. But it could be damaged by warping, scarring and cracking. The easiest way to correct this problem is with a brake lathe.
Manufacturers have determined the minimum thickness for their discs rotors; when reached, the disc is no longer safe to use and it must be replaced. Using too thin brakes rotors will warp and may cause other damages under hard braking.
When the vehicle is pulling to the left or right side of the road when you apply your brakes, it may be warn or warped rotors. So get them checked also and keep safe.
Lastly, brake fluid should be replaced and flushed as needed. But as manufacturer recommendation it should be flushed once a year and take note the type of brake fluid to be applied it could be dot 3 or dot 4.
