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Why do people say disc brakes are better?
Source: | The author:haohuien | Release time :536 days ago | 18 Time to browse: | Share:
The disc brake, as the name suggests, gets its name from its disc-like shape. The brake disc is made of alloy steel, fixed to the wheel and rotates with it. Nowadays, disc brakes are adopted on most family cars, but do you know all about their advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages of Disc Brakes

  1. The braking torque is independent of the vehicle's forward and reverse travel.

  2. Good thermal stability. Due to the short size of the brake friction pads, the area of their working surface is only 6% to 12% of the brake disc area, resulting in excellent heat dissipation performance.

  3. The thermal expansion of the brake disc will not cause the loss of brake pedal travel, unlike that of the brake drum, which also simplifies the design of the automatic clearance adjustment device.

  4. Good water stability. The high unit pressure of the brake pads on the disc makes it easy to squeeze out water; meanwhile, water on the disc is easily thrown off under the action of centrifugal force. In addition, the wiping effect of the pads on the disc enables the brake to resume normal performance after only one or two braking operations when exposed to water, whereas a drum brake requires more than ten braking operations to recover its normal braking efficiency.

  5. The friction pads of disc brakes are easier to replace after wear compared with the friction linings of drum brakes, featuring a simpler structure and easy maintenance.

  6. The clearance between the brake disc and the friction pad is small (0.05～0.15mm), which shortens the operating time of the cylinder piston and makes it possible to increase the force transmission ratio of the brake drive mechanism.

Disadvantages of Disc Brakes

  1. High manufacturing requirements for the brake and brake pipeline, large wear of friction pads, and relatively high cost.

  2. Due to the small area of friction pads and the correspondingly small friction working surface, a high braking hydraulic pressure is required. Thus, disc brakes can only be used on vehicles equipped with a booster device, usually a servo unit.

  3. Relatively harsh braking performance. Two friction discs with friction linings attached can slide back and forth on the spline shaft, forming the rotating part of the brake. When braking, the vehicle can be brought to a stop in an extremely short time. In addition, the inclination angle of the ball groove on the pressure plate cannot be infinitely large, leading to unsmooth braking.

Nowadays, disc brakes have been widely applied to family cars: most are fitted on all wheels, while a few are only used for front-wheel braking in combination with drum brakes for rear wheels. Moreover, disc brakes are gradually being adopted in new car models and high-end models at present.