Brakes and Your Land Rover, Mx5, or Ford- The Different Types and How They Work

What do brakes do?

In the simplest terms, they slow you down when you're driving down the road.

In complex terms, they do so much more than this. These are car parts that have been designed to slow down a car, but not how you might think. Many car owners believe that their brakes squeeze against the disc or drum, using pressure to slow the car down. This is really only part of what the brakes do. These car parts actually change the energy in play. When you're driving, your Land Rover, Ford, or any other make of vehicle you own is displaying kinetic energy. By stepping on the brakes, the shoes or pads are able to press on the rotor or drum and convert the kinetic energy to thermal energy through friction. The heat dissipates via the cooling of the brakes and the car is able to slow to a stop. This is the law of energy conversion, also known as the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy isn't something that can be made or done away with, but simply changed. When it comes to your brakes, that change is from kinetic to thermal energy.

What About Brake Fade?

If you've ever driven a motorbike or a race car, you have problem heard of or experienced brake fade. It can occur in many regular cars as well, but is more common in older vehicles. Let's say you're driving down a mountain pass. Because of the incline, you need to use your brakes to slow down instead of your engine. As you press down on the brake, the change from kinetic to thermal energy begins. However, because you must keep using the brakes as you drive downhill, there comes a point where the brakes can no longer absorb all the heat created by the friction. When this happens, the resin in the brake pad begins to heat up and vaporise. This forms a gas that creates a thin layer between the rotor and the pad as it tries to escape. The problem with this is that the gas causes the pads to lose contact with the car's rotor, lowering the amount of friction and reducing the effectiveness of your brakes.

To solve this problem, you don't necessarily need to go to a mechanic. In most cases, stopping the vehicle for a short time and allowing the car parts to cool down is enough. Once cooled, the brakes will once again be able to absorb heat and work the way they need to.

Brake fade is common with older, used vehicles. In newer versions, brake pads are made from materials that don't allow as much out gassing (when the resin heats up and vaporises.) In newer brake pads, the extra heat created from continual use is transferred to the callipers, causing the brake fluid to boil. This can cause brake fade as well, since the boiling of the brake fluid causes bubbles of air that can be compressed when the brakes are engaged. Instead of the brake fluid transferring motion to the callipers, there is nothing but air. This is known as modern brake fade.

Brake fade can describe both a partial or complete loss of power to your braking system and can be very dangerous. If you suspect that these car parts are experiencing brake fade, pull over as soon as you safely can and let the brake components cool.

Types of Brakes: Car Parts Explained

There are a couple of different types of brakes you may experience throughout your life. Whether you're interested in Land Rover parts, Mx5 parts, or Ford parts, understanding what these brake types are and how they work is important.

Drum Brakes- Drum brakes involve two brake shoes that sit on the inside of a drum that is attached to the wheel of a car and is spinning. When you step on the brakes, the shoes are pushed outward, so they can press against the sides of the drum and create friction and heat. Kinetic energy is transferred into thermal energy, and you slow down.

There are two types of drum brakes, those with a single leading edge and those with double. The single leading edges have their faults, and it most often better to have the double leading edge type of drum brake.

What's the problem? When the brakes shoes press outward, the first part of the pad that touches the drum is the leading edge. In a single leading edge brake, there is only one side that does this. When it makes contact with the drum, it 'bites' down on it, making just the right amount of contact to create friction. The problem with a single leading edge is that the other edge of the brake pad makes almost no contact with the drum. If a vehicle is rolling backward and has a single leading edge, the leading edge of the brake pad becomes the trailing edge and no 'bite' occurs. This means that it would be very difficult to stop the car from rolling.

Double leading edges don't have this problem and are often preferred.

Disc Brakes- Disc brakes are much more common in today's cars, as they perform better and faster than drum brakes can. They operate on a two-part system, just like the drum, but have a rotor or disc instead. Instead of shoes, brake calliper systems are used instead. Hydraulic pistons are used in the calliper systems, which push against the brake pads and force them to clamp down on the spinning rotor. The harder the pads clamp down, the more friction is able to be generated.

It isn't enough to simply know which Land Rover parts or Mx5 parts you need to replace. Knowing how each of these car parts works will help you make the best choices when purchasing new ones and help you understand how to operate your vehicle more efficiently. The next time you step on the brakes, don't just accept the fact that you're slowing down, think about how it's done. It will give you a new appreciation for your car and those who built it.