You can make your brakes last for a very long time if you are a little careful. We will tell you some money-saving driving techniques that won't clog the traffic but will help you enhance the life of your car's brakes.Unexpected stops from high speed can cause serious damage to your car's brakes. You would think that a little more speed does not hurt your brakes at all, but it does. Stopping the car from 100kmph rather than 70kmph forces the brakes to dissipate about a third more energy. So keeping the car's speed in check would definitely make the brakes last longer.
Avoid using your left foot on the brake pedal. By braking only with your right foot, you can avoid pushing both pedals at the same time. Also, it becomes easier to resist unnecessary brake taps. You must have seen a lot of people braking with their left foot while driving; this takes a huge toll on the car's brakes. Constant braking will not only warp your brakes, but also reduce their effectiveness. Also, the friction caused can make your brake pads to become very hot. Press the brake pedal only when your foot is not on the accelerator to enhance your car's brake life.
Invest a little more in buying good quality brakes. Buying cheap brakes may save you some money, but only in the short-run, because you will need to change them more frequently. Eventually all brakes wear down, but the good quality ones last much longer than the cheaper ones. Generally, semi-metallic or hybrid brake pads are recommended over ceramic.
Try to remember the places where other drivers inappropriately slow down. Most of these drivers brake for no apparent reason, but that does not mean that you have to slow down too. So you either coast down to the pace of the car ahead of you or plan ahead and change your lane around them. That way you not only save on fuel but brakes too.
Try to look far enough ahead and you'll be able to correctly guess the stoplights, see traffic backing up or see cars that are slowing on an incline that's just become visible. Of course the traffic in Indian cities is so bad that you can hardly see much ahead of your vehicle. But Practice makes a man perfect, and once you have mastered the art of guessing the traffic lights correctly, you would save much on braking unnecessarily.
A lot of drivers brake just because the driver in front of them did so. And many a times the first driver touched his brake for no good reason. So you will need a bit of practice to learn to coast when other drivers brake inappropriately, particularly if you weren't looking far enough ahead.
It always advised to rid your car of unnecessary stuffs. Aftermarket parts such as tyres and wheels, can add a lot of unnecessary weight to your car, which in return would take a toll on the brakes. More importantly, consider vehicle weight before your next purchase. A heavier vehicle is always harsher and harder on brakes, not to mention the tyres and the mileage of the car.
As we have mentioned in our car maintenance articles, you must change the brake fluids at recommended intervals. Renew your brake fluid if you have an older vehicle or if you bought an used car. Flushing out the brake fluid will make the internal components last longer and the brakes work better. Brake fluid attracts water, and during emergency stop or after repeated brake applications, this moisture boils reduces braking effectiveness.
If you want your brakes to last longer, you need to spend some money on it. You need to get the brake material thickness inspected: a good time to do that is when you get your tyres rotated. You can also do it yourself: with a wheel removed, it's easy to check disc brake pad thickness, as they are open and you can see them easily. It is not as easy with drum brakes as the drum has to be removed too.
0 comments
Post a Comment