How Does Brake Calipers Work?
A brake caliper is designed to utilize brake fluid under pressure to transfer force the brake pads. In-turn the brake pads contact the rotating brake rotor to slow the car. A brake caliper is typically mounted to the spindle or backing plate. There are two basic designs of brake caliper mounting, fixed and floating. A fixed position brake caliper is bolted to the spindle and is not allowed to move. This kind of brake caliper is constructed with caliper pistons on both sides of the caliper. The floating style of caliper is mounted to the spindle or backing plate using a slide bolt. This slide bolt design allows the caliper to slide on these bolts. This design uses pistons on just one side of the brake caliper. Brake calipers are a crucial part of the braking system of any vehicle, as they perform the mechanical aspect of the braking action. Properly understanding brake calipers, their function and operation, helps you to identify issues when the brakes do not work correctly. While basi...