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Showing posts with the label car brakes

How Does Brake Drums Work?

Brake drums play a very important role in the overall performance of your vehicles entire braking system. In this article we will explain what a brake drum is, what it does and hopefully everything else you will need to know about them. Brake drums are usually found on the rear of vehicles, but prior to the late 60’s and early 70’s they were standard equipment as the front brakes as well. Brake drums are the friction point where the brake shoes contact to slow a vehicle. They vary in size depending on the application: large work trucks will use a larger drum brake, while passenger cars use a much smaller brake. Brake drums can be made of different materials such as cast iron, on some vehicles they have used aluminum to save weight and improve the cooling of the brakes. Drum brakes are part of the overall car braking system which includes the brake pedal, master cylinder and front disc brakes. When the brake pedal is pressed, brake fluid under pressure flows through the brake lines an...

How Does ABS Systems Work?

The antilock brake system or the ABS control unit helps to maintain control and directional stability of an automobile in case of extreme braking circumstances. This is achieved by controlling the rotational speed of every wheel by metering the brake line pressure at the time of extreme braking. The system works on most types of road surfaces and decreases the risk of an accident and severity of an impact. Research has shown that an antilock brake system can decrease the chance of a vehicle accident by 18%. ABS brake systems were introduced in the late seventies and have enjoyed great technological advances since that time. Not only does ABS provide non-skid functionality but it also supports electronic stability control, brake assist, traction control, etc. Recently, additional sensors have been added to the system, gyroscopic sensors and steering wheel angle sensors. Both synchronize to match the direction of the car with the direction of the steering wheel. The wheel angle sensor a...