Taking Care of Your Car's Braking System Can Prevent Accidents
Copyright © 2006-2009 Quinton Becker
A brake rotor is a vital part of the
braking system on your vehicle. A brake rotor, in conjunction with
brake pads, brings your car to come to a quick and complete stop. If
you have a worn brake rotor, you should have it replaced as soon as
possible for your own safety.
When you apply your car's brake pedal, brake pads press down against
the brake rotor. The rotor is part of the front wheel hub, and it
stops the wheels from turning. Brake rotors are commonly referred to
as "discs," and people often refer to cars with brake rotors as
being equipped with "disc brakes."
In recent decades, most cars have been equipped with a brake rotor
at the front of the car. Some cars are also equipped with brake
rotors on the rear wheels for added stopping power. The older
alternative to a disc brake is the drum brake; some cars are still
made with drum brakes on the back wheels. As with front-wheel disk
brakes, rear-wheel disk brakes are added for a more acutely
responsive braking system.
After a period of standard wear, your car's brake rotors may need to
be replaced. However, some conditions may wear down the rotors more
quickly, calling for quicker replacement. For instance, if you allow
your brake pads to wear down too far before you replace them, the
brake pad can dig grooves into the rotors. These grooves must be
repaired in order for your brakes to operate correctly. If your
brake rotors have grooves in them, you can have them "turned" or
resurfaced by a machine shop. This will remove the grooves and make
the rotor itself thinner.
Warped brake rotors will also
require premature replacement. Brake parts grow extremely hot during
normal operation. If you have been applying your brakes heavily and
heating them more than usual, this rapid heating and cooling may
cause them to warp. Heating of your brakes plus water, snow, or ice
will also warp the rotor. There is an easy way to determine if your
brake rotor is warped: you may feel a shuddering as you apply your
brakes. This vibration usually indicates that your brake pad is
pressing against an uneven rotor. When this happens, it is time to
either have your rotor turned or replaced entirely.
Most vehicles manufactured in the past five years or so have been
equipped with composite brake rotors. It is strongly recommended
that with these vehicles, you do not have the rotors turned. Turning
these composite rotors will take the heat tempering out of them. It
is best to simply replace the entire rotor in these this case,
rather than trying to have it resurfaced.
When replacing brake rotors, you face a variety of manufacturer
options. You can choose to purchase Chevy parts if you own a Chevy,
or you can go with aftermarket parts that often outperform the stock
Chevy parts. The primary consideration is to make sure that all of
your brake parts are compatible with one another.
Finally, it is critical that you either replace or turn both of your
brake rotors at the same time. Replacing one brake rotor and not the
other can result in different heat dissipation rates - this will
cause one wheel to stop turning sooner than the other, which could
be very dangerous under hard braking circumstances. Remember that
when you are working on your brakes. Your own safety should always
come first - prompt response to any warning signs or problems is
essential to the safe operation of your braking systems.
When you are talking about your vehicle's braking systems, an ounce
of prevention is certainly cheaper than a pound of cure.
About the Author
Quinton Becker writes about cars, trucks and motorcycles. Quinton is one of many writers who contribute automotive information to: http://www.AutomotiveWebmasters.com - a website where you can uncover the lowest gasoline prices in your state, loads of automotive information, and a free better gas mileage tips ebook. Also for auto parts, please consider: http://www.drivewire.com
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Taking Care of Your Car's Braking System Can Prevent Accidents
