Many car enthusiasts face such a problem as overheating of the front or rear drag discs that lead to brake fade. This problem is quite topical among the novice motorists, which affects the safety of the driver and passengers. With each year of development of the car industry, the car gets more and more serious modifications, intelligent control and protection systems. As for the braking systems, the brake becomes more sensitive, informative and, of course, effective with each new generation.
However, the external “enemies” remain the same. One of these negative factors is the heat generated by the drags during the braking of the car. This is the enemy that does not bother motorists in the mode of calm and medium active driving, however, it is only necessary to turn on the gas pedal – and your car becomes an enviable source of thermal energy. This is one of the reasons for a brake fade development.
How the Braking System Works in the Intensive Load Mode
When the pedal is pressed, the kinetic energy is converted to thermal energy. Thanks to this transformation, the wheels of the car slow down. With intensive braking of the amount of heat in the drag mechanisms, the calculation is quite fast: the pads, calipers and brake discs are heated. And it is the drag discs that are designed to take the bulk of the heat and convectively dissipate it in the atmosphere. And this is the most valuable quality of the system that define brake: the faster the components are cooled, the better is the controllability of the car. In such conditions, the appearance of a brake fade is almost inevitable. Answering a question what is brake fade, it is necessary to say that it is the situation when you press your drag pedal but the brake system does not work immediately.
Why the Overheating Occurs
The most common cause of overheating of drag discs is the prolonged application of the braking system. If you mention the car brake system, then the braking occurs as a result of friction pads on the disc. Of course, the disc starts to warm up. At the same time, the drag disc heats up very quickly, although it takes much longer to cool down.
Very often such problems are faced by car owners who operate vehicles on the streets of large megacities and do not think about what is brake fade. Remember how many traffic lights you meet on the way to work and what the distance betwixt them is. Think for a second, is there enough time betwixt stops to cool the disc? Of course, no, hence the overheating. Constant depression of the drag pedal causes the discs to overheat.
Another factor contributing to the heating of brake discs is the style of driving. Here everything is clear – fans of rapid acceleration and braking “on the floor”, as a rule, know first-hand what it is. Each driver is unique in his own way and this uniqueness is reflected in its driving style. From this, it follows that more aggressive and extreme driving leads to the fact that the drag discs will almost always be heated to a high temperature.
Do not forget about the failure of individual elements of the brake system. In this case, everything also depends largely on the motorist himself. For the most part, this reason can be placed on a par with the driving style, since the driver directly affects the performance of the system (proper care, timely maintenance and so on). If you regularly go to a specialist to check the drags and their maintenance, there will be no problems.
As The Conclusion
Overheating of the discs leading to the brake fade is a serious problem, which in any case should not be ignored. Fortunately, almost always you will be able to eliminate this cause on your own. Often overheating happens because of the driver’s preferences to drive aggressively. Of course, it is necessary to periodically visually inspect the discs and drag pads for any kind of damage because it is about your and your loved ones safety.
