Stopping Abruptly to Save Break Pads

[stueck9356]

Stopping abruptly will cause your front brake pads to wear down quicker due to the weight of the car shifting forward onto them. I think, 99% of the equation cancels itself out. You are driving your car, and it has X amount of kinetic energy that, when you apply the brakes, turns into thermal energy. Applying the brakes faster just transfers the thermal energy from, say, a 60/40 split front/rear brakes to an 80/20 split.

Braking wears down the pads. When you brake hard, you wear them down faster (think of scraping chalk against the ground) yet you also stop faster. The heat is not really an issue here, since you will be applying the same amount of heat no matter how fast you stop if it is from the same speed. Sure you can overheat your brakes, but they are designed to work better at a certain range (high performance brakes actually don't work their best until they are in the 1200+ range, and they are generally ceramic)

In the end, if you really want to save your brakes, lighten your car. less kinetic energy = easier to stop. I wish I had a picture of the brake pads I just changed out. The front's were down to about 30% and the rears were around 70% left. I brake hard, and corner fast, so the front's took a beating.

p.s. If you drive a manual, downshift, that will save your pads!

 

[mender]

Temperature is the issue. Same heat over a shorter period of time = higher temperature. High temp = brake pads wearing out quicker.

Using the engine to slow down instead of the brakes = more $$$ spent (brakes are much cheaper than engines, clutches and transmissions). Don't downshift to save the brakes.