Female Focus
Page 59 Why Risk It?
From a safety standpoint, your brakes are the most important bit of your car. It’s almost like stating the obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t take enough care of them!
On the majority of cars, the mechanism is comprised of the disc and the pads. The disc is attached to the wheel, and when squeezed by the pads, it stops the car.
Disc pads are pretty easy to change and should be looked at on every service, interim or full! If they get low, they should be changed. If they get too low, you’ll be warned because they will start squealing. However, the disc itself is really important, it also needs to be checked regularly.
Scarring occurs when the pads get too low and the metal that causes the squealing starts cutting into the disc surface. The problem comes when new pads are fitted, they only bite on the surface, and not the scarred part. Braking efficiency is simply reduced!
Cracking can happen especially with drilled discs, the ones with the holes which make them look smarter, or are designed to weigh less especially in sports cars. Cracks can occur which will lead to the disc breaking up, usually when you are braking!
Sometimes, the discs can warp. You’ll feel a juddering when you brake, a sure sign that something’s not quite right.
Finally, all discs will develop some surface rust if left a few weeks. This isn’t usually a problem, it’ll be rubbed off after a few miles on the road. But if your car is left for some months, the rust might start eating into the disc. Again, this reduces efficiency!
At Larry’s we always check pads and discs when we service a car. We’ll give you straight, honest advice about the condition of your brakes. Some people balk at the idea of changing discs, but why would you risk your life. It’s not that costly either, a set of discs for a mid size car is around 150€, but of course price varies with the car. A Porsche will be more!
There are 4 main reasons they fail, scarring, cracking, warping and excessive rusting.
If you’re at all unsure, then come and see us. Our free road side check takes a few minutes, it makes safety sense to do so. See below for contact details.
Now in our 19th year!
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