Brakes Research (Threshold Braking)

Owned by Armaan Merchant
Jan 24, 2022
3 min read

Disc v Drum Brakes

 

Disc

Drum

  • Less break wear and even distribution of heat meaning more consistent performance

  • Can perform better in wet conditions

  • The breaks have less components, so they take up less space and they are less likely to seize up

  • Takes up more space in the wheel well

  • Water can pool up in the drums causing it to perform less effectively

 

Recommendation Disc Brakes

Although drum brakes are more cost-effective, they don’t perform as well as disc brakes do. The only advantage is that they are cheaper to maintain. On the other hand, disc brakes take up much less space in the wheel so, there is more room for the car to be equipped with 4-wheel steering and other features without making the chassis bigger. Essentially, a disc brake system for each wheel would be the best option.

 

Threshold Braking

 

Threshold braking doesn’t have so much to do with the brakes as it has to do with the driver. It’s a skill that many people have not mastered as most cars have ABS. Essentially, threshold braking is applying the maximum pressure to your brakes without locking them. Under heavy braking, the laws of physics tell us that a vehicle's weight is transferred forward, so the front brakes and front tires play the largest role in stopping the car quickly. Because brake bias will vary from front to rear and even side to side, proper threshold braking technique may lock a rear wheel, but it's critical that the front wheels never fully lock to deliver the shortest stopping distance.

 

The purpose is to use as close to 100 per cent of the available grip of the tires to slow the car in the shortest distance possible, thereby shaving time off the clock. The point at which you apply just the right amount of pressure on the brake pedal is referred to as the threshold. Applying too much pressure exceeds the available tire grip, causing them to stop rotating and lose control.

 

This can benefit the Midnight Sun solar car as learning this technique will allow the vehicle to handle corners, avoid obstacles and outperform the generic brake systems that other teams have. Threshold braking is a skill though. In modern cars, we use ABS, and, in an emergency, we just slam the brakes and hold it down as far as we can. If a car isn’t equipped with ABS, then you’d need to use threshold braking in an emergency. To “activate it” you’d simply pump the brakes until you reach the point where the wheels are going to lock, once you feel the push back of the brake on the pedal, you can quickly release the pedal and step on the gas, then continue driving.

 

I’m not sure if our vehicle would be fitted with ABS but, if it isn’t if used right threshold braking can outperform ABS almost all the time. This will allow us to brake quicker, handle sharper corners faster and drive smarter. I suggest that the drivers should learn the skill of threshold braking as it can be quite an asset.

 

 

 

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/technology/what-is-threshold-braking/article38280361/#:~:text=Threshold%20braking%20is%20now%20a,corner%20braking%20later%20and%20harder .

 

You Haven't Mastered Stopping Until You've Nailed Threshold Braking

 

 

Regen braking – essentially heat dissipates always allowing the brakes the work as effectively as possible.

Regenerative Braking: What you need to know and how to maximize performance