By Jim Grey
When trying to determine the most important safety feature on a car, brakes have to be near the top. After all, stopping in time is the most frequent safety activity performed by a vehicle.

No one wants their brakes to fail.

Still, some customers try to save a few dollars by buying less expensive brakes, without realizing they may be sacrificing safety and not saving much money.

For example, when buying brake rotors, which absorb the pressure and heat exerted when brakes are applied, less-hardened rotors may sell for $18 versus others for $65.

What’s the difference?

The $18 rotors typically wear out in 10,000 miles or less, depending, as always, upon usage.

To lessen their production costs, manufacturers reduce heat treating procedures and other processes needed to make more reliable rotors, like reducing cool-down time. Consequently, cheaper rotors can be built faster.

More expensive rotors are properly heat-treated and constructed with more mass so their heating process creates the correct hardness necessary for better stopping power and more longevity. These rotors should last between 25,000 and 40,000 miles.

Brake Talk
Making the trip to the repair shop for brakes often comes after a squealing or sqeaking sound erupts when brakes are applied. You know something isn’t working right.

Another clue comes when it takes more push power on the brake pedal, and the pedal depresses closer to the floor, before the vehicle stops or when the brakes are applied, the vehicle pulls strongly to the right or left instead of stopping in a straight line.

Also, in more modern cars, the anti-lock brake warning light may be triggered when the spare tire is used. Because it is of a different size, and therefore its wheel spins at a different rate, the tire sensor triggers the warning light.

Brake Type
The type of materials used in brakes has changed over the years. Some brake pads are now ceramic, instead of metallic, and while they improve grip, are more reliable and quieter, they wear out quicker. They may cost $20 more than metallic brakes but they don’t create annoying brake dust on affected wheels, they eliminate the squeaky brake and rotor life is extended.

Metallic brakes not only wear out brake pads, but also rotors. This creates more heat when stopped and hot brake fluid over time can decrease the fluid’s effectiveness. If your car uses metallic brakes, consider synthetic brake fluid, which handles heat better and absorbs water less easily.

(A do-it-yourself maintenance tip: do not remove the brake cover of the master cylinder to check brake fluid level. Most master cylinder reservoirs are made of clear plastic so the level can be determined without removing the cover, which exposes brake fluid to water contamination).

Disc Brakes
Whether ceramic or metallic, disc brake systems require special attention to the rear brake shoe. Without proper adjustment, rear shoes will not contribute the correct stopping power and front disc brakes have to work harder to stop the car. This shortens brake pad life and may require replacement of the front disc brakes every 10-15,000 miles.

Braking Tips
Anti-lock brakes - Many drivers never practice depressing their brakes hard enough to engage the anti-locking action, which would occur in a sudden emergency stop. Anti-lock brakes kick back on the brake pedal. When first experienced, drivers may lift their foot from the pedal instead of keeping it firmly in place. The kick-back action is the computer re-adjusting the brakes in milli-seconds to provide maximum braking power.

Regular brakes - Practice stopping under pressure in a safe environment to learn emergency stopping distances and how you should steer the car to stop most effectively.