{"id":4138,"date":"2020-02-27T21:43:33","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T21:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carexamer.com\/blog\/?p=4138"},"modified":"2026-04-15T22:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:23:16","slug":"different-types-of-brakes-and-abs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carexamer.com\/blog\/different-types-of-brakes-and-abs\/","title":{"rendered":"Different types of brakes and ABS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your brakes are up there with the most important parts of your car. This isn\u2019t news, but the different types of brakes are something that you really need to know about. They\u2019re lifesavers after all. How your brakes work, however (and the invention of ABS) is where things get really interesting. It\u2019s not as black and white as you may well think. There are actually two main kids of brakes out there. It\u2019s almost certain that it\u2019s one of them on your car, and they\u2019re pretty different in how they work. They both slow you down, but how they actually do it is where things get interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disk Brakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll start by looking into disk brakes. These are the much\nmore common of the two in modern cars and that\u2019s because they are generally a\nbetter system. They are much more efficient at what they do, and they work in a\nreally interesting way that we now apply to just about everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How disk brakes work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How these types of brakes work<\/a> is generally the same way as you see on a bicycle. Your wheels have a disk on the, surrounded by two blocks of friction material. That can be a lot of different things, but it\u2019s always something durable and able to withstand a lot of pressure. Getting a car to stop Is hard work after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to actually braking, this is where the magic happens. The pressure you put on your brake pedal squeezes these blocks together. Using a brake fluid, pressure builds behind the blocks and pushed them onto the disks, causing friction to slow down your car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the whole thing in a nutshell, and it\u2019s a great way\nto do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drum Brakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before disk brakes were on the scene, we had to make use of drum brakes. These aren\u2019t as efficient but are actually a lot cheaper (so they are still used on some lower-end cars and generally most cars from the 80s or before). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are still a more than acceptable way to brake, but when it comes to performance or high-speed driving, they may not cut it. On top of that, this type of brake may not last as long as disk brakes would, and that can be a real issue for you. You don\u2019t want to have to replace them too often after all (so be careful when you buy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How drum brakes work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How these types of brakes work is much the same as it is with disk brakes, but from a kind of upside-down perspective. Your brake pedal still applies pressure to your brake pads, but in a drum brake, that pushes the callipers inside of the drum outwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do that, the wheel itself is actually sat inside of a\ndrum. When you apply the brake pressure with your foot, this is when you push\noutward, allowing the contact to be made with the calliper to the drum and\nslowing the whole thing down. It\u2019s very systematic and it\u2019s tried and tested,\nalthough it has more limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On top of both of the braking types we have already looked\nat, it’s also a great time to look at something more advanced too. That\u2019s where\nABS, or Anti-lock Braking Systems, come into play. These are where things get\neven more complicated still but as far as life-saving technology goes, they are\none of the best inventions in the history of automotive machines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABS is a term used to describe a system that takes place when you are braking as hard as possible. It stops your wheels from locking through harsh braking, by keeping your brakes on as much as possible right up until the very tipping point of a skid. It’s your brakes absolute maximum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without ABS, going from nothing to full brake force results\nin one easy thing. A skid. That\u2019s when your wheels lock and the force changes\nthrough other means. Usually, it\u2019s extremely dangerous (and scary too).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, brakes are vital to safe driving and to driving in general. There’s a lot of science that goes into how they work and keeping them going too. Don’t take them for granted, and make sure you’re checking them regularly or obtain car inspection<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n