Why Are There So Many Differences in The Service Life Of Brake Pads?
The usual mileage of brake pad replacement is 30000-40000 km, but there are still plenty of people who have run more than 60000 km, and some people wear their brake pads to the limit after only running 30000-40000 km. Why is the service life of brake pads so different?
There are many reasons that affect the service life of brake pads, such as driving habits, road conditions, brake pad formula and so on. Among them, the brake pad formula has a more direct impact on the service life.
At present, the well-known friction materials of passenger car brake pads can be roughly divided into four categories: semi metal, low metal, Nao material and ceramic material. The performance and advantages of each material are different, we will introduce them one by one.
Semi metallic material
The friction material of Semi-metallic Brake pad is a mixture of organic material and metal with high metal content. The high temperature heat dissipation performance is good, relatively speaking, it is easy to produce noise when braking.
Low metal formula
The metal composition of low metal formula is lower than that of semi-metal formula, which has less damage to the brake disc. At the same time, it can ensure the stability of heat dissipation performance and friction coefficient at high temperature. High quality low metal formula is commonly used in high-end vehicles.
Nao material
Nao material is non asbestos organic friction material, including aramid fiber and a small amount of metal material. Nao material has the advantages of short running in period, low noise, less wear on brake disc, less dust and long service life.
Ceramic brake pad
Ceramic brake pads can be said to make up for the lack of existing models and Semi-metallic Brake Pads. Its material is mainly composed of mineral fiber, aramid fiber, ceramic fiber and other materials. On the one hand, because there is no metal material, the noise will be significantly reduced when the brake pads and brake discs are rubbed. At the same time, the damage to the brake disc during the friction process will be significantly reduced.
Different brake pad formulations are suitable for different models, and each has its own advantages. We can't simply comment on its advantages and disadvantages through the formulation. Brake pad formula is one of the core competitiveness of each manufacturer. Even with the same formula, the performance and service life of brake pads of different manufacturers will be different.
In addition to friction materials, there are also two factors that have a great impact on the service life of brake pads, namely driving habits and body weight.
Body weight:
It seems that the weight of the vehicle and the service life of the brake pads are "out of reach", but in fact they are closely related.
According to the basic principle of braking, the reason why the braking system can slow down the vehicle is that the friction between the brake discs converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle into heat energy.
In this process, the friction material of the friction plate will be consumed continuously. At the same speed, the heavier the vehicle is, the greater the kinetic energy is, and the greater the friction plate consumption is during the braking process.
Therefore, "the heavier the vehicle, the more expensive the brake pads are.". For cars, on the premise of the same friction material, the brake pad with larger servicing mass is more expensive than that with smaller mass, and the brake pad with frequent passenger carrying is more expensive than that with empty driving.
The service life of brake pads is related to many factors, such as product formula, driving habits and vehicle servicing quality. Various types of brake pads have their own advantages and disadvantages. When choosing brake pads, we should consider them comprehensively.