Brake System

When it comes to the safety of your automobile, the brake system serves a crucial role. The brake system allows your automobile to slowly or abruptly stop, depending on the need of the situation. In this manner, accidents can be prevented. It arrests the momentum and inertia of your vehicle so that collision can be avoided or at least the extent of damage can be minimized. Merely stopping the engine will not accomplish the task. Your vehicle still has enough inertia and momentum to keep on moving even when the engine is already switched off. The brake system allows you to safely control the motion of your vehicle.

Brake systems are classified into two categories, namely, the drum brake system and the rotor brake system. The former is the older type of brake system. It is a bulky and sophisticated type of brake system. It is commonly used in bigger cars. It is also used in combination with the rotor brake system. Its name is derived from the name of its main brake component – the brake drum. This component serves as the housing for the rest of the brake components and it also serves as the brake surface.

As you have correctly guessed, the name of the rotor brake system is derived from its main brake component – the brake rotor. Unlike the brake drum system, the rotor brake system is comparably more compact and less sophisticated. Instead of internally containing the other brake components, this brake system has exposed parts. Instead of brake shoes, it utilizes brake caliper. The brake caliper acts like a clamp that grips the rotating brake rotor. In this manner, the wheel is stopped from rotating. Like in the drum brake system, the rotor brake system also utilizes hydraulic components and brake pads. These are the two components that are common in both types of brake systems.

Steering System

Vehicles will be unsafe if it cannot effectively be maneuvered. Your automobile will be an accident waiting to happen if you are unable to control it. The steering system provides you the means to directly control your automobile. It allows you to guide your vehicle to the direction you intend to go. When it comes to steering, however, it is not just a matter of veering to the left or to the right. Response time also matters. It will spell the difference between encountering an accident and evading one. Response time, however, does not only depend on your reflex action.

Your reflex action is only one factor of response time. The steering system design is the other important factor. No matter how skillful driver you may be, you are still at the mercy of the steering system when it comes to maneuvering your vehicle. You can only steer your vehicle as fast as the steering system can transmit your input. Some vehicles are harder to steer because of the inherent fault in the design. Mechanical steering is very common but it is not as reliable as power steering. The latter utilizes hydraulic assistance to amplify your input force. As a result, you can effortlessly maneuver your vehicle.

Power steering is common in bigger cars and also in race cars. In the case of bigger cars, power steering is necessary to compensate for the weight and bulk of the automobile. On the other hand, in the case of race cars, power steering is necessary to have high degree of responsiveness. This type of steering can allows the driver to easily evade accidents. In both cases, the parts that have been replaced by hydraulic mechanisms are the steering pinion and steering rack. Whenever the driver turns the steering wheel, the hydraulic mechanism multiplies the input force several times.