What do you need to know about brakes?
The braking system is perhaps the most important element responsible for our safety. As in the automotive industry, brakes have also become legends and superstitions. They are not very harmful and do not affect our life and health, but they can affect the contents of our wallet.
Let's start with operation. So from what? After all, everyone knows that when we want to slow down, we have to cling to the lower limb 
center or, in the case of an automatic transmission, the left pedal. And if we don’t want to slow down, then we don’t press. However, there are a few rules that will help us use the brakes more efficiently and, by the way, may not bankrupt us.
How to slow down?
If we have an old car and no ABS, we have to brake as if the pedal in the floor is red hot and could burn us. So delicate. In vehicles equipped with ABS, the rule is reversed. No impulse braking or other rally tricks. If we're dealing with an emergency, we hit the clutch and brake to the floor and focus on avoiding the obstacle. In the case of everyday use, it is better to brake earlier and more intensively. Let's not slow down at the last moment. There can always be something that surprises us and can end badly. Let's slow down for a while. Short-term use of the brake heats it less. Driving with the brakes on is useless. Of course, the energy will be dissipated in the form of heat, but we will generate so much of it that it can overheat and damage the discs, pads or brake fluid boil. This is a very dangerous situation.
Operational errors
The most common mistakes are incorrect braking technique and overheating of the system, leading, for example, to misalignment of the discs. We can often read about this type of fault on internet forums. Often the car owner blames this on a poorly designed braking system. Bad brake discs and pads. However, the fault is on his side. Most often, discs are damaged when we drive into, for example, a puddle with very hot brakes. The flex of the disc gives us the pulsation of the brake pedal and the vibrations felt on the steering wheel. Any attempt to repair such damage is doomed to failure. Shield rolling will be temporarily improved. Until the first hard stop. The pads can also be damaged by high temperatures. If they do not burn with live fire, they can vitrify. This reduces their effectiveness and causes a creak when braking. Another problem is the neglect of the condition of the rubber boots, if the covers of the guide calipers are damaged, they will stick, the brake pads will wear out unevenly, and the braking efficiency will drop. Damage to the piston skirt leads to the ingress of moisture and debris. The result is piston corrosion and jamming in the caliper. The result will be a complete loss of braking power or friction of the pads on the disc, their rapid wear and increased fuel consumption due to high resistance. Another problem is the parking brake system. The most common culprit here is the cable. If his armor is cracked, corrosion appears and in winter, water that gets inside through cracks and crevices can freeze. The condition of the brakes must be monitored. We have a great opportunity to do this twice a year when we change tires. It takes a little effort, but saves money and nerves.
Selection of discs and pads
The choice of spare parts for the brake system is very large. As for discs, we have a choice: standard, knurled or drilled. There are different hardnesses to choose from. The internet is filled with good advice when it comes to choosing the best solution. It is most reasonable to choose serial components and production of a reliable company. This is the bitter truth. The cheapest solutions don't always work, and doing your own experience with parts selection can have different endings. Also, installing larger discs and replacing calipers can be counterproductive. The problem may lie in the calibration of the ABS. When installing an "oversized" brake system, it may turn out that the ABS is activated with each braking already on a wet surface. Experience shows that in order to increase the efficiency of brakes, first of all, you should take care of the good technical condition of all components. This guarantees us effective braking.
