How to extend the life of your brakes
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Getting new brakes installation on your car can be expensive, but many drivers don't realize that their driving style can affect the life of their brakes.
If you make a few small, conscious changes to your driving style, you'll find that your brakes last much longer and you can go many more miles without having to replace a new set.
6 tips for driving and saving brakes
Listed below are 6 simple tips that don't require a lot of time or money but can end up saving you a fortune in terms of the amount you spend on brake replacement. If you take better care of your brakes every time you drive, and keep these little things in mind every time you get in your car, you can significantly reduce the number of times your brakes need to be replaced.
1. Inertia
The more you break, the more pressure and wear the brake pads exert. If you regularly decelerate sharply from high speed, you can put a lot of pressure on your brakes. If you are driving on the motorway, try signaling early and coasting for a while to slow down before you have to brake.
2. Look ahead
It sounds very obvious, but you'll be amazed at how many drivers don't fully understand what's ahead of them. Make sure you have a good eye for the distance and anticipate any braking you will need to do well before you get to a hazard or an intersection.
This way you give yourself a lot more time to take your foot off the accelerator pedal, coast for a while to slow down, and then only brake when you really need to.
3. Unload the car
We are all guilty of leaving things in the car, even if we don't need them, because we just can't bother to unload them at the other end or find a permanent place for them to live. However, the heavier the car, the greater the load on the brake pads. Regularly driving with much more weight in the car than necessary can significantly shorten the life of your brake pads. Simply by getting those unwanted items out of the trunk and finding them a permanent home, you can make a real difference. Moving them around might be a little inconvenience, but it pays off in the long run.
4. Don't follow someone else's example
Just because other people drive in such a way that their brake pads get damaged doesn't mean you should expose yourself to the same. More often than not, even if the person in front of you doesn't expect to have to slow down ahead of time, you'll still be able to see ahead of you so you can slow down smoothly. Don't let other people's habits be an excuse and don't let them influence the number of times you need to change your brakes.
5. Think about the regular trips you take
We can all become complacent when we travel several times a week. If you are commuting to and from work, you are often in a hurry to get home from the office and this can affect how you drive. Rapid acceleration and braking is unlikely to save you much travel time and can put a lot of strain on your brakes. If you know your route well, you will know where obstacles, such as traffic lights or roundabouts, are before you reach them, and you can slow down more smoothly if you think about what you are doing before you get there. to the place. For regular commuting, making these small changes can really increase the life of your brakes and save you from having to change them as often.
6. Serve the bully
Regular "checks" on your brakes will give you the opportunity to fix minor problems before they become big problems. This can mean that your brakes will last a lot longer, and spending a small amount of money now can save you the trouble of having to completely replace your brakes for the foreseeable future.
None of these steps are particularly difficult or costly to put into practice, and although they may seem a little uncomfortable at first, they will soon feel completely natural. With a little perseverance, you can change your driving habits forever and really cut down on the number of times you need to repair or replace your brakes.
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