The brakes must always be reliable. The safety of the driver and passengers depends on their condition. The mechanism must withstand maximum loads, braking must be effective in all conditions. However, even modern disk nodes do not always boast of these qualities. Despite their high efficiency, sometimes they perform poorly their functions and tasks in critical situations. To compensate for the shortcomings, modern cars use ceramic discs and pads. Ceramic brakes are able to function reliably in all conditions, and what is very important - at high temperatures.
Reasons for the appearance
These products began to appear on the market for two main reasons. The first reason is asbestos, from which products are made, and its harm to humans. The second is braking directly. Consider these points in more detail.
Dangerous asbestos
For a very long time, the linings made such a material as asbestos (it was an integral additive). Experts are well aware of the negative effects of the substance on human health and not only. The main factor is that asbestos is a powerful carcinogen. And the material affects negatively the braking performance. Such pads are less effective.
For this reason, in the 80s in North America, as well as in Europe, there was an active company urging to abandon asbestos. Pads for car brakes were one of the first to be hit with “anti-asbestos”.
Perfect braking
Manageability increased, cars became more powerful. Drivers even felt slight vibrations and discomfort from the operation of the brake systems. Following the increase in driving comfort, the next step was higher requirements for the operation of the brakes. This led to the fact that car manufacturers began research on the development of new compositions for pads.
The main differences between ceramics
The brake mechanism consists of three elements. This is a disk, caliper, pads. In traditional disc brakes, the caliper and disc are metallic. Pads are made from special metal asbestos mixtures. When braking, friction of the pads against the metal of the disk occurs, as a result of which heat is generated. This heat very strongly heats both the pads and the disc itself. Heating negatively affects braking performance. To reduce temperatures, manufacturers make ventilated discs. Using asbestos also allows pads to work under high temperatures.
But in really difficult conditions, all these measures are clearly few. If necessary, emergency brake, temperature conditions will be significantly higher than permissible. Manufacturers are introducing the latest materials capable of withstanding the same temperature load, as well as providing the necessary friction. So there were ceramic brakes. These are overlays for blocks and ceramic disks.
Production technology
These products are made as follows. Under a certain pressure, a mixture of metal chips with a ceramic base is created. Further, the resulting mass is baked at high temperatures. As a result, ceramic brake elements with high temperature resistance and other useful characteristics are obtained.
Among the useful characteristics of ceramic brakes can be distinguished low noise and vibration compared to traditional metal counterparts. Another plus is the provision of a constant coefficient of friction in any temperature range. In addition, ceramic pads carefully treat disks due to the absence of steel components. Instead of iron-containing alloys, manufacturers use a copper base.
Modifications
Various modifications of ceramic brake systems are now available. They differ in driving style - these are brakes for aggressive city driving, for sports, as well as for auto extreme. The first are ideal for traveling in the city and for ordinary everyday driving. The second ones are suitable for installation on powerful cars, the third have a high price and are designed for sports cars. Ceramic brakes are not intended for use in civilian cars.
Advantages and disadvantages
It’s worth starting with obvious advantages. Reviews say that due to the new material, pads and discs can reduce unsprung weight and suspension load. The fact is that a ceramic brake disc is much lighter than a metal one. In the process of reducing speed with carbon-ceramic brakes, there is practically no dust emission, reviews say. The coefficient of friction and efficiency when heated. Ceramic discs have a long service life, since there is no iron in the composition.
Not without minuses. The most important drawback that reviews say is the high price compared to traditional metal mechanisms and consumables. In order to get maximum efficiency from ceramic brakes, it is necessary to warm them up. In the process, a creak may appear.
Myths and Reality
There are many myths among motorists about these brakes. Let's try to dispel them. There is a strong belief that ceramic disc brakes can manifest themselves as much as possible only on sports cars, because they need warming up. It is also believed that the pads are very aggressive against discs. This is not true. There is street ceramics. It has excellent frictional properties even under low temperature braking. These pads can be used every day.
The next myth is that ceramics can only be installed paired with the same ceramic disk. And this is also fundamentally wrong. Audi's ceramic brakes in the form of pads appeared much earlier than the discs. The pads work perfectly with traditional metal, and the work efficiency is very high.
Further, some owners complain that the pads kill the drive. Today it is difficult to trace where exactly these prejudices came from. But after thousands of tests, experts found that BMW ceramic brakes wear out the disc evenly.