BRAKING YOUR CAR

NZ Truth, Issue 1213, 28 February 1929, Page 18

BRAKING YOUR CAR

Some of The Causes of Their Inefficiency h -. •"". '■ '■■ ' ■.- ' ■-. ■ •> ■■■ ■. ■■ Considering that the braking of a car merely calls for the expansion or^ contraction on each! wheel of a band of friction ';■ material, it is amazing how greatly various systems differ m detail. '■'.'.■;... .

T TNFORTUNATELY, braking systems U generally have not progressed to the same extent as other components of the car. '. " ' - There are one or two which seem to be fool-proof and free from trouble, but m others the decelerating 1 power of the brakes seem to vary from day to day, and, what is worse, they are extremely difficult to equalise. ...._ _ :.,, . . '■"■ "N.Z. Truth" has known cases where an expert mechanic, with the assistance, of a boy, has-been occup.cd for^ whole day m equahsing a set of four-wheel brakes. In these days this should not be so. The chief reasons for inefficiency m some brakes undoubtedly is that the operating gear is of such poor design that from 50 to 75 per cent, of .the pedal pressure is absorbed m friction, and m

the distortion of rods, shafts, and wheels. Frequently, too, the grease gun conJnections on the brake gear are the least accessible of any, and there are numbers of heavily loaded pin 'joints exposed to mud and wet for which, no form of lubrication is provided. ■.":.-. s "" •'*'"" " '■'-.'] On some cars with four-wheel ■ brakes the design of the mechanism .... on the fponi whee|s is poor that th oou, d be discontinued with- > t makin much difference to the .braking effect. a : . With good four-wheel brakes & stop should be possible at about from 42 - to 45 feet at 30 m.p.n. New cars* will frequently do this, but . after a few months' use the proportioij drops very rapidly.