Braking strategy.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Wynne, Arkansas
Braking strategy.
This is probably going to be a weird question. I wasn't able to find anything about it using the search function.
I ride a bicycle frequently, and sometimes I have to go down pretty big hills. I used to drag the brakes the entire time, to keep the speed constant, but I found that it overheated the rims and wore out the brake pads very quickly. I learned that by using the brakes intermittenly, hard, that that gave the rim time to cool and since you were going faster most of the time, aerodynamic drag started to assist in slowing you down.
So, picture the rims as rotors and the brake pads as, um, pads.
I very frequently have to stop or slow my truck down. On long downhills, the truck goes into fourth gear and basically freewheels. On one local hill, that is marked 40, by the time I hit the bottom, I am doing 60 or so. Or, I may be doing 55 on a road and see a stop light a quarter mile up ahead.
Do I drag the brake slowly to bleed off the speed or do I wait and use the brake much harder? My goal is to maximise pad and rotor life. I don't know if cars are different than bikes in this regard. I've never driven a vehicle that weighed 5000 pounds before and I've never dealt with four wheel disc brakes.
I'm, as usual, just curious how things work. Any comments are appreciated.
I ride a bicycle frequently, and sometimes I have to go down pretty big hills. I used to drag the brakes the entire time, to keep the speed constant, but I found that it overheated the rims and wore out the brake pads very quickly. I learned that by using the brakes intermittenly, hard, that that gave the rim time to cool and since you were going faster most of the time, aerodynamic drag started to assist in slowing you down.
So, picture the rims as rotors and the brake pads as, um, pads.
I very frequently have to stop or slow my truck down. On long downhills, the truck goes into fourth gear and basically freewheels. On one local hill, that is marked 40, by the time I hit the bottom, I am doing 60 or so. Or, I may be doing 55 on a road and see a stop light a quarter mile up ahead.
Do I drag the brake slowly to bleed off the speed or do I wait and use the brake much harder? My goal is to maximise pad and rotor life. I don't know if cars are different than bikes in this regard. I've never driven a vehicle that weighed 5000 pounds before and I've never dealt with four wheel disc brakes.
I'm, as usual, just curious how things work. Any comments are appreciated.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6,948
Likes: 44
The concepts are similar except for one thing, a transmission. Use the transmission to slow down, grab third gear, and the engine will prevent you from going to fast, or slow you down if you are, and you will save your brakes.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Wynne, Arkansas
I used to do that a lot with my manual Ranger, but now I have an auto F150. I suppose I could hit the OD-off button every time I come to a stop but that would get old.
I do hit the OD-off button on real long downhills, and one hill in particular I have to take it to second gear.
Personally, I think the brakes are a bit grabby. I'd prefer just a bit more modulation. Maybe as I rack up some miles it will give some better feedback.
I do hit the OD-off button on real long downhills, and one hill in particular I have to take it to second gear.
Personally, I think the brakes are a bit grabby. I'd prefer just a bit more modulation. Maybe as I rack up some miles it will give some better feedback.
Last edited by Xyzzy; Jun 15, 2007 at 10:17 PM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Atlanta GA
> Do I drag the brake slowly to bleed off the speed
imo, no, you can get gas build up and overheat your rotors.
If going down a hill, brake hard, shift to a lower gear. If towing you really want a good rev limiter too.
imo, no, you can get gas build up and overheat your rotors.
If going down a hill, brake hard, shift to a lower gear. If towing you really want a good rev limiter too.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2004
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If you are driving correctly you shouldn't have to brake hard at all. You should use the transmission to slow down, known as engine braking. I can go from 55 to about 10 without using the brakes on a steep hill simply by down shifting and grabbing the right gear at the right time. This is a little different for every vehicle since the trans gear ratios and the diff ratios are different.
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Senior User
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From: Wynne, Arkansas
I'm very familiar with engine braking. I drove an M35A2 deuce and a half for many years, among other manual transmission vehicles.
But are you saying I should down shift my automatic for every light or hill?
What I'm saying is, even on the flat, this truck just rolls forever coming to a stop. It just weighs so much, and without any load it stays in OD forever.
Kicking off the OD manually provides a little engine braking but not much.
I just want to avoid having to replace pads every 10,000 miles. My old Toyota car went 100,000+ miles on the original brakes, but it weighed probably 2000 pounds.
Maybe I'm just not used to driving such a heavy truck around town. It gets up to speed pretty quick and I gotta stop it. I can either bleed the speed slowly or wait and do it real quick like. I don't see engine braking coming into the picture unless I'm towing a pile and I'm going down a 5-6% 6 mile hill. Then I'll probably have to shift it into second.
What I'm asking is probably, like I mentioned in the first post, a weird question.
But are you saying I should down shift my automatic for every light or hill?
What I'm saying is, even on the flat, this truck just rolls forever coming to a stop. It just weighs so much, and without any load it stays in OD forever.
Kicking off the OD manually provides a little engine braking but not much.
I just want to avoid having to replace pads every 10,000 miles. My old Toyota car went 100,000+ miles on the original brakes, but it weighed probably 2000 pounds.
Maybe I'm just not used to driving such a heavy truck around town. It gets up to speed pretty quick and I gotta stop it. I can either bleed the speed slowly or wait and do it real quick like. I don't see engine braking coming into the picture unless I'm towing a pile and I'm going down a 5-6% 6 mile hill. Then I'll probably have to shift it into second.
What I'm asking is probably, like I mentioned in the first post, a weird question.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,575
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From: Puyallup, WA
I use the transmission to help slow down. I let off the throttle early and coast up to the trafic light to save a bit of fuel, but when I get on my brakes, it is hard, it is fast and then I am off them.
I have zero problems with premature wear, in fact on my comapny provided truck, I am on target to get 500,000 + miles on the factory brakes, considering they are 25% worn at 175k miles.
I may be one of the lucky ones, but I have also never had a brake issue on any of the heavy class 7/8 trucks that I have driven.
This is what has worked for me over the years - David
I have zero problems with premature wear, in fact on my comapny provided truck, I am on target to get 500,000 + miles on the factory brakes, considering they are 25% worn at 175k miles.
I may be one of the lucky ones, but I have also never had a brake issue on any of the heavy class 7/8 trucks that I have driven.
This is what has worked for me over the years - David
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2007
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I'll second that. I'm also an OTR driver. If you want long brake life, stop slowly (i.e. gently). On my previous vehicles (both 5000-lb trucks) I did the brakes once, as a prophylactic measure, not because of need.
In this regimen, brakes can actually fail from old age (brittle fracture and material loss) before they fail from wear.
The brakes on the Freightliner are working on 300K miles.
On most modern cars, brake life can be extended by braking gently. Most folks wait to the last minute and then stand on the pedal. This is about the same as shoving a piece of steel into a grinding wheel.
(GM's are notorious for this, since GM deems an 85/15 F/R brake bias as "normal".)
If you're driving a gas motor, the engine braking present when you lift off the gas should be more than sufficient, presuming you don't come off the gas at 50 feet before the stop.
This stopping technique was developed when I had freight that could reach up and give me an attitude adjustment if the stop was harsh; for 4 years, that was passengers (I was a bus driver) and later, it was 5500 gallons of fluid in a smooth-bore tank trailer.
-blaine
In this regimen, brakes can actually fail from old age (brittle fracture and material loss) before they fail from wear.
The brakes on the Freightliner are working on 300K miles.
On most modern cars, brake life can be extended by braking gently. Most folks wait to the last minute and then stand on the pedal. This is about the same as shoving a piece of steel into a grinding wheel.
(GM's are notorious for this, since GM deems an 85/15 F/R brake bias as "normal".)
If you're driving a gas motor, the engine braking present when you lift off the gas should be more than sufficient, presuming you don't come off the gas at 50 feet before the stop.
This stopping technique was developed when I had freight that could reach up and give me an attitude adjustment if the stop was harsh; for 4 years, that was passengers (I was a bus driver) and later, it was 5500 gallons of fluid in a smooth-bore tank trailer.
-blaine
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