Effect of Aftermarket Linings on Light Vehicle Braking Performance.

摘要

A two phase study was conducted to determine the effect on the braking performance of light vehicles of installing aftermarket brake linings. In Phase I approximately 300 in-use vehicles (passenger cars and pickup trucks) were rented from consumers and tested to determine their braking efficiency (ability to utilize available tire/road friction without wheel lockup). Although these measurements did not indicate any differene in the mean braking efficiencies of the vehicles equipped with aftermarket (AM) and original equipment (OE) linings, the number of vehicles with AM linings in the sample was relatively small. The second phase of the study involved tests on four instrumented vehicles each of which were equipped with various sets of AM linings. Fifteen different front lining formulations and nineteen different rear lining formulations were evaluated, although not every formulation was tested on all four vehicles. After burnishing each set of linings, measurements were made of braking efficiency as well as fade resistance (loss of effectiveness as brake temperature increases). The results of Phase II indicate that there are AM linings on the market that degrade braking efficiency, cause the rear wheels to lock before the fronts and reduce fade resistance below the OE level.