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2025
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Are brakes stronger with Brake King? Actually, it's just a psychological suggestion.
Brake King is almost universally known in the trucking community, and many truck drivers, including myself, have used it. Brake King essentially increases the air volume of the master cylinder or relay valve, giving the impression that the braking power has improved. I’m from Sichuan, where mountainous roads are common in the southwest, and the original intention of installing Brake King was also to make braking more reliable and ensure safety on downhill slopes. But is modifying with Brake King really reliable?
● What is the principle behind Brake King? Why does it feel like the braking is strong?
In fact, the Brake King simply ignores the portion of the stroke with low braking airflow and goes straight to the high airflow stroke. It shifts the section with stronger braking force forward, so a light press on the pedal produces braking immediately, giving the impression that the brakes have improved. Initially, this effect was achieved by polishing the master cylinder piston or adding shims, which is probably the earliest form of the Brake King. The master cylinder of the Brake King works on the same principle, but it turns the modification into a mass-produced complete product that can be directly replaced.
● Modifying a Brake King is actually not very reliable.
As mentioned above, Brake King shortens the response time by increasing the air flow, which actually only makes the driver feel subjectively that the brakes are stronger and can stop the vehicle. Some truck owners modify their vehicles as soon as they bring a new truck home, while others do so after the vehicle has accumulated a certain mileage. This can be due to wear on the brake components or reduced braking force caused by improper maintenance, and at this time, they use Brake King to replace the original pump and valve.
We all know that braking is not one-sided; it is a whole system that requires coordination, especially for trailers. We all know that the brakes of the trailer and the tractor need to coordinate with each other to ensure effective braking. After switching to Brake King, the overall braking coordination of the vehicle is disrupted. From the driver's perspective, it feels like the trailer brakes faster, reducing the risk of jackknifing. However, when the vehicle is empty, lightly applying the brakes can cause the trailer wheels to lock, which is due to the imbalance between the tractor and trailer brakes.
As a result, first of all, it can cause abnormal tire wear, and secondly, it can lead to early damage to trailer components such as brake drums and brake pads. Moreover, after modifying with the 'Brake King,' the linear increase in braking force almost disappears, leading to the phenomenon mentioned by some truck drivers, where a light press causes the brakes to lock up, while a hard press has little effect. Since the 'Brake King' increases the air consumption, the brake air pressure will drop more quickly, which could cause issues with vehicles that inflate slowly, especially on downhill slopes where the air pressure might become insufficient. This can be both dangerous and troublesome.
Many car enthusiasts, including myself, may have had experiences like this: after installing the upgraded brake master, the brake drums noticeably became less durable. Brake drum cracking occurs frequently, and sometimes newly installed brake drums crack after just a short distance, requiring replacement. At the same time, the vehicle's braking distance hasn't shortened but has instead increased. Overall, blindly upgrading to a brake master without identifying the root cause of braking deterioration is not reliable.
● Maintenance is very important for good braking performance.
In practice, many trucks have poor brakes, and this is often due to improper maintenance. For example, using counterfeit or substandard brake pads and drums. Additionally, some people neglect the maintenance of the brake air system, such as not replacing the dryer regularly; they may only replace the brake pads without servicing components like the camshaft, all of which affect the braking performance and stability.
If you don't fundamentally identify the cause of deteriorating brakes and instead opt to install a Brake King, you might feel that your brakes improve in the short term. However, after using it for a while, these issues will gradually become more pronounced, putting your brakes into a vicious cycle of repairs where no replacement seems to work. Therefore, proper regular maintenance is the right approach.
● Editor's Note
The quality of your brakes directly affects the driving safety of vehicle owners. On the surface, the Brake King seems to enhance braking and ensure safety. However, based on years of usage and feedback, the Brake King is not very practical. Its braking is poorly linear, causing the brakes to lock with a light press, while pressing harder may result in a spongy pedal. The effectiveness of brakes largely depends on routine maintenance; simply relying on a Brake King to solve the problem is unreliable.
Focus on the research and development of automotive brake systems and pneumatic brake valves to promote the development of the auto parts industry!
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