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Truck Encyclopedia (34): Why push truck disc brakes?

What is the difference between truck disc brakes and passenger car disc brakes? Today's truck encyclopedia will talk about it.

Drum brakes as truck brakes were invented in 1900 by German engineer Wilhelm Maybach. The current Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach sedan is derived from the name of this engineer. This also speaks to Wilhelm Maybach's great contribution to the automotive industry in a sense.

The drum brakes invented by Wilhelm Maybach have long been market-tested, known for their durability and easy maintenance, and have been used on trucks for many years.

Drum brakes are inexpensive, durable, and have high braking power, which is popular with users, manufacturers and repairmen.

However, as a truck driver, although the drum brake has a large braking force, the drum brake is difficult to dissipate quickly due to the shape of the closed structure, the heat accumulates during braking, and it is difficult to dissipate quickly, resulting in easy overheating and attenuation when braking, and it has to be drenched with water to cool down, which is more troublesome to operate.

The large braking force also leads to uneven braking force of the drum brake, and the braking force of the poorly tuned drum brake is inconsistent, which is easy to deviate from the forward route.

If you step on it hard, the wheels are easy to lock up, causing the vehicle to slide sideways or even run off the road.

In addition, when the drum brake is braking, the process of braking force transmission is more cumbersome, and a series of mechanical structures are transmitted, and the braking response is much slower. Even if it is equipped with a brake system such as EBS, it is difficult to maximize efficiency.

As a rising star, disc brakes completely avoid those defects of drum brakes.

The braking force of disc brakes is more uniform and linear, and the structural form also makes the heat dissipation better, and the thermal attenuation during braking is also smaller.

Moreover, the braking response of disc brakes is much faster than drum brakes, and once the pressure is established, it can push the brake pads immediately. After the drum brake establishes pressure, it also needs to go through several mechanical transmission structures to push the brake pads.

Therefore, systems such as EBS are also more effective on disc brake systems. Overall, disc brakes are also safer and more stable in terms of reliability.

Therefore, our country is determined to promote the popularization of disc brakes on trucks. According to the requirements of "GB7258-2017", from January 1, 2020, newly produced three-axle silo grilles and three-axle railing semi-trailers must be equipped with disc brakes and airbag axles as standard.

● Editor's postscript

The pace of the times is unstoppable, and the installation of disc brakes on trucks is a great improvement in terms of safety and vehicle performance.

But compared with drum brakes, disc brakes are still a new thing for most users. What is the product quality? Whether it is used or not is still a question mark in their hearts, which needs to be tested by the promotion of manufacturers and the reputation of the market.

Secondly, compared with drum brakes, disc brakes are slightly higher in manufacturing costs, for many retail investors who buy cars, after the price goes up, whether the performance can correspond to the price increase is the resistance that affects consumers to buy new cars.

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