Formula One’s technical regulations require that each car has a twin-circuit hydraulic braking system with two separate reservoirs for the front and rear wheels. This ensures that, even in the event of one complete circuit failure, braking should still be available through the second circuit. The amount of braking power going to the front and rear circuits can be ‘biased’ by a control in the cockpit, allowing a driver to stabilize handling or take account of falling fuel load. Under normal operation about 60 percent of braking power goes to the front wheels which, because of load transfer under deceleration, take the brunt of the retardation duties. To illustrate, imagine what would happen to you if you try to slow down a skateboard with a tennis ball on it.

In some areas, Formula One brakes are empirically more advanced than road-car systems. All F1 cars now use carbon fiber composite brake discs that save weight and are able to operate at higher temperatures than steel discs.

A typical Formula One brake disc weighs about 1.5 kg as compared to 3.0 kg for the similar-sized steel discs used in the American CART series. These are gripped by special compound brake pads and are capable of running at vast temperatures - anything up to 750 degrees Celsius.

Formula One brakes are remarkably efficient. In combination with the modern advanced tire compounds they have dramatically reduced braking distances. It takes an F1 car relatively less distance to stop from 160 km/h than a typical road car uses to halt from 100 km/h. So good are the Formula brakes that one of the topics for debate during the recent technical dialogue between the constructors and the FIA has been whether an increase in braking distances would make for closer racing with more overtaking. This could involve limiting brake technology through restrictions on materials or design.

I imagine how street cars would dare to run and gun with this kind of braking system.

When it comes to the business of slowing down, Formula One cars are surprisingly closely related to their road-going cousins. As ABS anti-skid systems have been banned from Formula One racing, most modern road cars can lay claim to having considerably cleverer retardation.

The principle of braking is simple: slowing an object by removing kinetic energy from it. Formula One cars have disc brakes (like most road-cars) with rotating discs (attached to the wheels) being squeezed between two brake pads by the action of a hydraulic calliper. This turns a car’s momentum into large amounts of heat and light. Because of this, you could see how Formula One brake discs glow yellow hot.

In the same way that too much power applied through a wheel will cause it to spin, too much braking will cause it to lock as the brakes overpower the available levels of grip from the tire. Formula One previously allowed anti-skid braking systems (which would reduce the brake pressure to allow the wheel to turn again and then continue to slow it at the maximum possible rate) but these were banned in the 1990s. Braking therefore remains one of the sternest tests of a Formula One driver’s skill.

The following is an excerpt based on the rules enforced by Formula One regarding braking system of its racing machines:

“Formula One cars must have one brake system operated through a single brake pedal. However, the system must comprise two hydraulic circuits – one for the front wheels and one for the rear. Should one circuit fail the other must remain operational. Power brakes and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) are not allowed.

Each wheel must have no more than one brake disc of 278mm maximum diameter and 28mm maximum thickness. Each disc must have only one aluminium caliper, with a maximum of six circular pistons, and no more than two brake pads.

The size of the air ducts used to cool the brakes is strictly controlled and they must not protrude beyond the wheels. The use of liquid to cool the brakes is forbidden.”

(text and photo sources: Formula One)

The EBC Yellow Stuff is another EBC product that would ensure only maximum performance for your car.

But what can this Yellow Stuff offer?
- highest rated friction of any EBC brake pad
- designed specially to meet the requirements of dragsters and high performance street cars.
- they work hard and fast under any condition
- feature beveled edges and a ceramic blend that reduces unwanted brake noise.
- feature a center-line slot that vents excess heat and gas to help prevent fade and thermal cracking.

Now, who would dare to forget yellow?

Let’s just take a brief look into the award-winning EBC brake pad

+ EBC 2000 Greenstuff VR4
+ High-friction Aramid based
+ Heat stable up to a blistering 500 degrees C
+ Kevlar content
+ Upgrades brake performance by 30-50%
+ 80% dust reduction
+ Suitable for all fast road applications

Now ain’t it your kind of stuff?

Passion drives everyone to their best, to their limit, to the point of breakdown. And in this compelling desire that ordinary men sums up his winning spirit and become champions. Buddy Antunez has proven time and time again that the heart of a determined man can overcome even the most impossible struggles.

At age 16 the “Bud Man” finds himself driving with his beloved motorcycle to races every weekend. He quietly observes and analyze the mechanisms of the motocross racing taking mental notes on how to ride efficiently. Once he started winning races, he began pushing himself harder and harder to win more and more.

Buddy took his driving to higher limits, that for five years he has reigned supreme as Arenacross champion. He left the Arenacross to pursue supercross racing but to no avail. At this time Buddy had to overcome personal demons. One day he decided to make a comeback at Arenacross and as if destiny has planned it he again would win races and prove to all that you can never underestimate the heart of a champion. After suffering many career-blowing injuries on the track Buddy decided that is was time for him to retire.

Antunez has once said that although he has won five championships and countless recognition, he would miss the adrenaline rush that made him love racing. But even though he would stop competing in the race track, he would still be in the motocross industry as he plans to work for Crown Athlete Management Group.

Buddy, in his career peak, won championships using EBC brakesfor his motorcycle. He once said that if he were allowed to go back in time he would not replace any component of his motorcycle. This only proves the trust that successful racers put into the EBC brakes.

Brake systems can make or break a car’s fuel efficiency. Traditionally made of cast iron in order that its individual parts withstand friction and heat, brakes cost you not only maintenance but gasoline dollars as well. They are heavy that they add considerable weight on the car and require additional horsepower to be pulled. At least cast iron brakes are considered heavy and a drag until New York-based materials research scientist Stan Hemstad came up with a fiber-reinforced ceramic brakes.

At Starfire Systems Inc. in Malta, New York, Hemstad explained that compared to current ceramics brake technology in the performance car industry, the fibers in the ceramics hold the material together. “Same thing as adobe bricks. The straw keeps it from crumbling and falling apart.” A typical cast iron brake averages 10 kilograms. The fiber-reinforced ceramic brake weighs less than two. “There is a lot of weight savings. That makes the cars accelerate faster, more maneuverable, reduces gas consumption,” Hemstad said.

Manufacture of the fiber-reinforced brakes remains expensive and time consuming, taking over four hours. Hemstad says the goal is to make them less expensive so they can go on higher-end cars and eventually all passenger cars. Ceramic brakes are still being tested, but they’re already an option on performance cars, amounting around $10,000. They could be on all cars for less than $400 within three years. According to Hemstad, the gas benefit savings will pay for the brakes. Ceramic brakes also last longer than metal brakes, so there is no need to replace them as often.

Do you encounter a soft brake pedal when you step on the brakes, accompanied by a letdown in brake operations? Because a soft pedal feel amounts to an almost nonexistent push on the brake system, the brake input that you apply on the pedal is not really getting into the brake assembly. Without that push, the car is running on nothing to operate the brakes.

A soft brake pedal is a sign of a contaminated hydraulic brakes assembly. Lubed by brake fluids, the hydraulic brakes assembly can lead to a soft brake pedal if it has been infiltrated by water. This water lowers the boiling point of the fluid in the assembly, which makes it evaporate quickly and produces air in the system.

When air is present in the hydraulics, it allows the assembly to compress more easily, as opposed to pure brake fluids that have greater resistance to compression. Because of the high heat condition that brake system parts are exposed to, the brake fluids are liable to heat up and produce moisture. When left unchecked, moisture presence can increase and lower the boiling point of the fluid, making it more conducive for air buildup. Air presence in the brake system is what leads to that spongy feel you notice when you apply the brakes.

You don’t have to be a mechanic to bleed the brakes yourself

Because it is difficult to risk riding on a nonexistent brake even if you have to do it on your way to a shop for a brakes job, wouldn’t it be better if you can do it by yourself? Bleeding the brakes on your car is no difficult task. It requires no special tools and hardly needs training. Here are the step-by-step instructions of brake bleeding, made easy to understand exactly for the automotive greens.

STEP 1—First off, your car needs to be jacked up. In the event that a lift isn’t handy, you can follow these simple instructions to improvise:

Using a flat screw, pry off the hub cap. Turn the wheels lugs loose, this will reduce the rocking motion once the car has been jacked up. Consult the owner’s manual that comes with the car to determine the ideal jacking spot in the chassis.

Lock the back wheel, either with a brick or a good piece of fire wood. Put the jack under the spot specified in the manual and jack the car up. Once the jack supports the car, remove the lug nuts from the wheel hub. The wheel should then slide off by itself.

You can reinforce the steering table of the car by placing a jack stand under it. This will further stabilize the car. Also, make sure that the steering wheels are turned toward the wheel you are going to work on, so you can have ample elbow room when working on it.

STEP 2—Next, ease the pressure in the brake system. It is important to do this because, as contaminated hydraulic fluids get drawn into the brake system during operation, the pressure becomes erratic. Pop the hood open and turn the cap covering the master cylinder. Traditionally, break bleeding starts from the wheel farthest to the master cylinder, the rear wheel on the passenger side. You can then hear the hissing sound of pressure released and are now ready to work on the brakes.

STEP 3—After the car has been jacked up and the pressure released, go to the wheel hub and look for the bleeder valve for the hydraulic fluid. It is located on top of the caliper. Give it a turn to open and leave it at that.

STEP 4—Now, the following procedures will require an extra hand. While one is at the driver’s seat bleeding the valve by stepping on the brakes, another ought to be near the location of the valve. If the valve is simply left open as you bleed the brakes, the pressure may surge and leave a mess. For this reason, it will be necessary to have someone put a length of tubing from the valve going in to a container. One reminder, used brake fluid is toxic. So dispose of it properly.

STEP 5—With a tube leading the used brake fluids in to a container, give the brake pedal some good five or so pumps. After that, keep the pedal depressed and signal to the person holding the bleeder valve to open it and catch the fluids. The accumulated fluids usually have bubbles, a sign that the fluid has been contaminated with moisture.

When the valve is spewing out fluids, the person stepping on the brakes should feel the pedal moving toward the floor. That person must keep the pedal to the floor whenever the valve is open. Close the valve and release the pedal. Then repeat the process until there are no more bubbles in the fluids you are getting.

As mentioned earlier, work on the wheel farthest from where the master cylinder of your car is located. If it is on the driver’s side, work on the rear wheel on the passenger side first, then go clockwise to all the four wheels.

After a wheel has been bled, put the wheel back on. With the car jacked up, don’t tighten the lugs yet, just enough to fasten the wheels snugly on the hub.

STEP 6—Next, lower down the jack and when the wheel touch the ground, tighten the lugs using a torque wrench. Remember to set the wheel on the specified torque recommended in the manual for your car’s make and year.

STEP 7—IMPORTANT. We have drained the caliper piston off some fluid, which means you have to give the brake pedal some three or four pumps first before fresh fluid gets into the piston and it comes up and gets firmer. Your car will not have brake with its piston deficient with brake fluids, so make sure the brake pedal feels normal before driving. Also, check the brake fluid in the tank and top it up if necessary. Once done, your car is ready you can now take to driving without worries.