According to a new research published today, vehicles equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) are 25% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those who do not have it. Thus, if every vehicle on the road is employed with ESC, fatal accidents each year will be 380 less.

At the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference, the research was announced to spread the word about the effectiveness of ESC, especially in helping prevent crashes that involve vehicles skidding or overturning. This could seriously lessen potential accidents by 59%. just as well, ESC was also proved to be of help in uncontrollable situations such as wet or snowy weather.

“Today’s research proves what a powerful tool ESC could be in saving lives. I urge anyone thinking of buying a new car to consider the safety benefits that ESC could bring. Ask the vendor if it comes as standard and, if not, investigate whether it could be fitted as an option. I also call on manufacturers to fit this important piece of kit as standard more widely—it’s not expensive and has the potential to make our roads significantly safer,” Dr. Stephen Ladyman, Road Safety Minister said in an interview.

While the success of the ESC technology may be evident, it should be made clear that it is not a substitute to the car brakes technology. While it may be helpful, the brake system of a car is still unparalleled in its functions. It should not be substituted with the said electronic technology for it is undergoing new advancements as well. Also, just because a vehicle is hooked up with ESC, it does not make an excuse for the driver to not maintain his brake system. The same check-up and maintenance should be implemented in order to achieve satisfying results. The ESC may be complementary to the brake system, but it should not be preferred over brakes.

ESC is a computer controlled technology which automatically controls the vehicle by comparing the driver’s steering and braking actions to what is actually happening. On-board sensors measure the speed, steering wheel angle, direction of travel and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. If the calculated path of travel is different to that dictated by the sensors it will make a correction by applying individual brakes to correct the deviation.

This new technology is not yet proven to be one hundred percent failsafe, basically because it relies on electronics. And while it is not bad to consider this ESC, here are some of the results of the conducted study:

- Studies from various countries have shown ESC to be very effective at reducing accidents. None, though, have been specific to UK vehicles and roads.
- Loughborough University Vehicle Safety Research Center (VSRC) were commissioned by DfT to carry out a statistical study of UK national injury accident data to ascertain whether there is any difference in crash involvement between passenger cars with and without ESC systems.
- An international group of experts (incl. UK) has been set up to agree a harmonized technical specification and test method for a Global Technical Regulation (GTR) on ESC systems intended to be fitted to cars and light vans.
- ESC will also become a mandatory fitments on trucks, trailers and buses/coaches. Technical requirements have already been agreed at international level and an implementation plan should be finalized later this year.

Kart racing is a variant of open-wheeler motor sport with simple, small four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher and more expensive ranks of motorsports.

Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Karting has rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe.
Karts vary in speed and some (Superkart) can reach speeds exceeding 160 mph (250 km/h). A Formula A kart, with a 100 cc 2 stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150 kilograms, can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 85 mph (140 km/h). It takes a little more than 3 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph with a 125 cc shifter kart (6 gears), with a top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h) on long circuits.

The chassis are made of steel tube. There is no suspension therefore chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the USA as ‘Open’, ‘Caged’, ‘Straight’ or ‘Offset’. All CIK-FIA approved chassis are ‘Straight’ and ‘Open’. Open karts have no roll cage while caged karts have a roll cage surrounding the driver, they are mostly used on dirt tracks. In Straight chassis the driver sits in the center. Straight chassis are used for sprint racing.

In Offset chassis the driver sits on the left side. Offset chassis are used for left-turn-only speedway racing. The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions a stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions.

Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are increasingly popular; however, certain classes do not allow them.
Professionally raced karts typically weigh 165 to 175 lb (75 to 80 kg), complete without driver.

Braking is a very important component of Kart racing. It is impossible to finish in 1st place without the use of heavy duty brake pads. Be sure to equip your kart with EBC Brake pads.

Vancouver-based Inside Holdings is acquiring Ifield Technology`s SHEP (Stored Hydraulic Energy Propulsion) business in a deal under which is effectively a reverse takeover of Inside. The Canadian investor has bonded with the Manx business which is currently developing the recovery of the energy lost when vehicles apply brakes. They are trying to achieve the technology through the use of hydraulics.

Located at the center of the British Isles, SHEP has operations in the Isle of Man, Taunton and the United States, where it has two subsidiaries. Anonymously, one of the world’s largest car makers has been testing the SHEP technology and is said to have achieved significant energy savings as well as reduced wear and tear on the engines and brakes.

Using hydraulics, the energy recovered when the brakes are applied is stored and released to augment acceleration during the normal inefficient low-speed acceleration phase. What’s really admirable about this technology is that it can be applied to vehicles of all sizes and types, although it is ideally suited to large vehicles such as buses, taxis and trucks.

Inside has changed its name to SHEP Technologies Inc, with Malcolm Burke acting as interim president and chief executive. Ray Evans, who in 1989 acquired the worldwide rights to the Ifield regenerative braking system and founded Ifield Technology, has been appointed a director, as has Peter Humphrey, who has been managing director of Marshalsea Hydraulics since 1996.
The company hopes to licence the SHEP technology to automotive companies and their suppliers.
But it faces competition from an Australian company with a similar technology. Permo-Drive Technologies claims that its system will cut fuel consumption by up to 40% for both new and used vehicles. The company is aiming its Permo-Drive Regenerative Energy Management System (PDREMS) technology at commercial vehicles, with fleet testing due to start in North America next year, beforei the system goes on sale in 2004.
Permo-Drive says that independent tests have demonstrated a 37% reduction in fuel consumption is simulated urban driving cycles. For vehicles such as refuse trucks, with frequent stop-go operation, the savings could amount to 43%.
The company also claims that for a vehicle is accelerating from 0-100 km/h, its system will cut the time taken by 15%, the fuel used by 20% and the distance covered by 17%. Other benefits are said to include extended engine lives, lower emission levels, fewer gear changes, and reduced wear in brakes, clutches and gearboxes.
The US Army, which operates a fleet of 246,000 vehicles, has signed an agreement with Permo-Drive to develop and test PDREMS. It has recently flown a 15.7-tonne material-handling vehicle to Australia to be fitted with a prototype of the hydraulic system.

Hear is an article from Mark Allen. It tackles the importance of having the rear and front brakes to work together for efficiency

Q. I purchased a new Olds Intrigue in September 1998. The left rear brake rotor had a visible rust scale ring around the exterior about one-quarter-inch wide, roughly in the center of the swept area. I figured it would be worn away with brake usage. After 98,000 miles on the vehicle, it hasn’t gone away. The rear rotors are not even shiny and the original rear brake pads show very little wear. My wife and I are not very hard on brakes; we replaced the front pads for the first time at 86,000 miles.

Is there a proportioning valve between the front and rear systems that should be replaced?

A. Obviously, the rear brakes on your Olds aren’t doing their share of the work or the rear discs would be as shiny and rust-free as the fronts. The proportioning between the front and rear brakes is achieved by the varying diameters of the pistons in the respective calipers, and (in some vehicles) by a separate proportioning valve. Other vehicles also use a check valve that maintains a minimum pressure in the rear brake lines to reduce pedal travel.
If there isn’t a pound or two of residual pressure in the lines, the rear pads will work their way back into the brake calipers a few thousandths of an inch because of normal brake disc run-out. If so, most of your initial brake pedal travel just gets the pads back to where they belong. The check valves in your car are inside the master cylinder. You car has enough mileage on it to justify replacing the entire master cylinder.

James May, an Englishman motorist is stark-raving mad against cheap, flimsy, poorly-made brake rotors. What’s worse, it that its from Porsche.

It’s pretty clear that James May spends most of his time shaking his head in dismay at the deterioration of, well, just about everything good in the world. This steady decline is to be expected, sadly. But Boxster brake rotors that rust to the point of uselessness when the car sits for a couple weeks? And those cold-eyed Huns at the Porsche dealership barking out a harsh “NEIN!” when he tries to get the bad rotors replaced under warranty? Best quote: “Like all boring people with fixed views on how to treat a car properly, I never put the Porsche in its garage while it is still wet.” – Murilee Martin

Well, with EBC Brakes, you are guaranteed to get the best brake rotors in the world. These rotors are the most durable and efficient that withstand the atrocious elements, particularly rust. So remember to get only EBC for your braking needs.

An advanced braking system developed in the Midlands could soon be fitted to cars coming off production lines around the world.

Delphi’s Disc-Brake Innovation Centre at Leamington is a world centre of excellence in disc research and has brought the first breakthrough in base braking technology since the first volume production of disc brakes more than 50 years ago.

The Advanced Disc System has been developed at the heart of the UK’s automotive research and development community and by 2006 the technology could be taken up by the region’s and world’s-car manufacturers.

Leamington is leading the global development of twin-disc technologies and is one of Delphi’s network of 32 technical centres worldwide, which provide support for customers in any automotive manufacturing region.

The Leamington Disc-Brake Innovation Centre works in three areas - the development of ADS, the support of customer ADS evaluation and development programmes, and the support of UK customers using other Delphi chassis control technologies.

In the last three years, it has registered more than 30 patents for advanced braking and associated manufacturing and materials technologies.

ADS engineering director Chris Baylis said: “Our objectives are to simplify every aspect of implementation. This requires us to consider every step, from system integration through to manufacture, vehicle assembly and even servicing.”

To achieve this, the Leamington centre has developed or installed many additional resources to support vehicle manufacturers which include a sophisticated facility taking m the latest systems for both design and analysis.

Advanced analytical laboratories and computer-aided manufacturing of prototype ADS components for any vehicle provide a fast response to test requirements.

The Leamington centre will have its own low-volume assembly line to provide components for prototype vehicles.

“It is often said that the best engineering solutions are the simple solutions, and that is very much the approach we have taken,” said Mr Baylis. “A rigorous approach, combined with the ability to predict and verify in software models, has allowed us to deliver a proven solution that comfortably meets customer cost, risk and reliability targets”.

“It is a tremendous compliment to the team here at Leamington.”

The new technology will help to solve many of the challenges faced by braking engineers. Mr Baylis said the traditional solution to cope with increasing vehicle weight and performance was to increase conventional systems, including larger brakes - often resulting in larger wheels-but this was costly. “ADS helps solve these problems and is the first significant change for 50 years.”

With four pad surfaces, ADS requires approximately half the apply pressure of a conventional disc brake and has superior thermal management.

The new brake helps to reduce noise- related warranty claims, which surveys show are a major consumer issue in the US and the cause of significant warranty costs.

Other benefits include reduced brake fade and, due to the reduced apply pressure, shorter stopping distances in the unlikely event of a loss of vacuum assistance.

The system has completed more than 1.5 million test kilometres in 20 to help ensure that it will continue to perform to specification in any terrain or usage pattern, throughout a vehicle’s life.

Delphi says that ADS could be in production by 2006. Its technology will enable new automatic functions including electric park brake and hill-hold, improved pedal feel, help to simplify assembly and allow an enhanced interior layout and recycling benefits.

“Hybrid brakes help vehicle manufacturers continue to improve their products as well as enhance the vehicle for the driver,” said John Hutson, European director of engineering for Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems. “It is a very exciting solution that offers significant customer value for mid-compact and larger vehicles and is the next step towards full brake-by-wire vehicles.”

Founded in 1978, the EBC Brakes Group is still a private company owned exclusively by the current managing director Andy Freeman.

From its early days of being one of the pioneers of the disc brake pad aftermarket for motorcycles since they were first introduced on motorcycles in 1976, EBC Brakes has grown to be a worldwide group with strengths in every area of the brake industry. Pioneers in the true sense of the word, describes the EBC Group.

Having successfully dominated the motorcycle industry with majority market shares in most western markets, EBC Brakes has developed a huge range of brakes for mountain bikes, automobiles, race and rally cars, vans, trucks, buses, commercial vehicles and even mainline locomotives.

Being also the last truly independent British friction materials manufacturer, EBC Brakes has manufacturing facilities in Northampton & Bristol, England as well as Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. EBC products are distributed throughout the world with distributors in many countries.

The Inside Story on EBC Brakes

HISTORY SO FAR … For over twenty years now, EBC has been the dominant force in motorcycle brakes all over the world with a list of national and world championship winners using our products, looking like the who’s who of racing. EBC Brakes have been used by the last three successive World Super Sport Champions in motorcycle Road racing alone.

OFF ROAD EBC continues to dominate with Arena Cross US Champion Buddy Antunez clinching four US titles using EBC Brakes and World Champion Joel Smets signing up in 2001 for a fifth successive year with the EBC product, due to its quality and performance.
On the Mountain Bike Scene, thanks to the help of multiple Gold medalist, downhill pro Steve Peat, EBC is the dominating aftermarket supplier, manufacturing Disc Brake Pads for premier mountain bike system builders such as Cannondale, Hope Technology, Magura, Hayes, Avid, Shimano, to mention a few. EBC also manufacture a full range of Kart Pads.

EBC launched its AUTOMOTIVE range of Disc Brake Pads in the late 80’s and their rise to success in the European market has been nothing less than meteoric. The future certainly looks bright for EBC Brakes based on this well founded history of championship winning quality and know-how in disc pad manufacture.

This instructional guide is from Howstuffworks. This article adds ease in changing your EBC Brake Pads.

Brake Maintenance

The most common type of service required for brakes is changing the pads. Disc brake pads usually have a piece of metal on them called a wear indicator.

When enough of the friction material is worn away, the wear indicator will contact the disc and make a squealing sound. This means it is time for new brake pads.
There is also an inspection opening in the caliper so you can see how much friction material is left on your brake pads.

Sometimes, deep scores get worn into brake rotors. This can happen if a worn-out brake pad is left on the car for too long. Brake rotors can also warp; that is, lose their flatness. If this happens, the brakes may shudder or vibrate when you stop. Both of these problems can sometimes be fixed by refinishing (also called turning or machining) the rotors. Some material is removed from both sides of the rotors to restore the flat, smooth surface.
Refinishing is not required every time your brake shoes are replaced. You need it only if they are warped or badly scored. In fact, refinishing the rotors more often than is necessary will reduce their life. Because the process removes material, brake rotors get thinner every time they are refinished. All brake rotors have a specification for the minimum allowable thickness before they need to be replaced. This spec can be found in the shop manual for each vehicle.

Remember, replacing worn out pads with EBC Brake Pads drastically improves braking performance.

Pneumatic brake indicates status to simplify maintenance and eliminate surprises.

Oklahoma City, OK - MAGPOWR, a leader in the design and engineering of tension control products for the web handling industry, announced the release of the Smart Brake, a pneumatic brake that has been re-designed to improve efficiency and eliminate surprises on the unwind.

Smart Brake indicates common problems before it’s too late, helping operators avoid disasters. Pad wear indicators call attention to brake pads only when they need to be changed, eliminating the common practice of changing all brake pads at regular intervals, regardless of wear. Heat detection features identify signs of overheating, and can automatically activate fans to dissipate heat, without operator intervention.

Redesigned brake components enhance operator safety and simplify maintenance. The guard design helps to circulate and dissipate heat, while allowing easy access to brake pads, where change-outs can be made without tools.

“Our customers are always looking for a way to improve efficiency, so we took a hard look at one of the lowest technology areas of the machine.” said Darrell Whiteside, Product Manager for MAGPOWR. “It was a fun exercise that forced us to think differently, and in doing so we’ve reduced interaction with the brake to only times when action is required.”

MAGPOWR introduced Magnetic Particle clutches and brakes to the web converting industry in 1967. Today, along with Fife (guiding and inspection) and Tidland (slitting and winding), they are part of the Maxcess International family of companies that represent technology leadership and innovation to converters, packaging facilities, paper mills, and all applications in between.

The release of the S12 Series Electrohydraulic Brake Valve (EBV) has been announced by innovative braking company MICO. The S12 series EBV offers more than triple flow capacity of a traditional Electrohydraulic Brake Valve. In the large application of spring applied, hydraulic release brake, it has been able to replace two standard electrohydraulic brake valves operating in parallel of an EBV and relay valve. This drastically lowers cost and significantly improves system reliability.

The main difference of the S12 series over the conventional EBV is that it uses the MICO patented auto-relieving feature to get more travel and flow capacity out of the proportional solenoid valve. The brake valve reliably handles high flows with the complexity and orifices associated with pilot-operated fluid power valves. A high force solenoid is combined with a precision fit spool and housing instead of using of a pilot valve with its associated high leakage and contamination sensitivity. The solenoid results in maximum contaminant resistance and minimal leakage.

The successful cross-hole metering set-up of the standard MICO electrohydraulic brake valve also is used in the S12 Series EBV. The S12 incorporates a longer spool to incorporate a second flow path - which runs parallel to the standard path - giving the new series a higher flow capacity from brake to tank. These features make the valve ideal for spring-applied, hydraulic release brake applications requiring high flows such as those found on vehicles with large displacement brakes.

All MICO EBVs are developed specifically for full power brake systems. These applications require rapid and controllable filling, or emptying, of single-acting actuators, and modulating pressure without consuming significant pilot flow from the accumulators used to store energy during “power-off” braking.

Handling systems than previous EBV designs, the S12 series rounds out a complete line of MICO EBVs. The EBV-M is prevalent in hydraulic-applied, spring-release brake applications; the EBV-S works with spring-applied, hydraulically released brakes; and the EBV-A is used to add ABS to full-power brake systems.

Offering cross-hole metering setup, the S12 Series brake valve uses auto-relieving feature to optimize travel and flow capacity of proportional solenoid valve.

MICO, Incorporated works closely with customers to develop and test products for a huge variety of brake applications. Custom EBV designs and prototypes can typically be created within a few weeks. To ensure success, entire brake systems can be configured and tested within the MICO engineering lab prior to implementation on a prototype machine.

Today MICO, Inc. employs hundreds of people and distributes hydraulic and electrohydraulic components and brake systems globally. Corporate headquarters are located at 1911 Lee Boulevard in North Mankato, Minnesota with additional manufacturing facilities in Ontario, California, and Worcestershire, England. The MICO Power Cylinder line has expanded into a broad array of hydraulic and electrohydraulic products that can be combined to form brake systems. Over the years product design and market emphasis has shifted toward heavy-duty, off-road vehicles and equipment used in a wide variety of different markets.