This is actually a really good question. Growing up, I’m sure that many of us we taught to tap our brakes while stopping in order to dry them out. Especially after plowing through a giant puddle, or cruising through deep water.
However is this old practice still “hold water” today? Have you actually even heard about repeatedly tapping your brakes to dry them out, and if you haven’t, why not? Well, the answer is actually due to a change in the evolution of the modern day braking system on most new cars.
The tapping of your brakes was actually a wise practice back in the days when most cars had drum brakes, but today’s vehicles are now be equipped with disc on all four wheels. Centrifugal force causes the vertical surface of a brake disc to shed moisture quickly, whereas water would collect on the horizontal surfaces of a brake drum and interfere with braking efficiency.
Check out the video below for a great tutorial on how disc brakes work:
However, if you think you are experiencing problems with your braking system and believeĀ that you need to have pads changed out, or at the very least, have any basic service performed to your brakiing system, don’t hesitate to give Freeman Grapevine a call.
We put a lot of faith in our brakes, so you are better off making sure they are in perfect working order if you believe your vehicle isn’t responding to your braking as it should.