 By now, we've talked about how to make more power and put that power to the ground to go faster. Now, we need to talk about putting that stop to that go. So today, we're talking brakes. I'm Emmy here again, and welcome to another episode of Cobb U. Now, it's really a no-brainer, but as we increase acceleration and top speed, we really need to consider upgrading our braking system to accommodate for that extra performance. Now, how we go about upgrading our braking system is strictly dependent on how you use your car. Before we get into those uses, let's go over the components that make up the braking system. For today's demonstration, we'll be using a generic brake system, so some of the components may or may not apply to your system. The components we're going to talk about are your brake master cylinder, your brake lines, brake fluid, your rotors, calipers, and brake pads. The brake master cylinder contains brake fluid, and it's connected to the brakes through these lines. Now, when you step on the brake pedal, the fluid inside flows down to the brakes to apply the pressure needed to slow and stop the car. Now, although brake fluid is pretty simple to understand, there are many different types. The brake lines are connected to the calipers, which hold the brake pads. Now, the calipers are connected over the rotors, which rotate the wheel hub. The brake pads are what actually come in contact with the rotors to create the friction to slow or stop. That's come in a variety of materials that can affect braking power, noise, and debris. Now that we understand the components, let's see how they all work together. When the brake pedal is applied, it pushes a piston in the master cylinder to create pressure in the brake fluid throughout the brake line. The brake line is connected to the caliper, which has pistons of its own. The pressurized fluid in the caliper pushes the pistons out, in turn pressing the pads against the rotor. This friction between these parts is what helps reduce your speed. When you lift off the brake pedal, pressure behind the piston is reduced. This minimizes the friction of the pad against the rotor until you press the brake again. So that's braking in a nutshell. Now that you have a better understanding of how your car's braking system works, let's look at some of the individual components and go over when you would want to upgrade them. The primary areas we're going to look at are brake lines, fluid, pads, and rotors. Creating your brake lines is a great opportunity to do some preventative maintenance and increase your brake system's performance. Now, your stock brake lines are going to be rubber, which are perfectly fine for normal driving conditions. However, if you're going to be taking your car to the track, pushing it to the limit, building up heat, that can cause them to expand and swell, causing a decrease in brake feel and possible failure. This is where performance stainless steel brake lines come into play. In these conditions, these upgraded brake lines can handle the added pressures and temperatures that the brake system's going to face. Now keep in mind when you upgrade your brake lines, during the install you're going to introduce air into the system and you're going to need to perform a bleed of the brake system. For more information on bleeding your brake lines, visit the extra credit below. With heavy use, the fluid can boil inside the caliper. Just like with any other boiling fluid, gas is a byproduct. Now the only thing that we want in our brake lines is fluid, no air, no gas. So if you're in there changing the lines, bleeding the system, this is a good time to upgrade your fluid, because some fluids can handle heat better than others. Now the OEM fluid is perfectly fine for normal driving conditions. However, if you're going to be hitting your brakes often and hard, you might want to consider upgrading. Now let's talk pads and rotors. Now for the typical daily driver or performance car that already comes with awesome brakes from the factory, you're not going to need a bespoke eight-piston caliber setup that's going to put a race team to shame. It's going to be a waste of time and money, and truthfully that Grand Caravan isn't going to see the track anytime soon, and you already have badass brakes on the McLaren. But it isn't always that clear cut. For example, let's take a 2015 Subaru WRX and an STI. They're similar cars that could both end up on the track. On one hand, minor upgrades like brake lines and pads as all the STI needs for a hard day at the track. On the other hand, the WRX, if you're going to be driving it seriously, it's going to need something more like a fully upgraded big brake kit, because upgraded lines and pads just aren't going to cut it. There's a lot of pads out there from stock style pads with a long life, but fall short on performance, to all-out track spec pads. It's really important to educate yourself on the pros and cons of brake pads because you want to find the right ones that fit your needs. When it comes to rotors, there are many options and features to consider. The two types you'll see will be vented, where the middle of the rotor has vents to aid with cooling, and solid rotors with no venting. Most modern cars feature four-wheel disc brakes with vented rotors in the front and solid rotors in the rear, since the rear doesn't contribute as much to overall braking. As far as rotor surfaces go, it used to be that drilled and slotted were the B's knees. They provided exceptional venting of gases that build up from all the friction going on, and it didn't hurt that they also looked pretty cool. Over time, though, it was discovered that those holes drilled into the rotors created stress points that made the rotors susceptible to premature failure. Thanks to advances made in the friction material used in today's brake pads, slotted rotors without drilling are the go-to choice, because you get the same performance without the risk. Many people will find that these upgrades together will greatly increase their car's braking capability. The biggest thing to take away from this episode is that it's important to upgrade your brakes based on your car's goals. If you're going to bump up the power, you need to make sure that the braking system is up to the task. You don't want to rely on a wall to stop you from triple-digit speeds. One more thing to consider, tires. Yes, tires. At the end of the day, that's the only thing making contact with the street. Sometimes people think that their brakes aren't doing so good when, in reality, their tires just suck. So before you go spending all that money on a big brake kit, be sure to check your tires, because sucky tires equals sucky braking. Lastly, when doing this type of part install, you will generally use these kinds of tools, ratchets and sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, pad spreader or C-clamps, and brake cleaner. And now it's time for the pro tip of the day. Bedding in the brakes. No, you're not taking your brakes to dinner or putting them in bed and reading them a bedtime story. Bedding in is the process of depositing an even amount of brake pad material across the rubbing surface of the rotor disk. Now I emphasize even because uneven pad deposit on the rotor face is a big contributor to brake shutter or vibration. The process for pad bedding will usually depend on the type of pad you choose, but the process will usually consist of a series of stops under hard braking, but not too hard that you lock them up, followed by a cool down period. Most pad companies will actually provide you with the proper instructions on how to do this since it may vary from pad to pad. Once you've performed the necessary amount of stops, you're set and your brakes are ready to go. That's gonna do it for this episode. Thanks for joining us and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can check out future episodes. I'm Emmy, your host for CobbU. Remember, check out Cobbtuning.com for all your parts and tuning needs. Do you like the storage solutions featured in our studio? Then visit sonictoolsusa.com to get more detailed product information.