Brake Rotor Suffers Catastrophic Failure at Speed
What Happens When a Disc Brake Rotor Is Pushed Far Beyond Its Limits?
What’s the one thing you take for granted when it comes to vehicular safety? The ability for your seatbelt to keep you from flying out the windshield in a crash? Your headlights lighting the way? What about your brakes, how many times have you thought—what if?
Modern braking systems are extremely reliable. But, like most (if not all) of your car’s parts and components, they require maintenance. Still, catastrophic and sudden brake failures are basically unheard of nowadays. Engineers have designed four-wheel disc brake systems to withstand huge heat and pressure, therefore being reliable under most conditions. That being said, they aren’t 100% fail-proof.
This awesome video, by the crazy guys from Beyond the Press, shows us what happens when a disc brake rotor is pushed far beyond its limits. To be precise, what happens when you remove the tire, step on the brakes, and smash the throttle. The result is a rather explosive and flammable one.
At around the 4:30 mark, you can see the brake rotor really start to light up, and somewhat deform. It only takes another 29 seconds for it to fully burst into pieces due to the enormous heat and pressure. That’s exactly why you should always maintain your brakes, and never abuse them. The results of not doing so aren’t pretty.
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Via [Beyond the Press]