Watering brake discs in hot conditions can cause deformation, as many experienced drivers know. Therefore, some people suggest not washing the car after running on the highway. Let the car cool down before washing to avoid deformation of the brake discs after being washed with water. If it suddenly rains while driving on the highway for a period of time, will the brake discs deform? How should the brake discs be protected?

The service life of brake discs is very long, and they do not require any maintenance. If they wear to the limit, they can be replaced. Although it is possible for brake discs to deform when suddenly watered when they are very hot, it is difficult to deform them in practice because their temperature cannot reach the original level. Driving at high speeds, due to the high speed, the braking force during braking is relatively high, so it is considered that the temperature of the brake disc will be higher. But when driving on the highway, if the speed is relatively high, it indicates that the road conditions are smooth, and the frequency of applying the brakes will naturally be very low. You may not need to apply the brakes once even after running for more than ten kilometers, so the temperature of the brake discs is not high, even lower than when driving in the city. There will be no problem with rain or water splashing on the brake discs.

Because the current brake discs are all ventilated and even have perforated discs, the heat dissipation effect is very good. Even if the frequency of braking is slightly higher, the temperature of the brake discs themselves will not be too high, and watering will not deform them. Driving in the city, although the frequency of braking is slightly higher, due to the slow speed, the intensity is not very strong each time, and the brake discs are not very hot. When encountering rain or waterlogged roads ahead while driving, there is no problem driving over. It can also be seen from actual brake disc maintenance that there have been almost no cases of brake disc deformation or cracking caused by watering.

       If the driving section is a long downhill without using the engine brakes and relying solely on applying the brakes to control the speed, then the temperature of the brake discs will indeed be very high. When encountering rain at this time, the brake discs will deform. This is not just a problem of deformation caused by watering, it is possible that the brakes may malfunction due to excessive temperature. Therefore, when going downhill for a long time, we need to consider reducing the burden on the brakes, not the problem of brake disc deformation. As long as the brake burden is reduced, the brake discs will not deform.

   Many cars may experience brake judder during use, which is caused by uneven brake discs, some high and some low. This is a problem of wear and tear, not deformation caused by watering. Some new cars that have traveled thousands of kilometers have experienced this situation. This is repairable, just take the brake disc to the lathe and grind it flat again. If the deformation is caused by watering, the strength of the brake disc will greatly decrease and cannot be repaired. A new disc needs to be replaced. Therefore, as long as we use the car normally and do not intentionally accelerate or brake aggressively, we do not have to worry about the deformation of the brake discs due to watering.

From: WONDEE Autoparts

2024-1-12