Rear Brake Rotors

The braking system is an integral part of any vehicle. Anything that moves, needs to be able to stop or even slow down when maneuvering. This is done via a braking system which uses friction to convert the vehicle’s kinetic or moving energy into heat energy and dissipate it. Based on this theory, the faster a vehicle goes, the bigger and better its brakes have to be. The most popular braking system is the brake rotor and caliper method. Motorbikes have both front and rear brake rotors. In cars, it was usually the front wheels that had the brakes on them, but with the increasing popularity of four wheel drive, rear brake rotors were introduced.

Rear brake rotors work in the same way as any other system. The rotor is mounted on the axle along with the caliper system. It turns along with the wheel and when the driver of the vehicle applies the brakes, a hydraulic mechanism pushes the brake pads in the caliper against the rear brake rotor. This contact causes friction and gets the rotor and the wheel to stop turning. Because an immense amount of heat is generated while braking, the rotors have vents on them to dissipate the heat better. Newer rear brake rotors have holes going through them to help dissipate even more heat.

The faster a vehicle goes, the more its constant deceleration will be at times, and in this case, bigger and better rear brake rotors are needed to ensure the vehicle has adequate stopping power. When buying a rear brake rotor, always ask an expert what kind of rotor system is suitable for your vehicle. This is because rear brake rotors can be made using different materials; the most common are the stainless steel and cast iron rotors. But high performance vehicles use rotors that are made from carbon or certain ceramic compounds.

A mechanic at the nearest auto-shop would be able to tell you what the best for you would be. Once you’ve got that down, it’s just a matter of going to the store and ordering the rear brake rotor and its components. After this, it’s important that you get a qualified mechanic to install them for you. This is important because of how vital the braking system is to the vehicle as mentioned before.

Braking causes heat, and that means there is always the chance of the rotor getting warped, as in going out of shape, thereby affected surface area. So it’s important that you always visually inspect all brakes including the rear brake rotors and make sure that there aren’t any cracks or deformations of the rotor. So that is everything about the rear brake rotor, why it’s important to any vehicle and how it works. Happy driving!