By Jenni Wirtz | 17 October, 2018
Matching OE Specification Ensures The Ultimate Stopping Power
With many commercial vehicles (CV) weighing in excess of 40 tons, the primary safety concern for their drivers and owners, as well as other road users, is their ability to stop as quickly, controllably and in as short a distance, as possible. Clearly, this is only possible by using quality braking components that are manufactured to the correct specifications by reputable suppliers.
In order to ensure its Borg & Beck CV brake pads deliver this level of performance, First Line Ltd uses its own in-house product team to stipulate that the friction material used for its Borg & Beck brake pads meets or exceeds original equipment (OE) specifications. The semi-metallic or low-metallic organic formulations (dependent on application) it has developed, provide high performance braking capability whilst minimising wear. Where enhanced performance is required, its 8 HD pads benefit from a heavy-duty formulation for additional peace of mind.
In the same way, Borg & Beck brake pads always use the same number of retention pots as the OE parts, which is in stark contrast to some aftermarket products, which simply use an arbitrary number (usually 4). Combined, where necessary, with the meshed backplate, this ensures that delamination does not occur, which could lead to reduced brake performance or even total failure.
In addition, all Borg & Beck brake pads feature slurry stripes to aid the bedding in process. This is a thin layer of mild abrasive, which cleans the friction surfaces and ensures maximum contact area between pad and disc. This coupled with the glossy blue paint finish ensures the Borg & Beck CV brake pads also stand out from the crowd.
A powerful demonstration of just how effective Borg & Beck brake pads and discs are can be seen in the British Truck Racing Championship where one of the most potent vehicles on the division two grid, an 11-litre, ex-Mercedes works team-built truck, which delivers Porsche 911 beating performance figures, races with off-the-shelf Borg & Beck brake pads and discs.
The brake disc range now consists of more than 100 ECE R90 homologated discs. This classification is only obtained by the products undergoing independent testing of both hot and cold braking performance characteristics compared to the OE product. Again, Borg & Beck brake discs are manufactured to OE specification using GG20 grey cast iron, which operates in temperatures up to 700OC and part of the R90 process also includes a full factory audit and approval.
As would be expected, Borg & Beck also offer a comprehensive range of brake drums, which are naturally manufactured to OE specification and dimensions, but crucially, also in weight. Cheaper options in the market often have corners cut in their manufacturing process, which means they are lighter and not as strong. It is therefore important that CV drums are a comparable weight to that of the OE version.
The Borg & Beck CV braking programme now reaches to more than 320 references across four product types and consists of 134 brake discs and 128 drums, as well as 35 brake pads and 25 wear sensors. Naturally, it is also backed up with the company’s 24-month unlimited mileage warranty.