Q I have been advised that fitting a certain type
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of proprietary brake lining would reduce the severity of fade on long gradients. I operate a fleet of heavy vehicles and fade is a problem, not so much on short steep gradients for which use of a low gear is an obvious necessity, but on lesser gradients that require relatively gentle use of the brakes for long periods. What is your advice?
AWhile some types of brake lining have
better anti-fade characteristics than others, their use may well involve a loss of peak braking efficiency and a higher wear rate. And in your case it is probable that fade is a function of drum bell-mouthing or distortion rather than loss of stopping power on the part of the linings per unit area of friction surface. You would be ill-advised to use a lining, other than that recommended by the vehicle makers, unless you had had reliable evidence of its worth over an extended period applied to the same model operated on comparable routes carrying the same types of load. Favourable short-term results could be misleading. Use of the linings could, for example, foster the onset of drum crazing.