Fabric-lined versus An-metal Brakes.
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The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2,656] Sir,-1 was interested in reading letters Nos. 2654 and 2659 in The Commercial Motor for January 10th, and having experimented on brakes for 22 years your readers may be interested in the -results obtained. In 1906 I was engaged in running some Wolseley motorbus and mail vans in Wales, where there are many hills, and I found copper to be the most effective material to use. It was nothing unusual to get 40,000 miles and over from a set of these liners, the only attention required being an occasional spot of oil. Perhaps some a your readers may remember the Flanders car, made by the Studebaker Corporation of America. We were running one of these vehicles on mountain roads, and until the brakes were lined with copper, riveted on in 2-in, square segments, these brakes were useless if called upon to act on long mountainous stretches. We never experienced any tearing of the metal or scoring of drums, thanks, possibly, to the occasional spot of oil referred to. The copper was not annealed.
A few years later I was running a fleet of heavy brewery Hallford lorries' in the same district. The original shoes Which were supplied were cast-iron anti quickly went to powder. I made the patterns and had shoes of a -much harder grade of cast-iron, and the mileage obtained with these shoes was marvellous.. In my opinion, and from experience gained, nothing will beat the metal liner for brakes, provided the correct metal is obtained. No doubt the Saurer people, 'win:we factory is situated in Switzerland—the right country to test brakes—have found this out also.
I am not stating that the many brands of fabric brake lining on the market are not successful, because know, from experience, that they are, but I maintain that With correct metal liners fewer adjustments are required, longer life is given, and the sudden pull-up in emergency is quite as sweet as with fabric liners.—
Yours faithfully, P. NEWTON. Reigate, Surrey.