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Category Focus: BRAKES
Recent brake announcements from automotive aftermarket tool makers, parts manufacturers, and distributors.
Recently released products in the brakes space include Tesla brakes from NRS; new part numbers for Raybestos R-Line brakes; new brake pads from Bosch; and expansion of Akebono’s premium brake pad line; new brake pad packaging from ZF-TRW; brake upgrades for GM light trucks from Brembo; and Mercedes rotors from ATE.
Welcome to Auto Service World’s Category Focus, looking at recent announcements from automotive aftermarket tool makers, parts manufacturers, and distributors.
ATE Rotors for Mercedes
Continental offers the new ATE Two-Piece Mercedes-Benz Disc Brake Rotors for direct OE replacement on the AMG C43, E43, CLS, GLC, and other high-performance models. As the only product comparable to the patented original two-piece Mercedes-Benz design, the ATE Two-Piece rotors meet OE specifications in fit, form, and function. They also meet ECE Regulation 90, a strict testing protocol required for replacement brake parts and are officially certified for use as replacement parts. Continental is the first and only aftermarket supplier of the ATE Two-Piece Mercedes-Benz Disc Brake Rotors for high performance models.
Upgrade for General Motors SUVs and Trucks
Brembo, the world leader and acknowledged innovator of brake technology, together with General Motors Performance Engineering designed, tested and engineered a Performance Brake Upgrade System for the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban and the GMC Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Cadillac Escalade for on and off-road performance.
The Brembo Performance Brake Upgrade System is designed for quiet, consistent operation on the street, as well as dependable and robust stopping when working or towing.
GM challenged the Brembo team to design a six-piston caliper that would fit within 20 different wheel profiles, allowing the customer to add this bold 6-Piston Performance Brake Upgrade System in combination with a wide variety of GM production and GM Accessory wheels. In order to achieve this goal, Brembo developed a unique compact fixed aluminum, six-piston caliper.
Using a disc significantly larger than production also presented several technical challenges, particularly for cooling, which required several iterations of disc geometry, for both the ventilation and the center bell design.
“Production brake systems today are more sophisticated than ever and our Performance Brake Upgrade had to meet the same stringent requirements,” Mark Dickens, General Motors Chief Engineer, Performance Variants, Parts and Motorsports Engineering said. “Our engineering partnership with Brembo leveraged the expertise of both teams to deliver a product that is truly integrated, robust and worthy of our full-size pickup and SUV customers.”
Before going into production, the Brembo R&D team directed over 1,300-hours of design and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) time, 850 hours of dyno testing for vibration endurance, torque and pressure endurance, corrosion resistance, strength and fatigue, rotor structural integrity as well as on-road testing of 40,000 miles to validate the performance bench tests.
“The Brembo Brake Upgrade System allows customers the opportunity to upgrade their already owned or newly purchased Chevrolet, GMC truck, SUV or Cadillac Escalade with the ultimate in braking performance,” Dan Sandberg, Brembo North America President and CEO said. “This unique 6-piston red caliper wraps around a large, vented rotor that not only looks great and fills the wheel opening, but also contributes to optimized braking and better control when hauling loads or pulling a trailer. Together with GM, these packages have been validated for quality and performance, as well as for ease of installation by the local dealer or for the do-it-yourself mechanic.”
The package includes all the necessary hardware and instructions for the do-it-yourself installation or it can be installed at the dealer. The front brake system is available for any light-duty, current model and past model back to 2014 Silverado/Sierra and light-duty 2015 to current Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/Yukon XL and the Cadillac Escalade with 20-inch – 22-inch original equipment or GM Accessory wheels EXCEPT the SEU option wheel.
New Friction Box Designs
ZF Aftermarket opts for simple packaging to emphasize the importance of the part, not the box
Newly branded TRW brake pad box returns to the blueprints and highlights key product information
ZF Aftermarket has chosen to take a simplistic approach in their new TRW branded friction box design reminding buyers that the box means nothing if the part itself is not quality.
ZF Aftermarket launched TRW Ultra and TRW Pro friction lines with clean line packaging, going back to the basics and blueprints of the products. Both the TRW Ultra and TRW Pro lines are perfectly tailored to meet the demands of the vehicle application. The new lines not only excitingly entered the market with new formulations, but also a new box design. With a simple, clean design, ZF Aftermarket continues to tie their “It’s About the Part” campaign to its product messaging, reminding customers that an overly complex box does not ensure a great product. Turning the focus from the box to the product is the intent of the new design for the TRW friction lines.
The backside of the box has a blueprint of either a TRW Ultra or TRW Pro brake pad – further highlighting the fundamental importance of design and development. Key features and benefits of the brake pad line are highlighted, such as the slotted and chamfered OE configurations, installation hardware where applicable, a “fits right the first time” promise, and copper-free formulation. The TRW Ultra and TRW Pro lines are both copper-free, putting the product lines ahead of the California copper-free legislation deadline of 2025. Technicians can reach out for more information through the social medias listed on the box.
The TRW Ultra and TRW Pro have their differences, even with a similar box design. The TRW Ultra brake pad line offers nearly 800 SKUs providing over 98% coverage for a wide range of vehicles up to 15 years old. The line also features a CITEC coating, providing vehicles additional stopping performance during the break-in period. The TRW Pro line offers more than 1,000 SKUs providing over 98% coverage for vehicles up to 35 years old. With nearly 40 SKUs in both a ceramic and semi-metallic formulation, users can choose the product to best fit their needs.
ProAct Ultra-Premium line expansion
Akebono Brake Corporation has expanded its ProACT Ultra-Premium Disc Brake Pad line by four part numbers. Premium 301 stainless steel abutment hardware is included in the three kits that require it.
A complete listing of Akebono applications for these parts and the rest of our product offering in our ALL-NEW web-catalog at akebonobrakes.com or directly via; https://www.partcat.com/akebono
“The release includes ProACT brake pads for the Buick Envision, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe & Santa Fe XL, as well as the Kia Sorento & Soul. All four of these parts add significant late-model coverage, to our line at a time, that most will soon be approaching their first brake service.” Stated Edward Gerhardt Marketing and Data Service Manager, Akebono Brake Corporation “All these parts are in-stock and ready for shipment, perfect timing for the 2020 brake season.”
Akebono Brake Corporation, North America’s leading supplier of advanced braking systems and pioneer of ceramic friction technology. A leader in ceramic friction material development and production, with a focus on noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), analysis and control. Akebono sells Ultra-Premium Ceramic Disc Brake Pads, Made in the USA for the Automotive Aftermarket under the brands ProACT, EURO and Akebono Performance.
Bosch Brake Pads
Three new brake pad SKUs were added to the Bosch QuietCast™ Brake Pad product line. The new part numbers cover more than 646,000 late-model Asian and domestic vehicles in operation (VIO) in the U.S. and Canada, including the 2018 Buick Regal TourX, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Camaro, 2016-2017 Nissan X-Trail and more. The new part numbers include synthetic lubricant with all applications and a hardware kit on select applications. Bosch QuietCast Brake Pads are developed for the generalist who works on all makes and models.
Three new brake pad set SKUs have also been added to the Bosch Blue Disc Brake Pad product line to add coverage to more than 646,000 VIO, including the 2016-2018 Buick Envision, 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, 2016-2018 Honda Clarity and more. The brake pads feature multi-layer shims for superior noise dampening and select applications are towel-wrapped for added protection. Bosch Blue Disc Brake Pads are built for the everyday driver with quality, performance and value in mind.
Raybestos R-Line Expands to Full Coverage
Raybestos has further expanded its R-Line brake pad offering with the addition of new part numbers for older vehicle models, according to Kristin Grons, marketing manager for Brake Parts Inc LLC (BPI).
“The Raybestos R-Line now has nearly 1,000 part numbers and covers virtually every type of domestic or import nameplate vehicle that may enter our customers’ bays,” said Grons. “Because our product experts continually review and update our brake part offerings, professional service technicians can rely on Raybestos for the comprehensive coverage of quality brake parts they need to do the job right the first time.”
Raybestos R-Line offers reliable stopping power with broad coverage for cars, vans, SUVs and light trucks. The traditional OE-match ceramic or semi-metallic formulations give the everyday driver the reliability and dependability that they desire. R-Line includes a full selection of components for complete braking system coverage, making it easy for customers to perform a quality brake job.
Tesla brakes
A brake pad specifically engineered for electric vehicles. Tesla Model 3
Your EV doesn’t brake like your old car used to.
See why you need a new kind of brake pad.
Experience the NRS Difference
Tesla Model 3
NRS Brakes has specifically designed pads for Electric/Hybrid vehicle technology
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) vehicles demand higher quality of all parts, especially safety items such as brakes.
- As moisture creeps through the porous nature of the friction material it is compromising the untreated backing plate.
- Usually moisture in the friction material is dissipated as heat is created through normal braking routines.
- Hybrid and electric vehicles do not experience this same creation of heat. As a result, we are seeing a significant increase in brake pad separation (failure) that is beginning to become widely recognized as a result of corrosion.
Our galvanized backing plates ensure no rust or corrosion occurs from lack of use due to regen braking.
Our patented mechanical attachment system, physically adheres the friction material to the backing plate. This ensures the pad material cannot separate from the backing plate for the entire life of the brake pad.
As Environmental concerns continue to grow – traditional pads still utilized parts and materials that ignore this issue.
- On our roads, there is debris from over 2-million brake pads released into the environment each day in North America alone.
- Over 3-million pounds of rust, and paint. All of this material contains toxic amounts of copper, iron, and lead.
- There are enough toxic chemicals and debris from brake pads on North American vehicles to fill 4-million large-sized coffee cups or nearly 70 transport trailer truck loads.
Our brake pads are made from galvanized steel and were designed with the environment in mind.
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