Posted by Glen on Wednesday, May 01, 2002 at 1:11PM :
In Reply to: Brake questions.... posted by Jonas on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 at 11:25PM :
Generally air brakes are preferred over juice brakes because they were designed for larger vehicles and air systems are less prone to the kind of failures or maintenance costs that hydraulic brakes can be known for. The most desireable feature for air brakes is the ability to provide controlled stopping if part or the system looses it's air supply and if the system looses all air the spring brakes will set-up and the vehicle will stop. We all know what happens when the hydraulic brake system fails. Brake fade isn't as much a problem with air brakes and usually the brakes are large enough to provide lots of stopping before the lining gets too hot anyway. Repair costs of components on air systems is a lot less than hydraulic brake parts.....no master cyls, wheel cyls, steel brake lines, boosters or proportioning valves to go on the fritz because of internal corrosion. Air brakes are simple and reliable systems and work well for the job they do. Hydraulic brakes should have stayed on passenger cars and not made the transition to medium duty trucks.