How a Car Stops

Above is inside your brakes. Technically, fluid is what stops you when you depress the pedal.

1 – the calliper, which contains the pistons
2 – the brake pad within the calliper
3 – which clench the rotor

How it works: the brake fluid pushes the pistons within the calliper > which in turn pushes the pads onto the rotor like a vise > and slows down the vehicle. The harder you push on the pedal, the harder the pads push on the rotor.

It’s a good idea to check the condition of both the rotors and pads, as well as the colour and level of the fluid.

Above are the old & new rotors.

My neighbour taught me while changing his.

The pitting on both the pads and rotor is what caused the car to stutter down the road during our test drive.

 

 

Worst Part of Buying a New Car – Glovebox Fabric

The fabric that lines a glovebox – and sometimes a centre console compartment – is easily the worst part of a new car.

Because see how it sheds?

It sticks to everything, is difficult to remove, and one time a hair got under my contact lens and I practically died from the pain.

I drive a new car every week so have been tracking this for years. It’s not localized to one automanufacturer, it’s across almost all of them, luxury or not.

Adding to my “potential column topics” spreadsheet, think I’ll investigate why it seems all badges are being held hostage to use the same sub-par fabric supplier.