Difference: brake pads and brake discs?

These terms are often used in the workshop, but laypeople often do not know what costs are associated with changing these parts and what it is actually about. It is also important to know that brake pads and brake discs are not the same!

Basically one disc brake constructed as follows: the wheel is attached together with a round disc, which can be seen on vehicles with aluminum rims, for example. This is about the brake disc. in the so-called caliper are the brake pads. the brake pads are pads made of ceramic, rubber and synthetic resin that are attached to the brake pads. During braking, they press against the brake disc from the front and rear like pliers. (Always 2 pads and pads per brake)

These parts, which can be found in almost every car (sometimes there are still drum brakes), sometimes wear out at different rates, so that the brake discs, for example, have to be replaced before the brake pads. Of course, the intervals for changing brake discs and pads also depend heavily on your own driving style to: Sporty drivers naturally have to have the parts changed much more frequently. There are a few crucial tips that prevent brake wear: You should always drive with foresight. That means: Don’t drive towards red traffic lights and then brake hard, rather let the car coast. Even if you drive into a town, you shouldn’t slow down from 100 km/h from the town sign to exactly 50 km/h: This causes the brakes to age very quickly. It makes more sense to slow down long before you reach the place-name sign and then slow down more gently. In addition, you should definitely use the engine brake often, so never coast downhill and brake, but engage a gear.

Visible behind the aluminum rim: The brake disc

All brake replacement parts are also available online, for example at www.Autoersatzteile.de/ Bremsscheiben. If you order your spare parts online, you can often save a lot of money, especially if you can also assemble them yourself. With brakes this is not particularly difficult, but if in doubt you should definitely take the car to the workshop or at least follow detailed, professional installation instructions (e.g. videos).