₦airaland Forum

TheGrandMaster:
Hello, do you have brake pads available for the W204 Mercedes Benz?

For now, Du-Craft Brake Pads are only available for Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai and Range Rover models.

erico2k2:
If I was you I would concentrate on Brake Grease as the falure of most brake system comes from jamming of brakes due to lack of lubrication, as it stands there are little or non in that area of market.The brake pads market is saturated and lack of lub for the brake system would kill your brake pads anyway.

Thanks for your advice. But on the contrary, the reality of the market as it is today is that both brake pads, brake lube and even brake fluid contamination contribute to the brake system poor performance. In Nigeria today, most brake pads in the market have metallic friction surfaces which excessively wear brake disc surfaces, causing majority of vehicle owners to spend a huge sums on premature disc replacement or resurfacing. Some generally resign to fate and continue to live with braking vibrations, thus endangering themselves and other road users.

The first step therefore is for vehicle owners to switch to less abrasive, better performing ceramic friction options, then begin to adopt the use of proper brake lubricants and then also maintain proper scheduled servicing of their brake systems which include flushing their brake fluids every 50,000kilometers or two years(whichever comes first).

The braking system is at the heart of driving safety. Providing high performing, top quality, low copper ceramic Brake pad options is an important starting point. The lube solution is on its way just as we shall unveil other brake system solutions as time goes on.

Our brake lubes should be available from sometime in early 2017. For now, we are improving the braking experience of an increasing number of Nigerians with our HIGH PERFORMANCE CERAMIC FRICTION(BRAKE PAD) OPTIONS.

They are currently available for TOYOTA, HONDA, KIA, HYUNDAI AND RANGE ROVER CARS and we're still expanding to cover other popular vehicle models. Visit www.du-craftbrakes.com to learn more.

Would you have parts to rebuild the caliper of most brands? more importantly do you guys sell Brake grease?
I'm sorry Erico2k2, we do not have brake caliper rebuild kits at the moment as we still have our hands full expanding our high performance ceramic brake pad stock to cater to the needs of more brand of vehicles in the Nigerian market. On the brake grease issue, we are working on making our silicone based brake lubricant available in the market soon. Silicone based lubricants are the best for brake component lubrication, especially the caliper guide pins due to the presence of petroleum based materials such as the dust boots. Any form of petroleum based lubricants on the caliper guide pins will cause more problems as they will damage the dust boots.

@Willie5, you need not go too far. Especially if your car is a Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai or Range Rover. You can get high quality of ceramic brake pads of US standard @ Du-Craft Brakes, an aftermarket supplier here in Nigeria. Visit www.du-craftbrakes.com or call the hotlines(09085690931,08175748544) to order. Your product will be delivered to your doorstep.

The brake system is undoubtedly the most critical system on an automobile. The efficient operation and optimal performance of your braking system is critical to your driving safety and comfort. It is therefore extremely important for your brake system to be in serviceable condition at all times.

Having interacted with thousands of vehicle owners by virtue of my job as an aftermarket supplier of top quality brake system components, I felt a hunch to create this thread to raise a conversation on proper preventive maintenance of brake systems.

It is my hope that experienced more automotive technicians, service advisors, quality component providers and engineers will join me here to share vital information on this thread that could enable members to better carry out proper preventive maintenance of their brake systems in order to get them performing optimally and keep the vehicle owners safe on the road.

TODAY'S TOPIC: TOP 10 IMPORTANT BRAKE PAD INSTALLATION TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR BRAKE PAD PERFORMANCE AND SERVICE LIFE!

Optimal braking performance is required to bring your moving vehicle to a safe stop. And one critical part of the braking system that’s relied upon to deliver that performance on a vehicle is a set of high quality brake pads with good friction properties to also effectively control Noise, Vibration and Harshness during braking.

After purchasing a set of high performance brake pads, it’s important for your product to be properly installed.

The 10 proper brake pad installation tips i'll share below will help you or your mechanic to achieve proper installation that will potentially maximize your brake pad performance as well as prolong and maximize their service life.

Please take time to read and observe these tips during your brake pad installation:

1. Before installing your new brake pads, please look out for any form of uneven wear on your old pads. Uneven wear patterns indicate areas of problems in your caliper(check your caliper slide pins or pistons).

2. Lubricate the two slide(guide) pins on each caliper(it's important to always use silicone based brake lubricant on the slide pins. Any petroleum based lubricant will damage the dust boots and expose your guide pins to rust, causing them to become stuck; and this will impact on your braking efficiency as well as compromise your pad's service life).

3. Lubricate you caliper slide clips. These clips are at the top and bottom of the brake pad housing on the calipers. They form a track for the brake pad’s back and forth movement, hence any rust on them causes a movement problem for the pads.

4. Inspect your discs for grooves, scars or warps. Ensuring that your disc surface is smooth on both sides is key to smooth, noiseless braking and brake pad longevity.

5. If your discs are grooved, warped or scarred, ensure you measure the disc thickness with a micrometer before resurfacing. Discs have minimum surface thickness that must be maintained for safe and smooth braking. If you aren’t sure, it’s safe to replace your discs. But if you can determine that the thickness is still well within manufacturers tolerance thickness, you can very well resurface the disc install a less abrasive brake pads(i recommend our low copper, high performance ceramic brake pads available for nationwide delivery at www.du-craftbrakescom/buyhere)

6. Before pressing in your caliper pistons, ensure the outer walls of the pistons are cleaned of brake dust and road debris.

7. Test again to ensure that your brake calipers are sliding horizontally along the caliper slide pins after lubricating the slide pins.

8. Ensure that the brake line bleeder valves on the calipers are not rusty and blocked.

9. Test your brake fluids with a good brake fluid tester strip or electronic tool to determine that the water, copper and corrosion levels of your fluid are within acceptable limits. If your brake fluid has been in there for two years, please DRAIN IT COMPLETELY AND REPLACE with a good Dot3, Dot4LV or Dot5.1 specification fluid(cars without abs should use only Dot5 specification)

10. Lastly, bleed your brake lines to rid them of any form of air or bubbles. Use a proper brake bleeder tool to achieve maximum result.

NB: Remember that servicing your brake system each time you service your car keeps your brake system functioning optimally, prolongs your brake pad and disc service life and ultimately keeps you safe on the road.

It’s great to move your vehicle; but far greater and vital to stop it safely, with lower disc abrasion!
Visit www.du-craftbrakes.com to learn more!

BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENTS: POOR MAINTENANCE AND CARE CULTURE IN NIGERIA. By Jide Akinsanya(CEO, Du Craft Ltd)

Available data shows that apart from over-speeding and bad roads, brake failures are the leading cause of accidents on Nigerian roads.

On my previous post, i stressed that the Brake System is the most critical system on your vehicle.

Brake Systems don't just fail overnight. They degrade over time due to poor maintenance culture, before they finally fail.

Sadly, In Nigeria, we pay little or no attention to our brake system maintenance and care.

Some vehicle owners rarely carry out routine maintenance on their brake systems, apart from brake pad replacement.

Just as you service your vehicle engines, replacing oil filters and engine oil, air filters and spark plugs, the brake system of your vehicle also requires regular care for its efficient and effective performance to be sustained.

The brake system is composed of critical components and over forty critical parts that require periodic maintenance and care. The following critical components need periodic maintenance for proper functioning of your brake system:

1) The Disc Brake Rotor
2) The Brake Caliper Assembly
3) The Wheel Hub Assembly and
4) The Master Cylinder Assembly

To function optimally, the DISC BRAKE ROTORS require regular inspection, resurfacing when necessary or complete replacement in some instances.

Brake systems work with friction, hence your brake disc experiences material loss on the surface over a period of braking. The volume of loss largely depends on the quality of brake pads that your have one them.

While some brake pads have high wearing effects on your brake disc, some other brake pads(like Du-Craft Premium Ceramic Brake Pads) have low wearing effect on your disc.

Essentially, ceramic brake pads of good quality and low copper content have very low wearing effect on you brake disc, thus prolonging disc life. But ultimately a disc rotor surface will eventually experience material loss and thus will either need to be surfaced or changed completely.

The BRAKE CALIPER ASSEMBLY requires careful inspection, lubrication at critical lube points and brake pad replacement(with high quality OE or aftermarket brake pads) when necessary.

A brake caliper assembly that is not regularly inspected and lubricated could greatly reduce the efficiency of your brake system. Brake calipers are exposed to water, mud and dirt, hence they have critical lube points to avoid rustiness, thus allowing critical free movement of brake pads for overall braking efficiency.

The WHEEL HUB ASSEMBLY should be replaced with a brand new, good quality wheel hubs whenever the inner bearings are bad or have exhausted their service life.

The MASTER CYLINDER ASSEMBLY requires periodic inspection of quantity and quality of the hydraulic content(brake fluid) as the fluid is prone to degradation and reduction over time. Without the appropriate quantity or quality of hydraulic fluid in the master cylinder, overall performance of the brake system is compromised.

Lack of periodic maintenance on the critical components briefly discussed above degrades your braking system, and ultimately causes it to malfunction over time. Malfunctioning brake systems could cause irreparable bodily damage or even death in the event of an accident.

It is therefore critical, important and very essential that you regularly have components of your brake system checked out and maintained by a competent and experienced technician in order for them to function optimally.

It is equally critical, important and essential that you apply top grade replacement parts on your brake system components. The quality of your recurrently consumable replacement parts such as brake pads and brake fluid is extremely important to the overall performance and efficiency of your brake system.

For premium-grade ceramic brake pads manufactured to international quality and environmental standards(also certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria), offering smooth, stable, safe and quiet braking, please visit http://du-craftbrakes.com/page/product_list/shop-here/.

Always look for competence and experienced technicians to handle your brake system maintenance and care works.

And remember! Trying to save cost by looking for cheap, poor quality replacement parts or technician could cost you much more than you tried to save. ALWAYS INSIST ON PREMIUM-GRADE BRAKE SYSTEM PARTS, COMPONENTS AND TECHNICIAN.

Enjoy safe driving and enjoy your weekend!

BRAKE SYSTEM SIMPLIFIED By Jide AKINSANYA(CEO, Du-Craft Ltd, owners of Du-Craft Brakes www.du-craftbrakes.com)

What is a Brake System?
A brake system is an assemblage of mechanical, electrical and hydraulically controlled components that use friction and heat to stop a moving vehicle.The brake system is the most critical system on a vehicle.

How Does Brake Systems Work?
When pressure is applied on a brake pedal, the pressure is transferred through the piston in the master cylinder assembly by hydraulic fluids through channels called the brake lines and hoses to pistons on the wheel caliper assemblies.

The pistons in the wheel caliper assembly upon receiving the hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder, transfers that pressure to the inner brake pad in the caliper assembly, forcing the inner brake pad to compress on a spinning brake disc.

The compression of the inner brake pad causes the friction material surface of the inner brake pad to make contact with the supposed smooth surface of the brake disc.

The caliper assembly further receives pressure from the contact between the inner brake pad and the brake disc, forcing the caliper assembly to slide horizontally along a slide pin, causing the outer brake pad to also compress on the brake disc to make a double pad friction on the surface of the brake disc.

The frictional force of both inner and outer brake pads on a spinning brake disc, forces the spin to slow down to a stop depending on the pressure level applied on the brake pedal.

This is your brake system simplified.

Watch out for my next post on Components of The Automotive Brake System and Brake System Maintenance and Culture in Nigeria

BRAKE SYSTEM SIMPLIFIED By Jide AKINSANYA(CEO, Du-Craft Ltd, owners of Du-Craft Brakes www.du-craftbrakes.com)

What is a Brake System?
A brake system is an assemblage of mechanical, electrical and hydraulically controlled components that use friction and heat to stop a moving vehicle.The brake system is the most critical system on a vehicle.

How Does Brake Systems Work?
When pressure is applied on a brake pedal, the pressure is transferred through the piston in the master cylinder assembly by hydraulic fluids through channels called the brake lines and hoses to pistons on the wheel caliper assemblies.

The pistons in the wheel caliper assembly upon receiving the hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder, transfers that pressure to the inner brake pad in the caliper assembly, forcing the inner brake pad to compress on a spinning brake disc.

The compression of the inner brake pad causes the friction material surface of the inner brake pad to make contact with the supposed smooth surface of the brake disc.

The caliper assembly further receives pressure from the contact between the inner brake pad and the brake disc, forcing the caliper assembly to slide horizontally along a slide pin, causing the outer brake pad to also compress on the brake disc to make a double pad friction on the surface of the brake disc.

The frictional force of both inner and outer brake pads on a spinning brake disc, forces the spin to slow down to a stop depending on the pressure level applied on the brake pedal.

This is your brake system simplified.

Watch out for my next post on Components of The Automotive Brake System and Brake System Maintenance and Culture in Nigeria.

This is one of the reasons many beautiful young ladies are out there these days without husbands. You look at them some times and see they are so beautiful and you wonder why they just wont get a guy to ask them for marriage. It's beacuse of issues like this and it's really a pitty. they say they acant do this and they ant do that for their man. Yet they say his money is our money and my money is my money. As far as i i'm concerned modern relationships and marriages shld all be about understanding of the circumstances and the reality on ground> it will be quite wicked for a guy to compel his girlfirend or wife who equally works monday to friday like himself to do his laundry. since they both work and are very busy they can always make an arrangement either using a washing machine which either of them can handle at a free time or pay some one to odo it for them. But in a situation where the lady doesnt work and she says she cant do this or that, then she wants the guy to be the slave. He goes out top hussle money they will both spend, he still comes back home to do laundry. If i had a girl friend like that i wont take that relationship to the next level. I'l find myself a wife.












.