It is of paramount importance that your car is able to stop safely when you want it to and simply put, a working brake system can mean the difference between life and death.

Aside from safety though, decent brakes and a system that can operate with no issues will also ensure a comfortable driving experience, as well as having a positive effect on your car’s handling.

In this article we will outline a few of the benefits of having a good brake setup, and how the brakes influence each aspect of your car.

How Tyres Effect Safety

Of utmost importance is safety. Ensuring that your car stops in a safe distance when you depress the brake pedal is one of the critical factors that the engineers consider when designing your brake system.

Fitting high-quality pads, and making sure that your rotors are free from dirt and dust build-up as well as deformation can go a long way towards keeping those stopping distances short.

More modern cars that are equipped with ABS will further shorten the time it takes to come to a stop, and will reduce the chances of your wheels locking up, whereas with older cars (or those without ABS) it is important that the pads and rotors or drums are up to the task of stopping the car, without causing the wheels to lock up and skid.

Good, clean brake fluid is also very important. There are a few different grades, and different manufacturers will recommend different types be used in their vehicles. As such, always be sure to replace the fluid at the specified intervals, and with the correct type to ensure safe braking.

How Tyres Effect Comfort

The second major category where having good brakes can be really felt, is in driver comfort.

Not only can decent and well-maintained brakes reduce shuddering, vibrations and bumps when stopping, but they will also reduce noise. - After all, there are few more painful sounds in the automotive world, than the high-pitched squeal of bad brakes!

We have outlined the causes of these horrible sounds in another article, but to reiterate here, screeching brakes can be caused by a large combination of factors - from worn or old pads to pads made of poor quality material, from a buildup of dust and other contaminants on the pads and rotors, to warped or rusted rotors.

There are a myriad reasons as to why your brakes might squeal, but whatever the cause, quieting them down can go a long way towards making your driving experience a lot more enjoyable.

How Tyres Effect Performance

Believe it or not, having a good brake setup can also contribute toward a better performing car in general.

Essentially, the less time and energy that your car must expend to slow down for the twisty bits in the road, the more it can apply to speeding up again once it’s through them.

If you don’t have to worry so much on having to brake early for every little bend in the road then you will find that you can focus on a smoother drive in general.

This is most noticeable in motorsports, or when driving off-road, since overheating your brakes can lead to some serious changes to your driving lines or your ability to crawl up and down steep inclines.

How Tyres Effect Stability and Cornering

Tied into the above point, brakes will actually influence the turning ability of your car.

Poorly aligned brakes, or those that perform differently on each corner, can cause your steering to pull to one side or the other, meaning that you’ll actually need to fight against the brakes to point your car in the right direction.

Similarly, if the bias between front and rear braking isn’t correctly set up, or one end of the car has worn or faulty brakes, then you may find that the car will tend to buck or dip as you slow down and stop. This can then cause undue stress on the suspension components, as well as generally being a bit rubbish to drive.