Brembo brake pads, rotors and calipers for disc brakes

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About Brembo

Bremo is a leading company specialised in developing and manufacturing disc braking systems for the automotive industry both for commertial and racing markets.

The progenitor company of Brembo was founded in 1961 by two Italian men Emilio Bombassei and Italo Breda just few kilometers from Italian city Bergamo under the name of Meccaniche di Sombreno. Later Alberto Bombassei joined the enterprise who was in his twentieth years at that time. The small firm at that time gained fame and respect by the founder’s expertise in mechanical sector and metallurgy. Despite being a small mechanical shop, Brembo was honoured by becoming the supplier of automobile parts for clients like Alfa Romeo.

This is the time when the half century long streak of technical research, innovation and the sporting successes began and elevated the company’s name among the best in the business. Brembo produces vehicle brake disks from 1964 and later the portfolio widened by starting developing and manufacturing braking systems for motorbikes from year 1972 as Brembo became the brake supplier of the greatest motorcycle brand of Europe, Moto Guzzi.
Thanks to the great technical and engineering solutions Brembo has been asked by Enzo Ferrari to be their supplier of braking mechanisms for the Ferrari GP Formula 1 car. Since then countless teams and drivers won thousands of championships and events using brake pads developed by the company.

The continous research and development assured Brembo’s position on the international market and the number one choice of engineers when choosing braking systems into current modern cars. During the 1980s the product range was expanded by the new ground breaking technology of aluminium brake calipers which revolutionarized the automotive brake manufacturing and materials used at that time. The new calipers were adopted instantly by almost all high performance car firms like Mercedes, Porshe, BMW, Nissan, Lancia or Chrysler. The 1980s weren’t only memorable because the new aluminium caliper technology but that’s the time when Brembo became the brake mechanism supplier for the Iveco truck company and then many other industrial vehicle firms like Renault or Mercedes.

The rise was unstoppable, in 1983 Brembo aquired a US based brake manufacturer Kalsey-Hayes which shareholding was later withdrawn when Brembo decided to focus on the Italian industry once again. In 1995 Brembo was listed on the Milan stock exchange which along with the strategy towards the global growth and internationalisation of the company which would soon lead the enterprise to exceed billion Euros in turnover achieved by operating 36 plants in 15 different countries providing job for more than 6,000 employees.

Since then the events sped up Brembo celebrated the new millenium by aquiring the Brazilian Alfa Real Minas machining and flywheel assembly company. Brembo also aquired the Brittish AP Racing Limited which specialised in production of racing braking and clutch systems both for racing cars and motorcycles.
Todays Brembo is a leading producer of brake mechanisms and related parts which means more than 1,300 products for car manufacturers all around the world on every continent. Just some of the names who using Brembo brake pads in their modern cars: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, Aston Martin, Nissan, Mercedes, Porshe, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Buick, FIat, Holden, Honda, Hyundai, Infinity, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Opel, Renault, Pontiac, Seat, Subaru, Vauxhall, Volks Wagen and Volvo. Pretty much every car manufacturer in the World.

Brake Pads

The component of the disk brakes used in the automotive industry. Consists of a steel backing plate holding the friction surface mounted on the disk brake caliper facing the brake rotor. It is commonly thought that the brake pad material contacts the disk metal to create the braking force and eventually stopping the car, althought during use when the pads are heated up by the spinning rotor it produces a thin layer of semi-liquid friction material which is transfered on the rotor turning it grey creates the actual braking force.

Brake pads durability vary greatly and depends mostly on the materials used in friction layer and on the rotor. Usually there is a trade-off between performance and durability, one or another. High performance racing technology uses brake pads with high iron content. This ensures the possibility of high operational temperatures and greater friction thus significantly better braking power. These pads exhibit great wear on the brake rotor and under such conditions they have to be changed regularly both brake pads and brake rotors together.

The modern Bremo brake pads contain sophisticated sensors continously checking the friction material width and alerting the driver when the replacement of the worn-out brake pad is required. Some apply a less refined solution by including thin electrical wires in brake pads which enclose an electric circuit when get in contact with the steel rotor and enabling the alert mechanism.

A normal and usual road car has two brake pads equipped per caliper, this amount is often doubled or even tripled in racing applications. Cars with six pads per caliper arent uncommon either usually every one of them with a different frictional property for optimal braking power in every situation and temperature even the extrem ones which can arise while racing.

Old-school brake pads were maid from material called Asbestos which is toxic, great care has to be kept when working on an older car. Inhaling asbestos is especially dangerous. Todays moder brakes however doesn’t contain asbestos anymore, are rather made of modern and exotic materials like kevlar, ceramics and heavy-duty plastics.

Disc Brakes

Compared to drum brakes disc brake possess many advantages in stopping performance. Among better stopping power the dic brakes are more resistant to the phenomenon called brake-fade, which is caused by loss of friction between the overheated surface of the brake rotor and the brake pad. Also disc brakes are better cooled.

The Bremo disc brakes need no break-in period the laser burnishing process conditions the brake pad surface by heating it up to operational temperatures and higher.
The brake calipers force the brake pads against the rotor using hydraulical, pneumatical or electromagnatical power on the both sides of the disk.

Disk brake mechanism was developed and began its usage in England in the 1890s. And the first caliper-type brake was patented by Lanchester in the United Kingdom. The evolution of disk breaking systems has evolved alot since then compared to Lanchester’s metal choice which was high in copper. That combined with the dusty roads of the era meant very fast brake wear making them not economically viable. These concerns were addressed in the upcoming fifty years making the disc brakes todays one of most effective braking mechanisms. The early models experimented with brakes located on the driveshaft near the differential, the modern disc brakes however are fitted directly inside the wheels. Inboard brake mount has proved to be more effective by reducing the unsprung weight of the car and also eliminates a variable generated by an extra heating source effecting the tyres optimal temperature.

Originally Bremo disc brakes were used in car racing industry but because of the raising demands in civil automotive industry they got fitted in almost every modern vehicle in the World.