Brembo is a global supplier of brake components. Of its 3,000 employees, 10 percent are engineers and product specialists working in R&D. The firm was started in 1961 in the town of Bergamo, Italy, just outside of Milan, and has matured to the point it now manufactures more than 25-million brake rotors for 25 different O.E. manufacturers and O.E. suppliers. Its brakes are found on 30 different car companies' products in ten countries-no other brake rotor manufacturer commands such a worldwide presence-and its aftermarket applications cover 95% of the vehicles on the road.
Developing an aftermarket braking system is not an easy task. The fact the braking system is the primary safety system on a vehicle makes it obvious the design and testing of the braking system and components is of critical importance. According to Brembo, its components have passed the most rigorous testing and quality control standards that any brake system manufacturer has implemented. For example, any new caliper design must complete 350,000 pressure application cycles at 100 bar (1450 psi), and each new disc design, once the metallurgy has been developed, must face a long battery of tests.
Initially, laboratory tests are performed on a brake dynamometer. Mechanical stresses are measured and the discs are subjected to thermal shock and fatigue testing. These tests ensure crack resistance, minimal distortion under load, acceptable wear rates and lack of internal vibrations. Once laboratory testing is complete, the components are then road tested on cars for thousands of miles, under the most severe conditions. Only when a caliper or disc survives the long cycle of laboratory and road testing may it go into service as a Brembo product. The Gran Turismo systems bring racing components and performance to the street, while maintaining comfort levels equal to those required by the most discerning vehicle manufacturers. Brembo's lessons learned in racing have led to the use of directional, full-floating two-piece rotor assemblies, fixed-mount aluminum alloy calipers, and proprietary friction materials.
The design process begins by precise measurement of the vehicle, including all parameters and weights, and OEM braking system components. Considering both braking system efficiency and vehicle balance over the entire range of deceleration rates the vehicle will experience, calculations are then made to determine the braking torque and heat capacity of the stock system and to determine the ideal dynamic braking system characteristics. At this point, the design of the Brembo system can commence and components are chosen to achieve the desired braking torque, balance and heat capacity while minimizing the overall weight. Brembo reports the components necessary to adapt this hardware to the vehicle are designed, analyzed and produced in-house, guaranteeing the high standards Brembo requires.
Although the word "designed" is often thrown about quite loosely, the convoluted activity this part of the process requires-no two vehicles even share the same bracket design-are enormous. Once the components necessary to adapt the brake system to the vehicle are developed, a prototype system is tested prior to being released for production.