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Source: 6th Gear Automotive Solutions post
DETROIT — Aftermarket manufacturers of brake discs face new mandatory ECE R90 certification for high carbon brake discs and Tycho De Feijter wrote the following post for on this subject for 6th Gear Automotive Solutions website.
Cars are ever getting larger and heavier, putting ever more pressure on the brakes. OEM manufacturers of brake discs have therefore developed the high carbon brake discs. These brake discs have a different chemical composition of the cast iron compared to standard brake discs, with a higher percentage of carbon.
High carbon brake discs have several advantages over standard discs: The heat dissipation is higher, so there is less fading. The increased thermal conductivity of high carbon brake discs reduces deformation, resulting in less vibrations and quieter braking.
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The high carbon content of the brake discs keeps them cooler while driving.
When an optional surface coating is applied, it also produces a barrier against corrosion. Thanks to this coating there is there is no need to remove any preservative oil, which means that the high carbon brake disc is ready for immediate installation, saving time and thus money.
With so many advantages, it is no wonder that OEM manufacturers are fitting high carbon brakes on more vehicles. Initially, they were only fitted on high end and heavy SUVs and sedans like the BMW X5 and the Cadillac CTS.
Recently, however, they have been used on an increasing number of more affordable vehicles.
New ECE R90 certification needed
High carbon brakes therefore became interesting for after-market replacement brake disc manufacturers, who started to develop their own high carbon brake discs. But there is a downside.
Because the chemical composition of the high carbon brake disc is different, it is basically a “new” disc. Therefore, after-market manufacturers need to have a new ECE R90 certification for high carbon brake discs.
High carbon brakes are covered by the HT150 standard, and standard brakes by the HT250 standard. For the European Union, the numbers are GJL-150 and GJL-250, and for the United States 150/175 20B 25 25B and 250/275, 35, 35B, 40, 40B.
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New high carbon brake discs of after-market brake disc manufacturers have to go through the entire ECE R90 inspection and approval procedure before they can be offered on the replacement-brake market, even if the after-market manufacturer had also been selling standard brakes for the same class of vehicle.
6th Gear Automotive Solutions, founded in 2006 in Shanghai, China, assists after-market brake manufacturers with the ECE R90 certification process.
