Disc Designs: All Terrain™

Benefits – at a glance: 

• Reduced stopping distances in both wet and dry conditions.

• Substantially reduced brake fade during emergency stops.

• Improved brake consistency during consecutive brake applications (e.g. when descending steep mountain passes).

• Excellent brake modulation in wet, muddy and sandy conditions, particularly at the very slow speeds encountered under technical off-road driving conditions.

• Excellent disc life on heavy 4x4 vehicles.

Our All Terrain™ disc design is the result of an intensive test and development program. The design shares many features with our well known fast-road and race discs but has unique benefits in off-road conditions.

Our All Terrain™ discs feature six curved slots in the friction face of the disc. In cross-section, the slots are wider and feature a radial profile, when compared to the parallel walls of the narrower slots on our Pro Street™ and Die Hard™ disc designs. The result is that dirt and mud, that may be encountered in off-road conditions, is far less likely to clog up the slots and reduce brake efficiency.

The discs are directional and the curved slots are designed to move debris such as sand, mud, water and ‘dead’ pad material to the outside diameter of the disc. The slots run out at the edge of the disc to allow for this debris to be efficiently cleared from the disc / pad interface. The result is excellent brake consistency in wet, dusty or muddy conditions. Serious off-road enthusiasts will really appreciate these details when tackling steep descents after driving through wet or muddy terrain!
 

Of course 4x4 / SUV owners tend to drive long stretches of open road in order to get to their off-road destinations. Often these vast open spaces are covered at considerable speed in vehicles that are loaded to the limit with passengers, luggage, accessories, fuel and water. It is also common for 4x4 owners to substantially increase their vehicle’s power outputs. This additional weight and power places massive strain on the vehicle’s stock brake components and can result in dangerous brake fade when braking from high speeds.

Brake fade is predominantly caused by two factors. The first being friction gasses that form when pad bonding agents burn up and turn to gas at high disc temperatures. These gases can form a barrier layer between the disc and pad, hereby reducing brake efficiency.

The second cause of brake fade is pad friction materials that are simply not designed to operate at the elevated disc temperatures (above 350 deg C) encountered under heavy consecutive braking with a heavy vehicle. The slots machined into the face of our All Terrain™ discs act as gas relief pathways that efficiently channel away friction gasses resulting in substantially reduced brake fade.