[Editorial Sample] Types of Brake Calipers

One thing that every car owner should know is that brake calipers make up an essential part of a car’s braking system. But is there really a one-size-fits-all solution, or are there different types of calipers for different vehicles or purposes? Let’s have a look.

There are three types of brake calipers found in cars. Those are floating, sliding, and fixed brake calipers.

Floating calipers act as a clamp only having piston(s) on one side of the rotor, sliding back and forth on pins or bushings. The pistons push the brake pad only on the inner side of the rotor when the brakes are engaged. Braking action then takes place when the caliper, while sliding on the pins or bushings, squeezes the outer pad against the rotor.

Sliding calipers are a variation of floating calipers that work with one piston and work on the same principle while it is mounted on a caliper adapter - pressure is applied to one brake pad by one piston and the other brake pad receives pressure from the movable caliper.

Fixed calipers are mounted to a bracket with no bushings or sliding pins present within its mount, and may have anywhere between two to eight pistons. There are an equal number of pistons on both the inner and outer halves of the fixed caliper. While it is known that fixed calipers have better performance, their high performance comes at a higher cost.

While those are the three common types of brake calipers, there are also brake calipers which are custom-made to deliver high performance for the cars that best need it. For instance, a high performance caliper may have bigger pistons, more pistons, less heat retention, differential bore, and using unique materials such as the Porsche Composite Ceramic Brakes (PCCB). Typically, bigger pistons have more clamping force on the rotor due to its increased clamping area, and this is the same for adding the number of pistons. Air scoops in the brakes and larger brake rotors can help dissipate excess heat. Differential bore calipers use varied sizes of pistons which prove helpful, with smaller pistons toward the front of the caliper and larger pistons toward the back. PCCB brakes are made from siliconised carbon fiber - this material sees a higher temperature capability, 50% weight reduction in contrast to regular iron discs, reduced amount of dust, and improved durability.

It’s nice to know the different types of brake calipers, but you might also be wondering - how many pistons is enough for one caliper? While the average everyday city car may have between one to four pistons per caliper depending on the car’s model and size, performance sedans, race cars as well as larger SUVs and trucks all use calipers with six to eight pistons. The reason for this is due to the stopping demand of the vehicles as well as its overall performance requirements. These calipers are typically fixed calipers with larger rotors, dual brake pads, and double the brake lines connected to each caliper to ensure even braking pressure.

Now you know more about the different types of brake calipers out there. With all that said, you might be wondering what our brake calipers are like. At SVR, our Xiomara brake calipers are the ultimate high performance brakes, giving your vehicle that supercar performance, look, and feel! Our brakes exceed typical stock performance in two areas - increased heat capacity with larger rotors allowing drivers to brake stop after stop with reduced chance of fade; and reduced system compliance with stiffer calipers and stainless steel lines, providing confidence-inspiring responsiveness with consistent pedal feel. Interested to find out more? Log on to http://www.svrbrakesystems.com/ or contact us now at 012-329 5059, or via email at info@svrbrakesystems.com.