Your brake system is the most important system within your vehicle, as without it you would not be able to properly prevent collisions or control your speed. However, by the very nature of their job, your brakes suffer from a massive amount of friction and therefore stress, which can undermine their performance over time and is why you constantly have to have your brakes replaced.

Understanding some of the changes and maintenance tasks that you can complete to improve the lifespan of your brakes can help you maintain their good performance while also saving money on brake inspections and replacements over time.

Reduce Weight

One of the simplest but most effective things that you can do to improve the lifespan of your brakes is to remove all unnecessary weight from your vehicle. Extra luggage in the back, bike racks, and other items that can be stored in your garage or home should be moved to reduce the amount of momentum that your brakes have to deal with when slowing the vehicle down.

Complete Stops

While more of a habitual change than a maintenance task, one of the best ways to reduce the amount of wear and tear that your brakes experience is to ensure that you come to a complete stop, and avoid moving forward with the brakes slightly depressed. This is because moving with the brakes engaged, even just a little bit, increases the amount of friction that they experience, causing them to wear down excessively over time.

Moderate Speeds

Finally, another simple but effective thing that you can do to reduce the stress that your brakes experience through normal operation is to keep your speeds at a moderate level. Exceeding the speed limit means that you are likely going to have to use your brakes more often and more intensely than if you are driving at the mandated speed, not to mention being safer in general.

Regular Inspections

Finally, you should make sure to maintain a regular brake inspection schedule to ensure that signs of damage or potential mechanical issues are caught early, before they can cause actual damage to your brakes and increase the rate at which they wear down. Be sure to head to a mechanic as soon as you notice any sort of irregularities with the operation of your brakes, like a soft pedal, reduced responsiveness, or shaking, vibrating, or odd noises when you engage the brake pedal.

For more information, check out a website like http://www.autoservicefairfax.com.