• There are two main brake options for vehicles.Car Brake image by Joelyn Pullano from Fotolia.com
  
  When initiating the brake on a vehicle, the pedal or lever pushed to stop the machine pushes a plunger into the master cylinder forcing brake fluid into the tubes and hoses that connect to the individual wheel's brake structure. There are two main types of brakes in vehicles, with additional brake systems such as the parking brake.
  
  

Disk Brakes

• In a disk brake, the brake fluid is pushed from the master cylinder into a caliper. Once in the caliper, the fluid is forced against the piston. The piston pushes the brake pads into the rotor causing it to slow or stop, depending upon the pressure utilized. The disk brake system is comparable to that seen in a bicycle where rubber pads create friction through rubbing against the wheel. These pads create heat that is produced through the motion of the vehicle.
  
  

Drum Brakes

• Similar in its general function to the disk brake, the drum brake differs in the motion created by the fluid pressure. In drum brakes, the brake fluid is pushed from the master cylinder into the wheel cylinder. The pressure of this compresses the brake shoes outward, resulting in the pressing of the friction lining against the drum. This drum is hooked to the wheel and the pressure of the drum helps to stop the wheels' motion. Like the brake pads in disk brakes, the brake shoes change the motion of the vehicle to heat.
  
  

Parking Brake

• Parking breaks provide control of the rear-end brakes using steel cable that are connected alternately to the pedal or a hand control. Parking brakes are a means of bypassing the hydraulic system, allowing the vehicle to be stopped in the event of brake failure. In vehicles with drum brakes, the control for the parking brake is connected to the brake shoes to allow it to bypass the wheel cylinder. This allows for direct control of the brakes. The parking brake system for vehicles with disk brakes is more complex. In fact, depending upon the vehicle there are two main parking brake systems used in conjunction with disk brakes. One type of system utilizes the caliper piston which is forced against the brake pads when the lever is pulled, allowing the control of this component without the rest of the system. Another option is the presence of a mechanical drum brake mounted by the rear rotor that is connected to a parking brake control.