Brake System Testing

Test the brakes at different speeds with light pedal pressure and with heavy pedal pressure. Avoid locking the wheels. Avoid sliding the tires on the roadway. Locked wheels and sliding tires do not show brake efficiency. A locked wheel and a sliding tire reduce the tire friction on the roadway.
Test the brakes on a dry, clean, reasonably smooth and level roadway. You cannot accurately test brake performance without these conditions. The tires will not grip the roadway equally if the roadway is wet or greasy or covered with loose dirt. A crowned roadway causes the weight of the vehicle to shift toward one side. The wheels bounce on a rough roadway.
The following conditions also affect brake performance:
- Tires with unequal contact and unequal grip on the road will cause unequal braking.
- The tires must be equally inflated.
- The tread pattern of the right-hand tire and the left-hand tire must be almost equal.

- When the vehicle is loaded unequally, the most heavily loaded wheels require more braking power than the other wheels.
- Loose front wheel bearings may cause the following:
- Brake rotor tilt
- Spotty contact with the brake linings
- Erratic braking action

- The brakes will pull the vehicle to one side if the front suspension is not aligned correctly. This will be very noticeable if the caster and the camber are not within specifications.