testing of brakes during rwc

[Dustin_80]

How exactly does a mechanic test your brakes during a rw test?

I got my car back after a roadworthy test to find my rear brakes were locking up so badly I had to get the vehicle towed home.

As politely as possible I explained there's no way I could have gotten it there that morning if it was like that when it arrived.

[ratter]

They use a brake tester and check using moderate to firm braking I believe, the tester should give a print out of the results, well in vic that's what is expected





Off topic from reading your sig

I used to play competition paintball myself a while back

[fasty73]

[QUOTE=ratter]They use a brake tester and check using moderate to firm braking I believe, the tester should give a print out of the results, well in vic that's what is expected





That's how it's done in nsw too., up here in qld, it's just see if they work.

[fmc351]

[QUOTE=fasty73]

Originally Posted by ratter

They use a brake tester and check using moderate to firm braking I believe, the tester should give a print out of the results, well in vic that's what is expected





That's how it's done in nsw too., up here in qld, it's just see if they work.

Not quite so for Qld, but in practice seems to be pretty much it. I had one mech who hopped in the passenger side with a doohickey (kind of shaped like Dalek (in b4 Ricksta)) he sat on the floor at his feet and he asked me to brake while driving. It had a disc/ball floating in liquid that gave a reading based on angle to apportion braking front to rear. Only time Ive had anything like it in quite a few RWC's Ive had done.

They often pull a wheel off and inspect pads and rotor, but sometimes they just look while on the hoist without removing a wheel.

[ray38l]

I often wonder why they worry about the brake test. I have had a few cars pass the brake test when the brakes were hardly working.

[matty88]

Did the rwc tester adjust the handbrake at all?

[FG50T]

Originally Posted by ray38l

I often wonder why they worry about the brake test. I have had a few cars pass the brake test when the brakes were hardly working.

Yep you can get anything to pass if you jump on the pedal hard enough unless there's a fault in the braking system. Probably why we do the test.. As long as they work, disc's aren't undersize and there's meat on the pads - it's all gravy.

[Dustin_80]

Originally Posted by matty88

Did the rwc tester adjust the handbrake at all?

I asked them if they adjusted them in any fashion or removed the drums.
They said they didn't.

[cobramania]

In NSW they have a small machine that sits on the front passenger seat & a pressure pad that goes over the brake pedal. They drive along a short distance usually only at about 40kph & hit the brakes, the machine records the G force, pedal pressure & time taken from initial pedal push to stop. If it's within certain pre-set guidelines the test passes & the report will be printed out off the machine, (similar to dyno graphs). If the test passes & there's nothing else wrong with the car (that makes them go looking), very rarely will wheels be removed, brakes visually looked at or any adjustments made.

The same machines used to have light sensors on them & they were used to do the "legal" window tint test, most mechanics I seen, used to just place it on the front windscreen if you had side tinted windows so it'd pass. There's still a legal tint level, but it doesn't have to be tested to pass for rego, if you get a defect on your car, it'll likely be tested when the RTA goes over the car though.

[XDV800]

Originally Posted by Dustin_80

How exactly does a mechanic test your brakes during a rw test?

I got my car back after a roadworthy test to find my rear brakes were locking up so badly I had to get the vehicle towed home.

As politely as possible I explained there's no way I could have gotten it there that morning if it was like that when it arrived.

What sort of car ?