Webb Wheel Products said its brake drum technology offers a reliable cost-effective way to comply with new federal regulations on stopping distances for commercial vehicles. The Cullman, Ala.-based company, a supplier of braking solutions for the heavy-duty truck market, manufactures a wide range of application-specific and new-technology brake drums.
“We expected the stopping distance rules to be tightened and believe the new regulations will help improve highway safety,” said Wolfgang Winzer, president of Webb Wheel Products. “Our R&D efforts have been targeted to helping our customers achieve the new stopping distances with economical drum brake solutions.”
In most cases, upgrading to larger and/or wider S-cam drum brake sizes is a viable alternative to air disc brakes. Webb Wheel Products has a wide selection of brake drums for these applications, and the company said its patent-pending Vortex brake drum technology introduced by the company in 2007 offers additional benefits.
Gray iron Vortex drums are lighter and more durable, according to the company, and the superior heat dissipation characteristics of the Vortex drums can maximize lining life and reduce lifecycle costs. Webb said it has applied Vortex technology to its newly designed steer axle and wide drive axle brake drums specifically to meet the new stopping distance regulations without weight penalties over the existing standard drums.
Webb said that in addition to the lower initial cost of specifying vehicles with drum brakes capable of meeting the new stopping distances rather than changing to air disc brakes, commercial vehicle operators and repair facilities are familiar with the easy removal and replacement of today’s outboard mounted brake drums, making servicing them economical as well. Webb said replacement air disc rotors are significantly more expensive than brake drums, and because they are inboard-mounted, the hub must be removed during service.
