The Way You Stop Is Changing Forever

Never heard of the EWB or electronic wedge brake? Don’t worry. Chances are you’ll be hearing a lot about it in coming years.

That’s the opinion of German electronics specialist Siemens, which claims the high-tech stoppers, currently being tested for use on upcoming models by Europe’s leading carmakers, will revolutionize the safety standards of future generations of road cars by dramatically shortening stopping distances compared with more traditional hydraulic braking systems.

Efforts to improve the efficiency of braking systems have led to some interesting innovations in recent years, including the use of ceramic carbon materials in brake discs and electronic activation of parking brakes. But those developments will seem minor compared to the leap Siemens is claiming for its new electronic wedge brake.

Not to be confused with the electrohydraulic Sensotronic brakes introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 2001 but subsequently removed from sale early this year due to unsolved reliability issues, the electronic wedge brake represents a bigger breakthrough. The idea behind the system is not exactly new, with similarities to the arrangement found on horse-drawn carriages from the 18th century, where a wedge was used to bring the wheel to a standstill. But rather than relying on a hardened piece of wood for a binder, the electronic wedge uses state-of-the-art electronics and an innovative wedge-shaped connection to provide the sort of stopping ability that existing hydraulic units cannot match.



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DarkOneForce - 11/9/2006 12:41:06 PM

+1 Boost

Cool.
Porsche and BMW shoul be served first.

bigslick83 - 11/9/2006 2:39:55 PM

+1 Boost

thats not true xero most stopping distance is ruined by humon error. wether its decreased reaction time due to intoxication or cell phone, or not properly applying the brakes, improvements could be made to help the person out more. the whole point of anti-lock brakes is to release and pules the brakes upon the tire losing traction therfore stoping the car as soon as possible, approaching the threshold where the tires would loose traction but not crossing it.

another advancment by MB that is now shares with its chrysler group is emergancy brake assist. its estimated that 98% of people do not exert or maintain full force of the brakes in an emergancy situation. so the brakse sense when you need to stop quickly and applys them to the full extent even if you let off a little. this has been proven to reduce stoping distance by over a car length at high way speeds.

SSP350 - 11/9/2006 2:56:49 PM

+1 Boost

^^^^What was stated is irrelevent to the topic itself, in my opinion. The article explains new engineering for the brake unit itself, not technology on how the car operates. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can take a shitbox car and put the brake pedal to the medal and all wheels will stop spinning and the car will skid according to how fast the car was moving. This shows that all the brakes works as it should, but the key point here is how fast the car was moving. The technology for brake safety is already in high end vehicles. Creating an entire new braking system is not as big of a leap as creating technology as to how the car reacts itself. Its good invention, but its nothing new.

bigslick83 - 11/9/2006 4:48:34 PM

+1 Boost

the whole point and relevance in my comment is that the MAIN factor in braking is the person operating the brakes. however impovements to the mechanical aspect of braking can make up for the human error and make you stop shorter. the brake assist is just an example of how this has been done. and this article represents another improvment to the mechanical process of braking again making up for the fact that to prevent accedents you have to make the car perform better while braking under any cirumstances. the article clearly states that it does help stop the car sooner with the wedge system so their must be some room for improvement between where the car stops sooner and the tires loose traction. or maybe it just reduces heat from friction better using a wedge so therefore braking can remain optimal longer.

dont get me wrong, i see what you are saying. that brakes are at their best and can only stop a car as much as traction between the tire and road will allow. this however was also true in the days of drum braking and before anti-lock brakes came along. then to make sure the tire didnt lose traction you had to pump the brakes so stopping power was not constant or as effecient.

chewy - 11/9/2006 3:49:16 PM

+1 Boost

Good stuff.

BMWreplicat - 11/9/2006 3:52:37 PM

0 Boost

pwned.

Carboy - 11/9/2006 4:09:32 PM

0 Boost

Mercedes did this in 03, but stop doing because they had too many recalls.

mstangpny07 - 11/9/2006 4:53:25 PM

0 Boost

it was 2001

S4cabriofox - 11/9/2006 10:34:00 PM

+1 Boost

No, mstngpny- he's not referring to Sensotronic. He's actually referring to this technology. They're two different things.

Sauceboy01 - 11/9/2006 5:56:26 PM

+1 Boost

this saying comes to mind.

"YOUR BRAKES ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR TIRES"

or something along those lines rather.

XYZZ - 11/10/2006 3:50:59 AM

+2 Boost

"your avoiding a crash is ONLY AS GOOD as your DRIVING."

it's true that better technology will allow a good driver to EXTEND THE ENVELOPE; the good driver will also drive (mechanically) lesser vehicles within the bounds of ITS envelope.

i'd never WASTE my money even for ABS. if i were inclined to weekend track days, i'd have use for 'em. in everyday driving, don't need 'em.

even when i drive with the engine touching redline, i still never use more than 80 - 95% of my braking capacity. i DO USE 100 - 105% of my TIRE capabilities.

lewissalem - 11/10/2006 10:25:35 AM

+1 Boost

I hope this can cut down on brake dust. I, for one, am tired of cleaning my wheels every stop for gas.

bigslick83 - 11/10/2006 11:24:52 AM

+1 Boost

a better rim can make your life easier.
chrysler group has aluminum chrome-clad rims that dont absorb brake dust and make it stay clean longer and more importantly are alot easier to clean.
these are the rims MB has been using for a decade or so.

markusck - 11/10/2006 11:11:29 AM

+1 Boost

Come on guys, do you really thing they are developing this new system in a vacuum? without looking at the entire picture including reaction time, tires, pavement, etc etc etc...? otherwise, whats the point?