Industry Group Unveils Brake Test Procedure

The Brake Manufacturers Council unveiled its new test procedure and industry guideline recommendations for automotive aftermarket brake materials.
“BEEP (Brake Effectiveness Evaluation Procedure) is the culmination of a decade-long effort with the guideline objective that aftermarket brake materials meet the same performance levels as those required for new vehicles,” said council chairman Peter Morse, president, Morse Automotive, Chicago, Ill.
BEEP correlates dynamometer brake testing to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) regulations — Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) vehicle performance tests.
“BEEP program details will be presented to NHTSA and other government agencies to show the industry’s commitment to this proactive initiative and BEEP’s value,” said Morse. “The BMC is encouraging voluntary compliance and adoption by the industry.”
New cars and trucks must meet mandatory performance requirements, FMVSS performance tests. BEEP is BMC’s initiative to provide a widely accepted protocol to interpret these FMVSS requirements into recommendations for aftermarket brake performance, Morse said.
The Council appointed the Friction Materials Committee (FMC) to develop a test procedure and performance recommendations to address aftermarket brake material quality. FMC members include Dana Corp., Federal-Mogul, Fritec, Honeywell, Morse Automotive and Performance Friction.
This group established SAE J2430, a new single-ended dynamometer brake material test. SAE J2430 is a cost effective and timely alternative test that is comparable to FMVSS tests.
The SAE J2430 procedure allowed BMC to create BEEP as the methodology that correlates this test to certain key criteria of the FMVSS performance tests. Results are presented in an easy to read format that identifies the brakes’ performance levels.
Another important feature of BEEP is its ability to present the testing data in a format that shows the performance of both front and rear brakes in stopping performance.
“This information is invaluable to both the technical and non technical brake product purchaser,” said Morse. “The BEEP guideline program provides the means for benchmarking friction performance.”