Although electric cars can use their motors to properly slow down and even recover power in the process, not even Tesla has dared to abandon mechanical brakes. . However, Italian specialist Brembo is working on developing something like a series production-ready equivalent of a wheel hub motor for braking only. One blog was able to try out the system at the current level in performance of the Tesla Model 3 and was very impressed with it.

Tesla Track Mode Test

When Brembo presented its Sensify concept last October, the announcement was featured by, among other things, an older Tesla Model S in colored foil with this name. This shows how long the company has been working on it. according to a autoblog report It’s actually been ten years. In two more years, the system should be found in the first electric cars. According to Brembo, it is currently in talks with several manufacturers, but has not named any.

In any case, for a demonstration by Sensify in late July, the company picked a Tesla Model 3 (see photo above), as AutoMK reports – In performance version with track mode, where you can disable the digital security assistants. This is believed to be one of the advantages of the Brembo system: you don’t need any additional ABS or electronic brake force distribution as these functions are already integrated. This is helped by the fact that the deceleration on each wheel can be controlled individually – just as wheel hub motors drive the wheels separately.

For this better control, the Brembo uses a central hydraulic system instead of either around or four electrically operated calipers. In this case, the brake pedal becomes a pure electronic controller. In this configuration, only a standby power supply should serve as a backup. Alternatively, there is a hybrid solution, as AutoMK reports. The rear is then braked electromechanically and the front hydraulically, but with one cylinder per side and thus still individually adjustable pressure. This has the advantage that one of the disadvantages of wheel hub motors – and brake motors on the wheel as well – is partially avoided: more unsprung mass.

break with software update

So sporty electric cars should be given the hybrid configuration that Brembo chose to test with Tesla’s performance. Any stop with it was almost at a leisurely pace, AutoMK reports. The typical ABS stutter did not occur when the brakes were applied straight ahead, nor was there any swaying on wet roads. Reportedly, the Model 3 also copes well with its ABS when the brakes are pressed mid-curve. With the Sensify system, however, the car did not face any problem when the testers swung the steering wheel back and forth. In the third maneuver, left-right steering while braking at high speeds, the new Brembo system was also better for him.

This is nothing short of a “little revolution,” writes the blog. In addition to greater safety and less hydraulic complexity, the system should also offer efficiency benefits: less wear through more targeted braking and the fact that the brake pads are electromechanically placed completely away from the discs, according to Brembo. means to wear. In addition, electromechanical calipers should last the entire life of the car. One Following the clear trend in electric cars However, Brembo wants to give its product the ability to be updated later via radio and thus be able to stay in touch with customers – possibly for a fee.