Description of the design (Opel Zafira A)

The car is equipped with two braking systems - service and parking.

The service brake system is designed to reduce the speed of the vehicle until it stops suddenly and to hold the vehicle stationary for a short time.

The parking brake system is designed to prevent spontaneous movement of the vehicle while parked.

The service brake system is dual-circuit, diagonal, with hydraulic drive. It consists of a direct brake cylinder with a vacuum booster, four wheel brake mechanisms, brake pipes and hoses. The front wheel brake mechanisms are ventilated disc, the rear brake wheels are drum or non-ventilated disc. Some cars are equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), consisting of a hydraulic unit and wheel speed sensors. This system prevents wheel locking during abrupt braking by reducing the pressure in the circuit of the wheel that is braked more than others.

Each of the vehicle's brake circuits includes brake mechanisms for two wheels: one front and one rear, located diagonally on the vehicle. If one of the circuits fails, the second circuit, although less effectively, will ensure that the vehicle stops.

To reduce the force applied by the driver to the brake pedal, a vacuum booster is installed in the brake system drive, which operates due to the vacuum created in the intake manifold of the running engine.

Warning! Do not turn off the engine until the car has come to a complete stop, as this will greatly increase the force required to apply to the brake pedal to stop the car.

A reservoir with brake fluid is installed on the main brake cylinder body. A sensor is installed in the reservoir. When the fluid level in the reservoir drops dangerously, the sensor turns on the control lamp on the instrument panel.

The parking brake system has a cable drive and acts on the rear wheels. When the lever is raised on cars with rear drum brakes to the upper position, the levers mounted on the shoes of the rear brakes rotate and begin to press on the spacer bars. In this case, the shoes move apart and fix the brake drum from turning. When the lever is raised on cars with rear disc brakes to the upper position, the levers mounted on the calipers of the rear brakes rotate and push the piston out of the caliper. In this case, the shoes compress and fix the brake drum from turning.