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BrakeProportioningValves
TheTrueStoryofaMisunderstood,MisusedandMisnamedBrakeSystemComponent
byJamesWalker,Jr.ofscRmotorsports
Elsewhereonthiswebsitewehavediscussed(inpainfuldetailsomewouldadd)theimportanceoffronttorearbias,orbrakebalance,andhowitsoptimizationcanleadtobetterbrakingperformance.However,onecriticalfactorinestablishingbiasthe
mechanicalbrakepressureproportioningvalvewasleftoutofthediscussion.Afterall,onecanonlytakesomuchofthisbrakebiastalkinonesitting.
Thatsaid,wearebacktosharetheintricaciesofjusthowbrakepressureisdistributedtothefrontandrearofthevehicle.Moreimportantly,wehopethatyoutakeawaytheunderstandingthatreplacing,modifying,orjustplainfiddlingwithyour
proportioningvalvecandomoreharmthangood.Whileitisnotquiteblackmagic,thereareplentyofopportunitiestothrowthesystemintodisarraywithoutevenknowingit.
Consequently,weofferthisquicklookintothesedevicesandtheirmechanicalsiblings.Asmallamountofknowledgecanyieldsurprisingbenefits,nottheleastofwhichisavoidingnastysurprises.
RearBrakePressureControl
Ingeneral,therearethreewaystodealwithrearbrakepressure:leaveitalone,makeitproportionaltothefrontbrakepressure,orcontrolitinawaythatcombinesthesetwostrategies.
Strategy1:LeaveitAlone
Ifnodevicewereusedtomodifytherearbrakepressure,thenasshowninFigureA,thefrontbrakepressureandrearbrakepressurewouldalwaysbeequal.Naturally,thisistheeasiestwaytodealwiththeissue,butinordertopreventrearbiasunder
allconditions,therearbrakeitselfwouldneedtobeabsolutelytiny.
Asyoucanimagine,thisisnotarealisticsolutionandisnotfoundintherealworld.
Strategy2:TrueProportioning
Trueproportioning,asshowninFigureB,wouldresultinrearbrakepressuresbeinglinearlyproportionaltofrontbrakepressuresunderallconditions.Ironicasitmayseem,proportioningvalvesdonotprovidethiskindofcontrol,astheyarenotthe
purelyproportionaldevicestheirnamewouldimply.
Thistypeofpressureregulationiscertainlypossibletoachieve,butittypicallyrequirestandemmastercylindersandanadjustablereactionlinkage,thesamesetupfoundonnearlyeverypurposebuiltracingcartoday.
Onvehiclessoequipped,theproportioningratioisachievedthroughacombinationofmastercylinderpistondiameterselectionandtheadjustmentofamechanicalreactionlinkagethatconnectsthetwomastercylinders.Alsoknownasabiasbar,the
linkagegeometrydeterminesthefronttorearforcedistributioncomingfromthebrakepedalassembly.Thesignificantbenefittothissetupisthatabiasbarcanbedesignedinsuchawaythatthedrivercanadjustthefronttorearproportioningratio
whileatspeed.
Intheexampleshownbelow,anadjustmentofthebiasbarof0.010inchesresultsinanincreaseinfrontmasterinputcylinderforcefrom125lbto133lb.Atthesametime,therearmastercylinderinputforcedropsfrom125lbto117lb.
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Realtimedrivercontroloverbiasmakesadjustmentsforchangingtrackconditionsorfuelloadpracticallyeffortless.Thecomplexityofthisdesignmakesithighlyimpracticalforstreetuse,butontrackitsimplycannotbebeatforeaseofadjustment.
CombiningStrategiesTheMisnamedProportioningValve
Conventionalproportioningvalvesshouldreallybereferredtoasbrakingforceregulatorsorbrakepressureregulatingvalves.Whiletheirnamemightimplytrueproportionalcontrol,inrealitytheyprovideacombinationofthecontrolfoundinFigures
AandB.
Uptocertainpressures,thesevalvesallowequalpressuretoboththefrontandrearbrakes(laFigureA).However,onceapresetpressurepointisreached(600psiintheexample),therearbrakepressurecontinuestobuild,butataslowerrate(or
slope)thanthefrontbrakepressure.FigureCdisplaysthisforusquiteclearly.
Lookingatthediagrams,onecanseethatitispossibletodesignbothaTypeBsystemandaTypeCsystemthatultimatelygivethesamebrakebalanceatthepointofmaximumdeceleration.(NotethatFiguresBandCbothgenerate950psiofrear
brakelinepressurewhenthefrontbrakelinepressureisat2000psi.)
However,onecanalsoseethatTypeCsystemsthosethatuseproportioningvalvescanbringusclosertooptimumbalanceatlowerdecelerationlevels.Thisbenefitisrelativelymeaninglessinaracingapplication,asthevehicleisalwaysoperatingat
maximumdecelerations,butitisofgreatadvantageonthestreet.
Insomanywords,theproportioningvalveallowsustodrivearoundtownunderoptimizedbrakebalanceconditions(goodforfrontbrakepadlife)butalsokeepseverythingincheckwhenweneedmaximumbraking(goodforstability).
Duetotheircompactsizeandrelativelylowcost,thesedevicescanbefoundonnearlyeveryvehiclewhichrequiresrearbrakepressurereductiontoachieveoptimumbrakebias.Typicalpassengercarsandproductionbasedracecarsfallneatlyintothis
category.
HeightSensingProportioningValves
Somevehiclesproportioningvalvesgoonestepfarther,asthekneepointonthegraphcanvarywiththeamountofweightontherearaxle.Effectively,astherearaxleweightincreases,alinkagebetweentheaxleandthebodyiscompressed.This
linkageactsonacaminsidetheproportioningvalvewhichincreasesthepreloadontheproportioningvalvespring.Theendresultisthatmorerearbraking(bias)isallowedasweightisaddedtotherearaxle,helpingtotakeadvantageoftheincreased
tractionnowavailableatthereartires.FigureDillustratesthisrelationshipquiteclearly.
So,CanOneAdjustTheProportioningValve?
Believeitornot,innearlyallcasestheOEMvalvesarewellmatchedtotheoriginalbrakesystemandshouldnotbetamperedwith,astherearenopartsinsidethatareabletobemodifiedbyambitiousowners.Unfortunately,someareexternally
adjustable,sothetemptationtotinkerisrightthereinfrontofus!
Onepointtoponderisthatbecausetheyareamechanicaldevice,proportioningvalvesmustbedesignedasabestcompromiseforuseunderallconditions.Highspeed,lowspeed,fullyloaded,andemptyvehiclescenariosmustallbeevaluatedand
figuredintotheproportioningvalvedesign.
Ofcourseifyouhavemodifiedyourvehicleinawaythatimpactsfronttorearbiasyoumightbestandingoutinleftfield!Asarefresherfromourbiasarticle,wewillbringforwardagainthelistsofmodificationswhichcaninfluencefronttorearbias.
Factorsthatwillincreasefrontbias
Increasedfrontrotordiameter
Increasedfrontbrakepadcoefficientoffriction
Increasedfrontcaliperpistondiameter(s)
Decreasedrearrotordiameter
Decreasedrearbrakepadcoefficientoffriction
Decreasedrearcaliperpistondiameter(s)
Lowercenterofgravity(i.e.loweredvehicle)
Moreweightonrearaxle(i.e.loaded)
Lessweightonfrontaxle
Lessstickytires(lowerdecelerationlimit)
Factorsthatwillincreaserearbias
Increasedrearrotordiameter
Increasedrearbrakepadcoefficientoffriction
Increasedrearcaliperpistondiameter(s)
Decreasedfrontrotordiameter
Decreasedfrontbrakepadcoefficientoffriction
Decreasedfrontcaliperpistondiameter(s)
Highercenterofgravity(i.e.raisedvehicle)
Lessweightonrearaxle(i.e.unloaded)
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Moreweightonfrontaxle
Morestickytires(higherdecelerationlimit)
ProportioningModifications
Wecouldstartthissectionbyclearlystatingthatyoushouldnotmodifyyourproportioningvalve.But,whatfunwouldthatbe?Inallseriousness,makingchangestotheproportioningvalvetoeffectbrakebiasshouldbelefttothosewiththepropertools
andmeasurementdevices,butifyouhavetweakedyourvehiclebeyondrecognition,thismaybeyouronlysolutiontorestoreasenseofproperbiastoyourbrakingsystem.
Wellstartherewiththreeofthemostbasicrulesregardingproportioningvalveinstallationandselection.
1.Ifyouhavethedeeplyrootedneedtoinstallyourownadjustableproportioningvalve,beadvisedthattheyshouldNEVERbeinstalledifthefactoryunitisstillinplace.Proportioningvalvesinserieswithoneanothercandonasty,unpredictablethings!
2.Ifyouhavethedeeplyrootedneedtoinstallyourownadjustableproportioningvalve,beadvisedthattheyshouldNEVERbeinstalledinlinetothefrontbrakes.Theeffectwouldbetomakeyourvehiclerearbiasedbeforeyoucouldsayterminal
oversteer.Frontbrakelinepressureshouldalwaysbeleftaloneonlytherearpressuresshouldbeconsideredforproportioning.
3.Inallcases,thebasicbrakesystembalanceneedstobeclosetooptimizedtostartwith.Thisistheonlywaythataproportioningvalvecanbeeffectivelyutilized.Youshouldneverassumethatsimplyaddingaproportioningvalvewilladdressallrear
biasconditions,aseventhebestproportioningvalvesmustbewellmatchedtothetargetvehicle.
ProportioningValveSelection
Selectingthecorrectadjustableproportioningvalveforyourvehicleentailsnotonlyselectingtheproperpointatwhichslopelimitingbegins(thekneepoint),butalsoselectingtheproperrateatwhichrearbrakelinepressurebuildsafterthatpoint(the
slope).Nearlyeveryadjustableproportioningvalveonthemarkettodayhasanadjustablekneepoint(thepointatwhichtherearbrakelinepressurebeginstobecontrolled),butafixedslope(therateatwhichitbuildsbeyondthekneepoint).Whileone
parameterisadjustable,botharecriticaltosystemperformance.NotethatinFigureEthetwocurveshavethesamekneepoint,buttheslopesvarygreatly.
Sohowdoesoneselecttherightkneepointandslope?Withoutthetestandmeasurementresourcesofamajorautomotivemanufacturer,itsnexttoimpossibletosay.Ofcourse,youcouldtrialanderroryourwayintoasolutionthatyoubelievetobe
appropriate,butwithouttestingunderallconditionsofloading,speed,androadconditionstheremightbeoneoperatingconditionjustwaitingtobiteyou.
Inshort,ifyoufindyourselfthinking,IwonderhowIwouldpicktherightproportioningvalveformycar?youprobablyshouldntbechangingityourself.
ElectronicProportioning:NoTamperingAllowed
Asasmallsidebartothemechanicalproportioningvalvediscussedhere,thereisamovementafoottoreplacetheproportioningvalvefunctionwiththehardwareperformingtheABSfunction.Whilethisisnotyetthenorm,mosthighendperformance
carsalreadyhavethisfeatureasstandardequipmentandonecanpredictwithreasonablecertaintythatthetrendwillcontinue.
BasedoninformationgatheredfromthefourABSwheelspeedsensors,theDynamicRearProportioning(DRP)orElectronicBrakeforceDistribution(EBD)algorithmscalculatethefronttorearslipratioofthefourtires.Then,givenpresetthresholdsand
parameters,theABShardwarecaninterveneandmodifythebrakepressuregoingtotherearwheelsautomatically.
BecauseDRPandEBDarebasedonactualwheelslipandnotonbrakelinepressure,thistypeofrearproportioningismoreflexibleandadaptabletomodificationsonemightmaketotheirvehicle.Itisalsolessexpensive,astheOEMcannowremovethe
mechanicalproportioningvalvefromthevehicleandreplaceitsfunctionwithotherhardwarealreadyonboard.
Naturally,theOEMdoesnotwantownersfiddlingwiththeirfronttorearproportioning,andasaresultthereisnowayfortheenthusiasttoreprogramDRPorEBDtosuittheirdesires.Ofcourse,ifthevehiclesoriginalfronttorearbiasisintactinthefirst
place,thereisnoneedtoreprogramanyway.
PlanWisely
Insummary,thereismoretotheproportioningvalvethanmeetstheeye.Youshouldmakeeveryattempttocarefullyplanandselectyourbrakemodificationssothatyouareabletoretainandreapthebenefitsofthestockproportioningvalve.Inother
words,payattentionto(anddontstraytoofarfrom)thefactorybiasinthefirstplaceandyouwillbeaheadofthegame.
Ifforotherreasonsyouareforcedtoscrapthestockunitandreplaceitwithanaftermarketunit,beadvisedthatselectionandadjustmentarenotfortheuninitiated.Whilethereismorethanonewaytoachieveoptimumbalanceatthepointofmaximum
deceleration,withouttherightamountofknowhowyoumightbemakingcompromisesunderpartialbrakingconditionsthatwerenotpresentwiththefactoryhardware.
Again,rememberthatsimplyaddingorreplacingaproportioningvalvemaynotbeenoughtoremedybasketcasebiasscenarios.Properplanningandupfrontdesignshouldensurethatthebasevehiclebiasisappropriatefromthestart,enablingthe
proportioningvalvetobeusedproperlyasafinetuningdevice.
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