Fun Facts about Your Car Brake Caliper’s Placement (Part 3)

In this section, we will examine the rear wheel braking system.

Similar to the front wheel, one factor that affects the location of the brake caliper is the geometry design of the car’s rear suspension.

For some cars, there are control arm that connects to the rear part of the wheel hub, which takes up places that can fit the brake, therefore the brake caliper must be located in front of the rear wheel axle. For example the Lexus GS350 with rear wheel steering option, the control arm is located behind the wheel hub, therefore the brake must be placed on the other side.

For some other cars, the rear suspension control arms are in front of the wheel axle, therefore the brake caliper is located behind the axle. One example is the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S, as shown below.

You may have a question: in all the 4 combinations of front/rear wheel brake location, which one is the best? In part 4, I will provide some analysis.

Index

Fun Facts about Your Car Brake Caliper’s Placement (Part 1)
Fun Facts about Your Car Brake Caliper’s Placement (Part 2)
Fun Facts about Your Car Brake Caliper’s Placement (Part 3)
Fun Facts about Your Car Brake Caliper’s Placement (Part 4): Roll Center