Diagonally opposite? No, it’s front and rear. However, brake fluid reservoirs haven’t been split for decades now, so if your fluid leaks out, every wheel is affected. It’s still highly unlikely that you’re going to have a leak that suddenly dumps all the fluid, unless you’re driving a very old and rotten car, in which case you probably know what you’ve gotten into.
Brakes that “fail on” while the vehicle is moving can be catastrophic for some dingus in a car. Truck drivers have much more intensive training and specialized licensing.
Hydraulic brakes in a car will still stop the car in a relatively controlled fashion even if the system is incredibly degraded, and they are purely mechanical. With wires, there’s a chance that the brakes go from “working normally” to “not working at all” without any warning. Hydraulic brakes fail gradually.
Yeah, I was going 55 when my rear brake failed on. I’m surprised the axle didn’t snap. I was on a narrow country road and was lucky to keep the car in my lane. I had to pull a 3 point turn then reverse to the gas station just ahead because my rear axle would only spin that direction. It was not my best night.
No. It is diagonally opposite. All rear will cause the veichle to fishtail and similar issues with all front braking in case of failure. Thus the parking brake is infact not an emergency brake but a parking brake.
The parking brake is an independent / redundant system. After the hydraulics have fully failed (which, no matter how well designed and built you think the system is, can still happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232 ), the cable actuated brakes can still serve to get the vehicle stopped more quickly and safely than opening the door and dragging your feet on the ground.
Apparently RWD cars are still commonly front-rear.
Also, it’s only a two-way split until the ABS pump, isn’t it? You get separate lines from there to each of the wheels because how else would you brake an individual wheel, which is kinda required for ESP to work properly
Show me one car that has diagonally opposite hydraulic brakes. I dare you.
They’re all split front/rear because the different axles provide different braking power. Most of the braking happens in the front; rear is primarily for stability. When you press the pedal, in fact, the rear brakes engage slightly before the front in order to add stability while braking.
I’ll look more into it later, learn about its failure modes and whatnot, but off the top of my head, it seems like it would still be a less effective system. I think I would much rather have one axle working. That mitigates the case where the two wheels are on different frictional surfaces, which could leave you with just a single wheel braking.
And still, if the fluid reservoir is a single undivided container, I’m not able to imagine a case where two wheels - horizontal or diagonal - would fail at once.
Examples and Explanation of Diagonally Split Dual Hydraulic Braking Systems
Diagonally arranged (or “diagonal-split”) dual hydraulic braking systems are the standard for most front-wheel-drive (FWD) vehicles. In this setup, one hydraulic circuit controls the front-right and rear-left wheels, while the second circuit handles the front-left and rear-right wheels.
This design is a safety feature: since front brakes provide about 70-80% of a car’s stopping power, a diagonal split ensures that if one circuit fails, you still have one functional front brake and the opposite rear brake to keep the car stable and stopping straight.
Examples of Cars Using Diagonal-Split Systems
Modern FWD Lineups: Most modern FWD cars use this by default. Specific examples include the SEAT Ibiza, Arona, Leon, and Ateca, as well as the majority of Ford’s FWD fleet.
Classic American Cars:
American Motors (AMC): One of the first U.S. adopters, starting in 1967.
General Motors (GM): Widely used in 1980s “X-body” cars like the Chevrolet Citation, Pontiac Phoenix, Oldsmobile Omega, and Buick Skylark, as well as the J-car and A-car platforms.
European Classics:
Saab: Notable in the Saab 96 (specifically the 1971 V4).
Classic Mini: Found on various versions produced between 1976 and 1980.
Other Notable Models:
Toyota Celica: Specifically the 1976 RA23 model.
Audi: Used in several historical models, including the Audi 5000.
In contrast, many Rear-Wheel-Drive (RWD) vehicles use a “front/rear” (black-and-white) split, where one circuit controls the entire front axle and the other controls the rear.
This is a problem I am encountering more and more frequently with “new tech.”
With old tech, the system would degrade - a little bit at a time, you could tell that something wasn’t right but it was still functional. You’d have warnings, often 1000 miles or more of clear warning that you need to get it serviced before you get stranded somewhere. Sure, not always, but often.
More often these days, my vehicles go from “everything is awesome” straight to: refuse to start or move mode. Sure, there are some “limp home” modes, but I have gone from zero warnings on the dash, zero unusual behavior, straight to no longer running / will not start, 3 times in the last 5 years (on 3 different vehicles) - each time it was “something new” that had that binary mode: working / not working and you’re gonna have to get a tow. I have been towed in the past with “old tech” that failed on the highway (blown radiator hose, rusted ground point on the fuel pump wire), but not for such picayune little electrical/software details like these recent failures.
Diagonally opposite? No, it’s front and rear. However, brake fluid reservoirs haven’t been split for decades now, so if your fluid leaks out, every wheel is affected. It’s still highly unlikely that you’re going to have a leak that suddenly dumps all the fluid, unless you’re driving a very old and rotten car, in which case you probably know what you’ve gotten into.
Brakes that “fail on” while the vehicle is moving can be catastrophic for some dingus in a car. Truck drivers have much more intensive training and specialized licensing.
Hydraulic brakes in a car will still stop the car in a relatively controlled fashion even if the system is incredibly degraded, and they are purely mechanical. With wires, there’s a chance that the brakes go from “working normally” to “not working at all” without any warning. Hydraulic brakes fail gradually.
Yeah, I was going 55 when my rear brake failed on. I’m surprised the axle didn’t snap. I was on a narrow country road and was lucky to keep the car in my lane. I had to pull a 3 point turn then reverse to the gas station just ahead because my rear axle would only spin that direction. It was not my best night.
No. It is diagonally opposite. All rear will cause the veichle to fishtail and similar issues with all front braking in case of failure. Thus the parking brake is infact not an emergency brake but a parking brake.
The parking brake is an independent / redundant system. After the hydraulics have fully failed (which, no matter how well designed and built you think the system is, can still happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232 ), the cable actuated brakes can still serve to get the vehicle stopped more quickly and safely than opening the door and dragging your feet on the ground.
I’ve never seen a braking system that isn’t split between front and rear (except really old cars that aren’t split at all).
You’re probably driving a diagonally split car right now.
Apparently RWD cars are still commonly front-rear.
Also, it’s only a two-way split until the ABS pump, isn’t it? You get separate lines from there to each of the wheels because how else would you brake an individual wheel, which is kinda required for ESP to work properly
Show me one car that has diagonally opposite hydraulic brakes. I dare you.
They’re all split front/rear because the different axles provide different braking power. Most of the braking happens in the front; rear is primarily for stability. When you press the pedal, in fact, the rear brakes engage slightly before the front in order to add stability while braking.
Don’t get sassy with me son, I’ll put you right where you belong.
Are we going to Mrs Cumberdale’s?
That’s great but technically: Not a car.
Buuurrrn
Here’s an entire manufacturer: Seat
Interesting, I was unaware of that one.
I’ll look more into it later, learn about its failure modes and whatnot, but off the top of my head, it seems like it would still be a less effective system. I think I would much rather have one axle working. That mitigates the case where the two wheels are on different frictional surfaces, which could leave you with just a single wheel braking.
And still, if the fluid reservoir is a single undivided container, I’m not able to imagine a case where two wheels - horizontal or diagonal - would fail at once.
Examples and Explanation of Diagonally Split Dual Hydraulic Braking Systems
Diagonally arranged (or “diagonal-split”) dual hydraulic braking systems are the standard for most front-wheel-drive (FWD) vehicles. In this setup, one hydraulic circuit controls the front-right and rear-left wheels, while the second circuit handles the front-left and rear-right wheels.
This design is a safety feature: since front brakes provide about 70-80% of a car’s stopping power, a diagonal split ensures that if one circuit fails, you still have one functional front brake and the opposite rear brake to keep the car stable and stopping straight.
Examples of Cars Using Diagonal-Split Systems
In contrast, many Rear-Wheel-Drive (RWD) vehicles use a “front/rear” (black-and-white) split, where one circuit controls the entire front axle and the other controls the rear.
I dArE yOu
Oh yeah I double dog dare you
LOL. That’s wrong. You are confusing brake bias with brake circuitry.
This is a problem I am encountering more and more frequently with “new tech.”
With old tech, the system would degrade - a little bit at a time, you could tell that something wasn’t right but it was still functional. You’d have warnings, often 1000 miles or more of clear warning that you need to get it serviced before you get stranded somewhere. Sure, not always, but often.
More often these days, my vehicles go from “everything is awesome” straight to: refuse to start or move mode. Sure, there are some “limp home” modes, but I have gone from zero warnings on the dash, zero unusual behavior, straight to no longer running / will not start, 3 times in the last 5 years (on 3 different vehicles) - each time it was “something new” that had that binary mode: working / not working and you’re gonna have to get a tow. I have been towed in the past with “old tech” that failed on the highway (blown radiator hose, rusted ground point on the fuel pump wire), but not for such picayune little electrical/software details like these recent failures.