Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)   A safety system which prevents the wheels on a motor vehicle from locking while breaking.  In essence the system sense the wheel rotation and automotically “pumps” the breakes in emergency braking conditions.  This allows the driver to maintain control of their steering when breaking heavily to prevent a skid.  While ABS offers improved vehicle control in some circumstances, it can also present disadvantages including increased braking distance on slippery surfaces such as ice, packed snow, gravel, steel plates and bridges, or anything other than dry pavement. ABS has also been demonstrated to create a false sense of security in drivers, who may drive more aggressively as a result.

Brake Caliper   The assembly which houses break pads and pistons.  There are (2) types of calipers-  floating or fixed.  A fixed caliper doesn't move relative to the disc.  It uses one or more pairs of opposing pistons to clamp from each side of the disc,  it's more complex and expensive than a floating caliper.  A floating caliper (also called a "sliding caliper") moves with respect to the disc,  along a line parellel to the axis of rotation to the disc;  a piston on one side of the disc pushes the inner brake pad until it makes contact with the breaking surface, then pulls the caliper body with the outer brake pad so pressure is applied to both sides of the disc.

Brake Pad   A replaceable piece of backing plate and additional friction lining.  Break pads are designed for high friction with brake pad material embedded in the disc in the process of bedding while wearing evenly.  Although it is commonly thought that the pad material contacts the metal of the disc to stop the car, the pads work with a very thin layer of their own material and generate a semi-liquid friction boundary that creates the actual braking force. Of course, depending on the properties of the material, disc wear rates may vary. The properties that determine material wear involve trade-offs between performance and longevity.

Brake Rotor   Same as disc brakes- it’s the metal disk that brake pads squeeze to stop a vehicle.

Disc Brakes   Sames as brake rotors.  They’re attached to the wheel hub and rotate with the wheel.  The brake calipers squeeze the disc to slow the vehicle when the brake pedal is depressed.