How the New Copper Ban is Affecting High-Performance Car Brakes
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956:
How The New Copper Ban Is Affecting High-Performance Car Brakes:
Dialing in brake pads has become somewhat of a challenge for high-performance auto engineers. The ban on using copper in the pads-which collects as dust and washes into the ecosystem, where it can be toxic for both animals and humans-essentially goes into effect in 2021, and all manufacturers are working to eliminate copper and replace it with something else. Problem is, copper is really good for deflecting heat and so far, it's proven difficult to find a suitable replacement.
As Andrea Gavazzi, friction manager for the Brembo Group explained to The Drive, California and Washington have set the limit of five percent of copper content for friction material starting on Jan. 1, 2021. The next deadline is Jan. 1, 2025, for the complete elimination of copper content, and responsible manufacturers like Brembo are doing that now, rather than waiting.
[...] The problem dates back to the 1990s when cities south of San Francisco were having trouble meeting Clean Water Act requirements to reduce copper in urban run-off flowing into San Francisco Bay. Studies showed that brake pads were a significant source of the copper, washing into water runoffs from the street.
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