Custom Brakes vs. Stock Brakes in Turf Care

Turf care vehicles equipped with the wrong brakes put property and rider safety at risk. Each turf care vehicle — from residential riding lawn mowers to golf course fairway mowers — needs brakes that perfectly fit the design and function.

Operators count on the brakes to help them move heavy loads, perform precise maneuvers, and maintain control. Most brake manufacturers produce standard, stock brakes that work well in many applications. But here’s why the smart choice is to customize your brakes instead of using stock products for your turf care vehicles.

Benefits of Custom Braking Systems

Integration

The best brakes are tailored to the vehicle and integrate seamlessly with the design, optimizing placement and usability. They also enhance the overall user experience. You’re more likely to see these qualities with custom brakes.

Consider the orientation of the brake lever on a riding lawn mower. Whether it’s vertical or horizontal depends on the rest of the vehicle design. The lever is situated for the rider’s most convenient and practical use.

Stock brakes may not fit the sizing constraints or provide the necessary mounting and friction material. They could even require modifications after installation, leading to delays in production or issues during operation.

Performance

Optimal pedal feel and lever resistance make a difference to overall performance. Since custom brakes are tailored to their vehicle, responsiveness, heat dissipation, and stopping power are often superior to stock brakes. This is essential in turf care vehicles tasked with navigating hills, shrubbery, and other obstacles. Plus, you’ll receive test results during the custom brakes’ design and production process.

Simply put, performance can only be truly trusted when you help create a brake system.

Special Features

When you’re looking at stock brakes, what you see is what you get. 

But when you work with engineers to design custom brakes, you can incorporate special features into the brake design that take into account your particular machine and operating conditions, including a higher clamp force that’s needed in turf care.

Cost Savings

Custom brakes will likely last longer and require less maintenance than stock brakes in your specific application. Yes, you’ll likely pay more for custom brakes, but this upfront investment pays off over time because of the durability and longevity of brakes made for that vehicle. Brakes that last longer and require less maintenance can attract more customers.

Expertise

With customized brakes, you’re incorporating the expertise and know-how of the engineering team who deeply knows what’s best for your use case.

Hayes Expertise Makes a Difference

Customization is where we thrive, and we encourage manufacturers to come to us during the initial vehicle design stage. Our innovative engineers work with you from the beginning on designing the brake components to work within your turf care vehicle before it hits the production floor.

You’ll work closely with a small, dedicated, 2- to 4-person team. We’ll gather your vehicle information and designs to nail our parameters. Engineers remain on board throughout the process, customizing calipers, mounting, levers, and more.

We love a challenge. Let’s work together to find the right disc brakes for your turf vehicles.