It’s easy to cover up a new braking technology called “Brembo Sensify”. At first glance, that name doesn’t say much. However, what this technology is to brakes in new cars is nothing short of a minor revolution.
When you fully depress the brake pedal of a modern car, the brake pressure is distributed in the same way every time. Fluid is pushed to all four corners by the master cylinder, compressing the caliper piston(s) and forcing the pads into the rotor, causing friction. On the surface, that’s what’s going on – of course it gets a bit more complicated when you introduce brake-by-wire technology, but even that’s pretty normal compared to what Brembo Sensify is. As an indication of how revolutionary this is going to be, brake fluid and brake lines become obsolete with Sensify.
The best way to understand what Sensify does is to give an example. In an emergency braking situation with new cars on the road today, you activate the anti-lock braking system, also known as ABS. It’s a smart technology that was invented decades ago and has improved since then. The purpose is in the name. Instead of you having to feel the brake pedal and pulsate at threshold braking to prevent the wheels from locking up, the system delivers you in a series of micro pulses, applying and reducing brake pressure over and over on its own, putting you at the most efficient speed. way to a stop and you maintain some semblance of control over the steering wheel. Anyone who rides, especially in wet or wintry conditions, has probably felt this in action. As soon as you activate the ABS system, the pedal will begin to pulse; the ABS system makes its usual noises and eventually you come to a stop. Hopefully.
That whole song and dance with ABS is completely redundant with Brembo’s Sensiify braking technology. Cars with Sensify don’t even have systems like ABS or have to take advantage of traditional systems we’ve used over the years to improve hydraulic braking systems, such as Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). To tell you why as succinctly as possible, this system is able to apply and retract braking pressure independently of the other wheel with an almost instantaneous response. It replaces all these innovations — ABS, EBD, etc. — that we’ve made to improve hydraulic-based systems with a single new system that can do everything faster.
To use an analogy, Sensify is like electric car hub motors, but instead of acceleration control, Brembo has total deceleration control. In the event of emergency braking that would otherwise use ABS, the Sensify system can bring you to a stop using a host of sensors and a combination of new braking system hardware consisting of new caliper, brake line and brake control technology. In a full emergency stop, those sensors are able to determine the tire’s maximum performance and apply the exact amount of pressure to the brakes to ensure the fastest braking distance without the ABS micro pulses. It’s smooth, calm and quiet sailing whatever speed you’re at, down to 0 mph.
In fact, the mechanics of the system are vastly different from the brakes in new cars today, and there are multiple setups that Brembo offers. The most advanced setup uses electromechanical calipers on all four corners. These calipers are powered by small electric motors that press the brake pads onto the rotor when you press the brake pedal. Your brake pedal in this case is essentially just an electrical button, which sends a signal to an ECU which in turn tells the calipers what to do. There are no traditional brake lines here, and because an electric motor is used as the actuator, there is no brake fluid either. You may be wondering, where is the backup system in this setup in the event of a power outage to the car? Brembo says vehicles with a full electromechanical braking system come with a backup power supply that will be used in such situations.
A hybrid system is also available in the Brembo Sensify brake lineup. This system uses the electromechanical brakes for the rear, but the front brakes are hydraulically actuated. However, even this traditional-sounding hydraulic front system is different from the usual, as each caliper has its own master cylinder. This creates two closed braking systems for each front wheel. The mechanics are much more like the brake-by-wire systems used in cars today, but Brembo can still have full, independent electrical control of each caliper due to the closed loop systems. As you would expect, the front calipers use brake fluid.
We had to try this system out in a Tesla Model 3 Performance to see if all the work Brembo has put in over the past 10 years – yes, 10 years of development – was worth it. Brembo hosted a number of events and obstacles at the Michelin Proving Grounds and then let us loose in both a Model 3 Performance with the current braking system, followed by time spent in a Model 3 Performance with the Sensiify system installed. The difference was shocking.
The first emergency stop – and every stop after that – we made in the Sensiify car was almost serene. From 0-100% brake pedal pressure in a car with traditional brakes will always result in some squeaking tires, ABS racket and maybe drifting a bit to one side or the other when you try to bring the car to a stop. With Sensify, Brembo’s sensors aim to keep braking pressure at the point where you’re using as much grip as the tires can afford, without locking up the wheels for even a split second. You are just towed off the highway to 0 mph as if you were taking a leisurely walk. When Brembo showed us the computer data afterwards, the brake pressure graphs didn’t lie. Rather than constantly adjusting the brake pressure as an ABS panic stop would cause, the brake pressure in the Sensiify car was even and consistent from the start to the end of the stop. This was the case on both dry and wet surfaces.
Brake seizing in the middle of the turn is a recipe for disaster in many cases, and while the ABS system in the Model 3 Performance handled this obstacle with ease, the Sensiify system fared even better. We were able to follow our line into the corner without any problems and the computer did an excellent job of keeping the car stable and predictable under hard braking. Even if you’re going so fast that a hint of understeer is the car’s first direction, you can quickly remedy that with steering effort aided by the braking patterns. Brembo even had us intentionally upset the vehicle by applying full braking force at 120 km/h into a bend and then shaking the steering wheel left and right. There was not even a trace of an out of control feeling. After that stop, Brembo presented the data explaining that the car would oscillate the brake pressure on the left and right rear brakes separately with each tug of the wheel in one direction or the other in an attempt to control the car. We will also note that all of these maneuvers were performed with the stability control fully defeated and in the Model 3 Performance’s “Track Mode”.
The last maneuver Brembo threw at us was a fast left-right that had to be completed under heavy braking from a fairly high speed. Once again, the Sensiify car outperformed the traditionally braking Model 3 Performance in both agility and control. Depending on the severity of the steering angle you apply when braking, the system helps you control even the slightest bit of oversteer to guide the rear end through a bend.
Brembo isn’t throwing any measurable improvements in wall braking distance yet, but engineers say this is largely because the system is still under test. An easier way to get better braking distances from a car is to simply upgrade the tires. However, Sensify comes with many other positives beyond extra smooth stops and independent brake control. First, it’s a big win in packaging as it gives OEMs more freedom with their platform and electrical architecture design. You no longer have to run brake lines through the car and the ABS system can be destroyed. As with current brake-by-wire systems, you can also adjust the brake feel and response. A “comfort” brake mode would give you a soft and progressive pedal, while a “track” brake mode could give you a super stiff and sensitive pedal feel.
There are also some big innovations here when it comes to efficiency. Brembo designed a new spring for its electromechanical calipers it calls “Enesys”, which is able to more completely remove the brake pad from the rotor when you’re not braking, reducing drag. This reduces rolling resistance, which is paramount for the EV range. In addition, your pads will last longer. Another plus for EVs is the regenerative braking potential – Brembo says it can recover more energy with the Sensiify braking system than a traditional braking system. That energy recovery is not without energy consumption, however, because you have to use battery energy to run the caliper motors.
The total weight of the system is another zero sum game. The added weight of the motors, sensors and other components makes up for the weight lost from removing brake lines, the master cylinder and other traditional brake system components. That extra weight is also in a place where you really don’t want it — hanging off the handlebars. This extra unsprung weight from the electromechanical brakes is exactly why Brembo believes the hybrid setup described earlier will be the best application for sports cars and supercars, keeping unsprung weight comparable to what a traditional braking system would be.
Finally, and some skepticism is needed here, Brembo claims that its electromechanical brake calipers are a lifelong part. Anyone with older vehicles will tell you they’ve gone through quite a few calipers over the years, but Brembo says the only parts you’ll ever need to replace are the brake pads and rotors. Of course, the hybrid setup that uses brake fluid and short front brake lines also requires brake fluid maintenance. Brembo says you can use any brake fluid or brake fluid you want.
Once the Sensiify braking system is here and on production cars, Brembo says it can update and “improve” it via over-the-air updates. We asked why a brake system should be updated, and Brembo reps told us it gives OEMs the option to sell as after-sales access to a pull brake package or racetrack brake software package (or any other package they can think of). If you thought we were already in subscription hell, just wait and see what happens. As for when you should expect Sensiify to appear in production cars, Brembo says it’s currently working with a number of OEMs, and the earliest examples of it are slated for sale in 2024. As for which OEMs and which models, Brembo is keeping tabs. on each other as it completes the Sensiify tuning.
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