Enter the total vehicle weight (lbf) and the brake effort (lbf) into the calculator to determine the Brake Efficiency. 

Brake Efficiency Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the Brake Efficiency. 

Ebrake = VW / BE * 100
  • Where Ebrake is the Brake Efficiency (%)
  • VW is the total vehicle weight (lbf) 
  • BE is the brake effort (lbf) 

To calculate brake efficiency, divide the total vehicle weight by the brake effort, then multiply by 100.

How to Calculate Brake Efficiency?

The following two example problems outline how to calculate the Brake Efficiency.

Example Problem #1:

  1. First, determine the total vehicle weight (lbf). In this example, the total vehicle weight (lbf) is given as 1500.
  2. Next, determine the brake effort (lbf). For this problem, the brake effort (lbf) is given as 399.
  3. Finally, calculate the Brake Efficiency using the equation above: 

Ebrake = VW / BE * 100

Inserting the values from above and solving the equation: 

Ebrake = 1500 / 399 * 100 = 375.95 (%)


Example Problem #2: 

Using the same process as above, first define the variables required by the formula. In this case, these values are:

total vehicle weight (lbf) = 1600

brake effort (lbf) = 250

Entering these values yields:

Ebrake = 1600/ 250 * 100 = 6.4 (%)