Brakes eventually wear out and need to be replaced, which is why Budget Brakes is in business. However, as a driver there are some strategic things you can do to increase the life of your brakes.
Mac Demere, a writer, vehicle tester and race driver, wrote for Edmunds.com about the Top 10 Ways To Make Your Brakes Last Longer. Today I’ll pull out a few gems from his list, then I’ll present the rest of his tips in my next two posts.
Speed Kills. Stops from high speed are the mortal enemy of brakes. And a little more speed hurts more than you can imagine. Stopping from 65 mph rather than 55 forces the brakes to dissipate about a third more energy.
No Lefties. Use only your right foot on the brake pedal. I often see cars cruising at a constant speed — or accelerating away from me — with brake lights either constantly illuminated or glowing like lonely lightning bugs. By braking with only your right foot, you'll avoid simultaneously pushing both pedals.
Be a Coaster. Coasting is a surprisingly easy way to get rid of a lot of brake-killing speed. If you know you'll have to stop at the end of a freeway off-ramp, coasting from 70 down to 50 before you brake will significantly reduce brake wear. Time lost will be little or, if cars are queued ahead, none.
So, the choice is yours. If you want your brakes to last longer, don’t habitually brake at high speeds, keep your left foot off the brake pedal, and learn how to coast.
Meet Steven Ryan
Hi, I'm Steven Ryan, the other partner of Budget Brakes.
Like Michael, I was born and raised in the metro Detroit area, and am a licensed pilot who enjoys flying. My wife and I have two daughters and live in Brentwood, Tennessee.
I'm a very active athlete and compete in many outdoor events, ranging from the Nashville Marathon and Chattanooga Stump Jumper 50K to a variety of expedition-length Adventure Races.
So, Michael and I have quite a bit in common besides being the the brake repair business.
I attended Northwood University in Michigan on a basketball scholarship and earned a degree in accounting. I also have an M.B.A. in finance from Walsh College in Troy, Michigan.
My first job after graduating from college was as a payroll coordinator, where I processed payroll checks for The Genesis Group, a payroll and human resource service provider. Within a year, I was running the Payroll Division.
Seeking to broaden my experience, I took a job as Director of Operations for the Personnel Department. My role was to clean up the Finance/Operation Department in preparation for selling the company, which then was successfully sold to a publicly traded company out of Columbus, Ohio.
This experience sparked a vision to create my own company, the Rockmor Group, which provided payroll and human resource outsource services.
After six years and more than $40 million a year in sales, I sold the Rockmor Group to a venture capital group in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Now that Michael and I have teamed up to run Budget Brakes, we're looking forward to continuing to grow our business as we serve the brakes and alignment needs of our customers.
Like Michael, I was born and raised in the metro Detroit area, and am a licensed pilot who enjoys flying. My wife and I have two daughters and live in Brentwood, Tennessee.
I'm a very active athlete and compete in many outdoor events, ranging from the Nashville Marathon and Chattanooga Stump Jumper 50K to a variety of expedition-length Adventure Races.
So, Michael and I have quite a bit in common besides being the the brake repair business.
I attended Northwood University in Michigan on a basketball scholarship and earned a degree in accounting. I also have an M.B.A. in finance from Walsh College in Troy, Michigan.
My first job after graduating from college was as a payroll coordinator, where I processed payroll checks for The Genesis Group, a payroll and human resource service provider. Within a year, I was running the Payroll Division.
Seeking to broaden my experience, I took a job as Director of Operations for the Personnel Department. My role was to clean up the Finance/Operation Department in preparation for selling the company, which then was successfully sold to a publicly traded company out of Columbus, Ohio.
This experience sparked a vision to create my own company, the Rockmor Group, which provided payroll and human resource outsource services.
After six years and more than $40 million a year in sales, I sold the Rockmor Group to a venture capital group in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Now that Michael and I have teamed up to run Budget Brakes, we're looking forward to continuing to grow our business as we serve the brakes and alignment needs of our customers.
Meet Michael Palazzolo
I'm Michael Palazzolo, and I was born and raised in the metro Detroit area. My wife and I have three children and live in Brentwood, Tennessee, which is a suburb of Nashville.
In my spare time I like to run, lift weights and ride my bike. I also am a licensed pilot and enjoy flying. I compete in many types of sporting events such as the Chattanooga Stump Jumper and a variety of expedition-length Adventure Races.
Being from Detroit, it's not too surprising that I found myself drawn into the automotive industry.
After graduating from high school, I quickly discovered I have a real passion for sales and marketing. My first job in the auto repair industry was as a manager of an AAMCO Transmission.
Within a year, I had taken one of the areas most under-performing stores and transformed it into one of the strongest in the region. I received a number of awards and recognitions for my accomplishments, and began looking for opportunities to start my own business.
In 1989, I opened my first brake repair shop, and within a few years I owned numerous shops around metro Detroit.
To fulfill my vision of having a national market presence, I started franchising the repair shops and soon had 100 franchises across the country. I eventually sold the franchise division, and in April 2001 my family and I relocated to Nashville to start Budget Brakes.
Because Nashville is centrally located in the Southeast, it provided the ideal market hub to grow my new model.
I was able to utilize all I learned the previous 20 years and create a new company that didn't involve franchising, which has given me an opportunity for more hands-on management.
In 2003, Steven Ryan became my business partner. Although our expertise was in very different areas, it didn't take long before we realized that we share a common vision.
We also realized that by blending our talents, we could create a customer-focused, service-orientated company that provides quality brake service at an affordable price.
That, in a nutshell, is what Budget Brakes is all about.
In my spare time I like to run, lift weights and ride my bike. I also am a licensed pilot and enjoy flying. I compete in many types of sporting events such as the Chattanooga Stump Jumper and a variety of expedition-length Adventure Races.
Being from Detroit, it's not too surprising that I found myself drawn into the automotive industry.
After graduating from high school, I quickly discovered I have a real passion for sales and marketing. My first job in the auto repair industry was as a manager of an AAMCO Transmission.
Within a year, I had taken one of the areas most under-performing stores and transformed it into one of the strongest in the region. I received a number of awards and recognitions for my accomplishments, and began looking for opportunities to start my own business.
In 1989, I opened my first brake repair shop, and within a few years I owned numerous shops around metro Detroit.
To fulfill my vision of having a national market presence, I started franchising the repair shops and soon had 100 franchises across the country. I eventually sold the franchise division, and in April 2001 my family and I relocated to Nashville to start Budget Brakes.
Because Nashville is centrally located in the Southeast, it provided the ideal market hub to grow my new model.
I was able to utilize all I learned the previous 20 years and create a new company that didn't involve franchising, which has given me an opportunity for more hands-on management.
In 2003, Steven Ryan became my business partner. Although our expertise was in very different areas, it didn't take long before we realized that we share a common vision.
We also realized that by blending our talents, we could create a customer-focused, service-orientated company that provides quality brake service at an affordable price.
That, in a nutshell, is what Budget Brakes is all about.
Welcome to Braking the Mold
We're Michael Palazzolo and Steven Ryan, co-owners of Budget Brakes.
Each week we'll bring you relevant news about and insights into our business, along with helpful tips about brake work, maintenance, alignments and anything else we think you'll find of interest related to the auto industry.
We'll talk about our stores, what we do and who you'll see when you walk in the doors of the Budget Brakes store in your community.
We'll also brag a bit about the communities and people we serve, and don't be surprised to see updates now and then as to how the local baseball, football and soccer teams we sponsor did in their most recent games.
Our commitment at each Budget Brakes store is to provide the best possible service and "go the extra mile" for our customers. From time to time, we'll give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we do both in our stores and in our communities, and we'll also share humorous real-life stores that have actually taken place on our property.
We'll also discuss some of our challenges as business owners, what we've learned about the industry over the years and how we live out our values day in and day out.
If you have questions, please send them to us! We'll answer as many of them as we can right here. Whether you are a Do-It-Yourselfer with a technical question or a novice who'd like an expert opinion on something related to your brakes, we want to hear from you.
We'd also like to hear what you want to learn about, whether it's how to know when your car needs new brakes, ways you can extend the life of your brakes, how to tell when your brake pads are shot -- or something elsel.
Beyond brakes, we'll blog about some of the other things we really care about -- things like running, biking, flying (we're both licensed pilots), adventure sports and interesting people who are involved in these activities.
We'll share more about ourselves in our next two posts. Thanks for stopping by.
Each week we'll bring you relevant news about and insights into our business, along with helpful tips about brake work, maintenance, alignments and anything else we think you'll find of interest related to the auto industry.
We'll talk about our stores, what we do and who you'll see when you walk in the doors of the Budget Brakes store in your community.
We'll also brag a bit about the communities and people we serve, and don't be surprised to see updates now and then as to how the local baseball, football and soccer teams we sponsor did in their most recent games.
Our commitment at each Budget Brakes store is to provide the best possible service and "go the extra mile" for our customers. From time to time, we'll give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we do both in our stores and in our communities, and we'll also share humorous real-life stores that have actually taken place on our property.
We'll also discuss some of our challenges as business owners, what we've learned about the industry over the years and how we live out our values day in and day out.
If you have questions, please send them to us! We'll answer as many of them as we can right here. Whether you are a Do-It-Yourselfer with a technical question or a novice who'd like an expert opinion on something related to your brakes, we want to hear from you.
We'd also like to hear what you want to learn about, whether it's how to know when your car needs new brakes, ways you can extend the life of your brakes, how to tell when your brake pads are shot -- or something elsel.
Beyond brakes, we'll blog about some of the other things we really care about -- things like running, biking, flying (we're both licensed pilots), adventure sports and interesting people who are involved in these activities.
We'll share more about ourselves in our next two posts. Thanks for stopping by.
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