WHAT IS REGULATION 90?
The aim of Regulation 90 (ECE R90) is to establish a common minimum standard of braking performance, product integrity and manufactured quality for replacement brake pads and linings.
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The standard was introduced in 1999 to control the performance, manufacture, distribution, and installation of replacement brake pads and linings.
Brake drums and discs were not included in ECE R90. These too are safety critical components and so the approval was extended in 2014 to include commercial vehicle products and in 2016 for light vehicles and it became known as ECE R90:02.
The approval for replacement brake discs and drums follows the same general concept as for replacement brake linings, as show in the table.
This regulation only applies to replacement parts for braking systems type-approved after the following dates:
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Light Vehicles
​Pads and Shoes - September 1999
Discs and Drums - November 2016
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Commercial Vehicles
Brake Pads - November 2014
Brake Linings - November 2014
Discs and Drums - November 2014
There are performance tests to check that the replacement part meets the requirements of Regulation 13 (CV). To ensure vehicles safety and part quality, the regulations demand that replacement brake discs and drums should have performance levels to within 8% of the OE part that it is replacing.
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The regulations incorporate some key test parameters designed to ensure that replacement parts match the capability of OE parts, not least in dissipating high levels of braking energy without excessive cracking or structural failure. So Structural Integrity tests lie at the heart of ECER90:02, in particular the Thermal Fatigue test.
