Brembo is confident rivals will find it difficult to copy Easy Check, its new feature designed both to make car brake disc wear simple to spot and to strengthen its brand image.

Two holes of different depths are machined into the face of the disc – one disappears when 80% of the usable surface is worn away, the other when it needs replacing. Brembo is negotiating with a manufacturer interested in Easy Check discs as original equipment.

The Italian manufacturer reckons Easy Check is the most significant advance since brake discs were introduced 40 years ago and is mounting an extensive awareness campaign among 25,000 UK franchised dealer workshops and independent garages, Andreas Taschini, Brembo aftermarket business unit director, says: “The Easy Check production process is complicated, and during development we had a lot of problems with cracking because the holes were in the wrong place.

“Copying is also unlikely because we manufacture all our own discs, whereas our six to eight main rivals in the British aftermarket have suppliers in a number of countries, including China. That, plus getting all those manufacturers to produce something similar on the range of discs needed to be competitive, makes copying unlikely.”

The advance increases the cost of production but Brembo has not raised prices and is banking on increased sales to justify the investment. The system will be introduced on the most popular Brembo brake discs and should cover 90% of the range by the end of next year. This month, Easy Check was introduced to Brembo’s £30m turnover UK market which takes 6% of sales.

Parts distributor GP Automotive is marking the launch with a promotion for workshops in October.