Damn "Jake Brakes".....

[BiggJawn]

It's some kind of compression release engine brake for big trucks. At least that's the intended purpose.

I think the actual usage is to remove the factory silencer and use them to annoy people in the little towns you go barrelling through...

I live along a State Road, and at LEAST once a day, I get some truck going by "BRRWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHPPPPP!"

Guess the ditto-heads think it makes their dicks bigger or something.

Some towns have signs prohibiting their use, with fines....

[TOhioLiberal]

1. I always wondered..

..what a 'Jake Break' was. Seen signs prohibiting their use, but didn't know what the hell they were.

[shoelace414]

4. any signs that say "jake brake"

are sent litters by the Jake Brake company, since it is a registered trademark. and then they change it to "no engine braking"

I believe how it works is by shutting off half the cylinders

[Xithras]

6. It turns the engine into an air compressor...

...by opening the exhaust valve at the top of the compression stroke (obviously the fuel injection is cut off as well).

BTW, a standard Jake Brake (aka motor brake, engine brake, oil brake, etc.) is no louder than a lawnmower or a leaf blower, and doesn'trun nearly as long as they do.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. No, not a penis thing

Braking that way is easier than using brakes, and a more efficient use of the energies at hand.

Louder than hell, though, as you say.

[BiggJawn]

3. They're not all loud.

Most of them come through town and if they hit 'em it's "thhhhhhhrruppppp!"
But some of these cowboys either pull the silencers off or feed them into the stacks or both and then it's "BRRRRAAWWWWWWWWWWPPPPPPFFFF!"

On bozo who drives a hog truck route through town on his way to the slaughterhouse over in Delphi starts "blapping" his about 2 miles out of town. You can sit outside and hear him hitting it almost 5 minutes before he gets to the town limit sign, then he hangs on it all the way to the stoplight.

THOSE guys, I say they have Penis Envy.

[Xithras]

5. Umm, do you realize that they're there to save brakes and lives?

Big trucks weigh a LOT more than your standard car or truck (50,000 - 80,000 pounds vs. 2,000 - 6,000 pounds) and yet they rely on what is essentially the same braking technology. On a downhill slope as slight as two or three degrees a heavily loaded truck can experience brake fading, brake failures, or even brake fires while trying to keep their speed in check or bring their trucks to a stop.

The oil brake (Jakes) allows the driver to check his speed and decelerate his truck without using or overheating his regular brakes, keeping them more responsive if needed for emergency braking maneuvers. It may sound loud and obnoxious, but it's there for good reason.

[BiggJawn]

7. No! Really????

How much do they "save" by taking the muffler off them and playing the bass line from "Another One Bites the Dust" as they come into town?

"Braap...Braaap...Braaap......Brap-brap Bra-bra-BAP!"

Or are you trying to tell me that these "Golden Knights of the Highway" would NEVER be so crude as to use their wonderful safety devices to annoy people, which was MY original thesis.....

Fire extinguishers save lives too, but I also have a problem with people who use them as toys...