Car wheel braking distance, professional?

Question

is this statement true?

"The amount of brake force that can be applied to a wheel without locking it depends on the amount of weight on the wheel. More weight means more brake force can be applied."

Answer 1

Nope. Wrong. Friction has nothing to do with weight, or force, or at least. very little in the context you are proposing. If I put a 5500 pound truck on dry pavement, and another on wet 32 degree Fahrenheit ice, they both have 5500 pounds distributed over the 4 wheels.  You are confusing weight with the coefficient of friction. Did you know that electro/diesel locomotives which weigh tons, actually have a device to put sand in front of it's wheels when starting out or pulling up a steep grade to increase traction and avoid wheel spin? The engineer hits a button, or a computer on some trains, and a little nozzle releases the sand. So much for weight being the main factor.

Answer 2

To a degree, it's correct, but it also depends on the width, tread pattern, and composition of the tire, and road  conditions. A heavy vehicle will slide farther on slick pavement than a light one.

Answer 3

Yes, this is true.

Brakes work on the principle of turning momentum into heat energy via friction. therefore the heavier the object is the more friction would be required.

  

i will give an example in response to RUDY's answer.

If you were to hold a long piece of rope with one handand I put 30 pounds of weight on the end of the rope, You could stop the rope from pulling through your hand by squeezing tighter.  If the weight was increased to 150 pounds you would have to squeeze much tighter, and if the weight was increased to 800 pounds you would get rope burn.

   The same principle applies to brakes!