i've always wondered the pros and cons of brake discs and brake drums... obviously one is better performance wise, but i wanna know overall anyways and for different situations.

ex: straight line performance, cornering/handling and stability, bang for buck, maintenance..

any tips would help, thanks

 

As far as maintenance....disks are 10000 times better. Changing shoes in drum brakes is a very unfun experience.

Pretty much all of the pros go to the disks and all of the cons go to the drums. Only downside to the disks at all is that some of our cars didn't come with them, so it costs you money to put them on.

 

I can think of only one pro for drums and thats dust buildup. But pretty much all of the pros go to disc. They are just better.
Easier to work on
easier to check for wear
more variety of parts
look better imo
stop better
cool better

Edit: A few more pros for drum. I know that some can be adjusted for zero drag wich is good for drag racing because discs are always rubbing.
And drums have less rotating mass and are lighter.


Modified by _BEN_ at 5:01 PM 5/2/2004

 

From what I remember the rear brakes only deal with a very small percentage of the braking power. Like Ricey said drums are a pain in the *** to maintain while the discs are much easier. Unless you plan on autocrossing competitively or running on a curcuit of any kind I don't think that its the most important upgrade. The drums can handle drag racing and daily driving with little or no problem.

 

Autoxing has nothing to do with whether or not you should have drums or not. Like you said, most of the braking force happens up front.

 

i learned in automechanics class that the disc brake are better then drum brakes, because they tend to cool down a little better.

 

drum brakes have more surface area than disc...hence greater stopping power. AND they take less pressure to work.

Downside is they heat up WAY too quick....making them not good for racing, etc.

I drive my 70 Chevy on a cold day.,..first thing in the morning, stomp on the brakes, and it THROWS me into the glass. No power, 4 way drum...it's wonderful

 

the only thing drum brakes have over disks are that drum brakes are self energizing

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SkyeC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Autoxing has nothing to do with whether or not you should have drums or not. Like you said, most of the braking force happens up front.</TD></TR></TABLE>
The reason I said that is because chances are good that you'll be going through brakes quicker if your competing in autocross events or tracking the car, its easier to service the discs. The discs will also cool quicker between autocross runs or heats.

 

I think disc brakes are better because

The have more heat disapation....Thats the main reason they are yoused.

I think It was back in the late 50s or 60s some ittalian race team was racing another and one had disc breaks and the other had drums. The team with drums switched to discs because they were getting out braked.

They are also A LOT easier to change out and keep maintenance on.

 

I think the only plus that i know of for drum brakes are that they dont lock up as fast as disc brakes.

 

DISCS
-Pros: Easy to work on, dissipate heat quickly, look cooler
-Cons: Often need to do a swap to get them at all four corners.

DRUMS
-Pros: More stopping power.
-Cons: Pain in the *** to work on, dissipate heat poorly, look pansy.