JMD

While COST is a consideration with the use of drum brakes on trucks, it ain't the REAL REASON, as I am certain with wide spread use disk brakes could be competitive. The real advantage of drum brakes is the way large contact area between the drum and shoe possible with drum brakes.

While the highways are full of dumb *** drivers who smoke their brakes, the situation would be WORSE if disk brakes were heavily used.

The short answer is that in SOME ways, drums are better than disks...

JamesW

The problem is not that YOU have drum brakes. The problem is that everyone else has modern disc brakes and can stop quicker.*S*

Back in 65 when everyone had drum brakes, everybody drove like they had drum brakes.

1slow67

My drums are great. I don't plan on going disc brakes anytime soon.

JMD

As far as my Lincoln goes, I will take the Pepsi challenge against about any similarly equipped and weight car with disks.

Of course the drums on that Lincoln are 12" in diameter.

I have to think that if development on automotive drum brakes had not stalled out 30 or 40 years ago, drums may have proved more capable than they seem to be now.

Are disk brakes better than drum? (in general), yep, hands down, but a good set of well maintained drums are more than "good enough" to be absolutly safe for the way that most of us drive our cars,,,,,, STOPPED is STOPPED...

Sxynerd

YEAH, one more parts car! j/k that sucks if it wasn't their fault.

67mustang302

http://www.praisedynobrake.com/stage-iii.htm


I'm thinking about these for my rear until I have more money to spend on rear disc. Thoroughly modern drum brakes....cryogenically treated drums for better heat management with a ceramic composite shoe for better braking power. Not quite discs, but REALLY close. Not sure how they'd hold up on a road course under sustained high speed repeated braking....but if you have a car that fast you should really be running discs if the rules allow it.

And yeah, with the size of the drums on a semi, I have to imagine there's a HUGE amount of surface area on those shoes.

JMD

Those are really cool brakes, I bookmarked those for future consumption! I guess SOME folks HAVE been developing drum brakes.....

I would think that those brakes would hold up really well in any application so long as they were used on the REAR brakes. Just my guestimation but..

67mustang302

Evidently they work well on all 4 corners. I'm pretty certain I'll be sticking those on the rear soon. Wilwoods up front and those puppies in the rear, it might even be a permanent thing, who knows. I'll bet your right though, that in the rear they'd work under just about any condition.