Rear discs vs drums

[Silver R/T]

There's a discussion on another forum whether are discs better than drums on the rear of the truck. For any matter, I like discs on all of my cars. Drums are just too complicated and don't stop quite as well imo. What do you guys think, drums or discs and why?

[Rolling_Thunder]

I feel for the rear of a truck - drums are great - no squeeling, long lasting, self adjusting, and not overly complicated (look at what big rigs use)

For your average car - drums are fine...     high performance cars all use discs for a reason...   

[Kern Dog]

I like hot butter on my breakfast toast.

[Ghoste]

How many high speed panic stops in a row have you made in your drum brake Charger where you experienced brake fade and missed that next chicane??  I think for a truck you would be plenty fine.

[Aero426]

Nothing wrong with drums on the back of a truck.   For that application, they can be easy to maintain as well.   

[Musicman]

Drum brakes have always been better than disc brakes in terms of stopping power. As everyone knows however, stock drum brakes have a real problem with heat dissipation, especially the front drums which handle the brunt of the initial load transfer.
Drilled drums can be purchased which eliminate the issue, but they are very expensive, and in most cases cannot be turned down and reused unless your shop uses a stone... Though many claim to have cut them on the lathe?

Disc brakes are the best and most economical alternative to front drums in most cases, but changing over can be problematic. Disc brake systems require twice the hydraulic force of standard drum brakes, and much larger pistons (or an equivalent multi-piston caliper) to perform the same task. Then there is rotor size to be considered, 11” rotors being more or less the minimum, requiring 15” or larger rims 99% of the time.

As far as the rear of the vehicle is concerned… The rear brakes do not absorb the initial weight transfer like the fronts, so heat dissipation is not as much of an issue, but they are in full use after this and can still get hot if repeated braking is necessary. Generally speaking however, rear drums are still the best choice on average.

I personally like having Disc brakes up front simply because they are somewhat easier to maintain on a regular basis, as long as you can get a system that will actually stop the car, but I’ll take drums out back any day of the week. Drilled drums even better…

[Ghoste]

Never heard of drilled drums before, learned something new.  Thanks man.

[terrible one]

Never heard of drilled drums before, learned something new.  Thanks man.

Neat idea. Same goes for me.

[Musicman]

Really???

It's an old Hot Rodders trick from way back... 4 Wheelers use them too because the drilled drums eject water and mud from the brakes too, as well as heat.

You can do it yourself with the proper tools and a little knowledge... some retailers will drill them for you for a nominal fee. ... or you can buy them ready made, but they were pretty pricey last time I looked.

[Ghoste]

Seriously.  Not much into four wheel drive so no surprise there but if its an old hot rodders trick then it should have been something my dad had mentioned.  Once more he was right, I wasn't paying attention.

[Musicman]

Legend has it, the guy who came up with the idea, came up with it at about the same time that disc brakes were first being developed for and pushed in the racing circuit to resolve the issue of brake fade, salt flat racing in particular. Anyway... the idea apparently got lost and overshadowed in all the big name publicity surrounding the new disc brakes, and it has more or less been a well kept secret ever since.

[flyinlow]

One plus I have found with rear drums is a better parking/emergency brake. My 04 Ram has 4 rear disks and I jumped on the rear disk wagon on my 73 Charger. They both work well with the normal service brakes and they both have dual mastercylinders ,so the chance of total service brake failure is remote. However, when the Charger had rear drums ,you could hold the parking brake release handle out and depress the parking brake petal and make a normal deceleration rate stop using the cable/lever applied rear drum brakes. If I do this with the rear disk brakes installed , Fred Flinstone could stop faster. So I traded a slight improvement in normal braking, for a dramatic loss of emergency braking.They will hold the car on a grade parking.

Pay your money,take your chances...

[Musicman]

When the Charger had rear drums ,you could hold the parking brake release handle out and depress the parking brake petal and make a normal deceleration rate stop using the cable/lever applied rear drum brakes. If I do this will the rear disk brakes installed , Fred Flinstone could stop faster.

That tells you something about the stopping power of drum brakes doesn't it.

[Silver R/T]

On another note there are cars that have BOTH. My mom's 05 Subaru has disc brake on the back that serves as a drum. There's pads INSIDE of the disc that serves as Ebrake (although I find that ridiculous and overly complicated)

[six-tee-nine]

I guess some of the older guys here are gonna start shooting after I say this......


Drums are like carbs, a thing of the past. And even the most modern rigs have disc brakes now. And whoever tries to tell you that drums brake better than discs needs to stop smoking crack.
Discs brakes are alot easier to maintain (dont do jack to them untill the pads are worn, change the pads, clean the sliding surface of the pads and stay of it till they are worn again). Those damn self ajusting mechanisms on drum brakes never work because they always get stuck from rust and brake dust unless you clean them 3 times a year.
Oh no I'm happy as a kid with disk brakes on the modern cars, one of the good things in the world of automotive evolution for sure.....

[Silver R/T]

Only time drums are used on modern cars is when car is a budget car and they're trying to save money. If you take top of the line model of the car it will have disc brakes vs drum brakes on same model but with lower options.

[bull]

Discs are actually pretty useless on the back of a street car. I'm sure F1 cars get some use out of them but for 99% of the vehicles out there, rear discs are just for looks.

[Silver R/T]

Isn't that why there's proportioning valve is to adjust pressure between front and rear, correct me if I'm wrong.

[JaxRhapsody]

On another note there are cars that have BOTH. My mom's 05 Subaru has disc brake on the back that serves as a drum. There's pads INSIDE of the disc that serves as Ebrake (although I find that ridiculous and overly complicated)

A number of ford are like that too. Its not that complex, the zystems are separate.

[Musicman]

On another note there are cars that have BOTH. My mom's 05 Subaru has disc brake on the back that serves as a drum. There's pads INSIDE of the disc that serves as Ebrake (although I find that ridiculous and overly complicated)

This is done on many of todays vehicles, and it is done because drum barkes require very little force to get the job done, so they are perfect for E-Brake systems.

[Musicman]

Discs are actually pretty useless on the back of a street car. I'm sure F1 cars get some use out of them but for 99% of the vehicles out there, rear discs are just for looks.

[Ghoste]

No one said drums were superior, I believe what is being said is that the hype surrounding discs is a little over the top.  Drums are much more effective than people who are unfamiliar with them tend to think.  To read the tech articles in car mags today you would think that every car that was out there with drums is a barely stoppable beast about to slide into whatever is ahead of it like a pig on ice skates at every second.  Luckily those same mags all have a terrific list of paying advertisers who make their living out of selling you conversion kits.
I'll stand by the side that says that for the rear of the truck in question drums are going to work just fine.

[Musicman]

Drums are like carbs, a thing of the past. And even the most modern rigs have disc brakes now.

They also have 18-20" rims to accomidate a rotor large enough to stop a frigg'n 3500 lb car.
THANKS FOR THAT BY THE WAY!

And whoever tries to tell you that drums brake better than discs needs to stop smoking crack.

Anyone who says disc's are better should take a class in basic Physics or Hydraulics... Or talk to a trucker

Discs brakes are alot easier to maintain (dont do jack to them untill the pads are worn, change the pads, clean the sliding surface of the pads and stay of it till they are worn again).

Amen to that... although I have cursed at more than one set of disc's as well. They're not all peaches and cream.

[Musicman]

No one said drums were superior, I believe what is being said is that the hype surrounding discs is a little over the top.  Drums are much more effective than people who are unfamiliar with them tend to think.  To read the tech articles in car mags today you would think that every car that was out there with drums is a barely stoppable beast about to slide into whatever is ahead of it like a pig on ice skates at every second.  Luckily those same mags all have a terrific list of paying advertisers who make their living out of selling you conversion kits.
I'll stand by the side that says that for the rear of the truck in question drums are going to work just fine.

Well said 

[Musicman]

Isn't that why there's proportioning valve is to adjust pressure between front and rear, correct me if I'm wrong.

Proportioning valves only come into play under abnormal breaking conditions... hard sudden stops, etc... to keep the rear from locking up to quickly. Most of the time they don't do all that much of anything really... not during your average day to day stopping anyway. Either way, they only slow the rate at which the pressure rises, sooner or later both front & rear see their full line pressure, it just depends on the circumstances.

[Silver R/T]

I know on my Charger rear drums are adjusted well and car won't drive if parking brake is engaged. However we took a trip up in the mountain years ago and coming down mountain my drums overheated (back ones actually started smoking) and I had to stop a bit to let them cool. I could've lost brakes and just rolled off of mountain-pretty dangerous situation. Even when normally driving car it takes great effort to stop it (partially being that it doesn't have power booster)

[Musicman]

Mountains... 2 words... Engine Braking 

[six-tee-nine]

Drums are like carbs, a thing of the past. And even the most modern rigs have disc brakes now.

They also have 18-20" rims to accomidate a rotor large enough to stop a frigg'n 3500 lb car.
THANKS FOR THAT BY THE WAY!

And whoever tries to tell you that drums brake better than discs needs to stop smoking crack.

Anyone who says disc's are better should take a class in basic Physics or Hydraulics... Or talk to a trucker

Discs brakes are alot easier to maintain (dont do jack to them untill the pads are worn, change the pads, clean the sliding surface of the pads and stay of it till they are worn again).

Amen to that... although I have cursed at more than one set of disc's as well. They're not all peaches and cream.

True they can also be a pain in the a** when seized bolts come into play.


I think that the fact that you see more discs on 4 wheels is just a matter of cost. Car manufacturers take a disc set of a smaller model and just put them in the rear. and they dont need several drum setups.
On the other hand they also do it to shaft their customers. Rear discs hardly need service where's drums need cleaning and adjusting from time to time.
So they can charge you as much as they used to on your old drum brake car and actually do less to it

[Cooter]

REAR disc brakes are like Fuel Injection when it comes to money spent to acomplish the same job.. some will pay the cost for the "Wow" factor of appearing to "Need" rear disc brakes. On the front however, the swap on most of these type cars is so easy, drums lose hands down.

On the rear however, it cost WAY the hell up there compared to the stock drum set up. Really? I doubt anyone on here is ready to scratch up that shiney, new paint job trying to become the next Road Racing prodigy.
So, do I think F.I. and Rear discs are worth the extra Coin? Nope. Not needed in my instance, but I can certainly see why the Wow factor chasers would.

[tan top]

yeah drilled drums  don't hear about it now , but like was mentioned a old trick ,  
was going to look into getting another set of drums & drilling them years back at the sime time i was going to fit a power booster , but never bothered !! good idea to count sink the holes in the inside a tiny bit  too  

[BigBlockSam]

i'm putting Discs on the back off my daytona . mostly for looks true the big rims . the car stops great with 11 inch drums on the rear and discs up front that it has now