If you are confuse between choosing drum brakes vs disc brakes in your car then this blog might help you. So let’ s start with a simple question.
Can you imagine your car without brakes?
Clearly, no, right? The fact is that the car brakes are one of the most crucial elements in your car. The car brakes are constantly look to increase the vehicle’s safety characteristics. It is one of the essential automotive systems that companies regularly invest in and improve. When the brakes work smoothly and correctly, drivers feel confident on every ride. Modern braking systems provide cars with a competitive advantage in the market. This blog will discuss the two most essential brakes: Drum brakes vs Disc brakes.
Drum Brakes
A drum brake relies on the friction created by a pair of shoes or pads pressing outward against a revolving cylinder-shaped element known as a brake drum. This brake drum has always been a cylindrical drum fix to the inner surface of a car’s wheel and hence revolves at the same rate as the wheel. The drum encloses a pair of brake shoes covered in friction-generating compounds.
When the brake pedal is depressed, these shoes are forced outward against the internal layer of the brake drum, causing friction and thereby slowing the vehicle. A brake drum is often constructed of iron, which makes it more resistant to wear. Drum brakes were first employed on a Maybach automobile in 1900, although the concept was not registered until 1902 by Louis Renault. On the other hand, drum brakes are prone to heat buildup, which can impair braking ability.
If the drum is confined to prolonged severe braking, the heat created can lead the drum to expand, requiring the brake shoes to be driven further outwards to press on the inner surface of the drum. This results in the automobile having a ‘long pedal’ because the driver has to push it further down to have as much braking performance.
What Are The Advantages Of Drum Brakes?
1. It is less difficult to maintain.
Drum brakes are all-in-one, enclosed designs, with spring tension holding most components in place. This simplifies and lowers the cost of maintenance. For example, pull the spring in the braking system away to replace a pair of shoes using a brake tool. This will basically pull away the entire brake mechanism. The shoes may then be readily replaced, the springs, as well as brackets, reconnected, and the drum reinstalled. This may be completed in less than 10 to 15 minutes, using less work and time and hence incurring fewer expenditures.
2. Purchase and production costs are cheaper
Car manufacturers prefer drum brakes because they are less expensive than disc brakes. And, because the car’s manufacture costs less, the vehicle’s selling price may also be lower, making it cheaper and appealing to potential purchasers.
3. They are compatible with disc brakes.
If you want to keep your automobile expenditures low while improving the performance as well as security of your car, you may continue to utilise drum brakes on the back wheels and switch to disc brakes on the front.
What are the disadvantages of Drum Brakes?
1. It can easily gather water.
Because of its enclosed construction, water cannot be ejected immediately whenever the brake cavity becomes wet because of rain, flooding, and driving over a puddle. The accumulated water can lower the frictional qualities of the braking system, which can be problematic because the vehicle’s stopping capacity is reduced.
2. It has a faster onset of brake fade.
The drum & brake linings generate a lot of heat when going downhill, performing repeated forceful stops, and during panic stops. This heat decreases the level of friction between both the shoe and the drum, causing the car’s braking system to be less efficient than it should be. Even if the driver applies more pressure to the brakes, it will not increase the vehicle’s stopping capabilities owing to brake fade.
3. It becomes heated faster.
As noted in the first drawback, drum brakes have an enclosed construction. As a result, the quantity of air entering the brake system is reduced, lowering internal cooling. The heat must then be dispersed via the backplate and the braking drum. As a reason, the radius of drum grows faster than the radius of the brake shoe, causing pressure change between the linings and the drum. Because of the shift in pressure distribution between the drum and linings, the car’s stopping performance is reduced by 20%.
Disc Brakes
This disc brake creates a friction by pressing pads against itself with a disc. When this process happens, motion energy is turned into waste heat, which must be dissipated. The most popular type of brake for motorized vehicles is hydraulically operated disc brakes. However, the concept of a disc brake apply to practically any spinning shaft. The discs, master cylinder, and calipers (which comprises a cylinder & two brake pads) along both side of the disc are among the components.
This thermal energy produces heat, but because the critical parts are exposed to the outside environment, this heat may be easily distributed. This heat-dissipating feature lowers brake fade, a phenomenon in which braking performance is affected by heat. Disc brakes are often employed in passenger automobiles. Still, because of their consistent performance at faster speeds or resistance to brakeing fade, they are progressively making their way into the heavy vehicle category. At the same time, drum brakes were the favourite due to their longer life span.
What Are The Advantages Of Disc Brakes?
1. Improved brake cooling system
Friction on brakes causes heat, which can disrupt the braking results. The disc brake, on the other hand, has an open structure. As a result, the heat created will be immediately discharged into the air, moving around the brakes. The disc brake level is more steady since brake chilling will always occur when the car is driving.
2. There is no brake noise.
Brake pads deteriorate if they are often overheated. The brake pad hardens for various reasons, including inadequate brake pad quality and the heat factor. The stiffening of the brake pads causes the noise that emerges during braking. If brake pads harden, they take on a metallic appearance. As a result, when the brake is engaged, noise may occur.
3. Simple upkeep
Brake pads are the components used in disc brakes, whereas brake shoes are used in drum brakes. In the open position, brake pads are linked to the braking bracket. In contrast, the brake shoes are contained within the drum. Taking good care of the disc brake is thus a more simple task. For example, you need to remove one caliper bolt while replacing brake pads. The brake pads can then be removed.
You must remove the drum while using the brake and then use a tool to remove the brake shoe.
4. Even when subjected to water, the braking force remains constant.
The disc is subjected to water when the car goes through a puddle using disc brakes. This is because water on the disc will be flung out when the disc rotates owing to centrifugal force. It will not modify the braking force, which will stay constant.
Unlike drum brakes, the braking force is reduced if the car passes through a puddle and water enters the drum. Because water that reaches the drum is difficult to remove and so it interferes with the down force.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Disc Brakes
1. Disc brakes cannot resist big loads.
The contacting medium is constrained because brake pads have a small amount of surface area. Therefore, there is a decrease in braking power. This means that producing excellent braking requires more braking effort. This is why certain heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, do not employ disc brakes as part of their braking system.
2. Needs the installation of components to boost the braking force
A brake booster element is necessary to lessen the strain on the driver during braking because disc brakes require higher braking power.
The brake booster’s purpose is to enhance braking force, easing the stress on the driver while pushing the brake pedal.
3. Wheel rims are more readily soiled.
The brake system makes the rims dustier. This is because of the exposed disc braking design. As a result, the dust from the brake pads will adhere to the wheel rims. The driver must regularly polish the wheel rims to keep the car looking good.
Drum Brakes vs. Disc Brakes: Which One Choice Is Better
Drum brakes also have several fundamental design problems, including the fact that they overheat quickly, take more time to dry, and are frequently bulkier than disc brakes.
However, because disc brakes increase when hot and contract when cold, brakes cannot be used as a parking brakes. If we used these as a parking brakes after using them, they would progressively cool off, decrease, and lose touch with the brake disc. We’d have a problem in such circumstances.
The sole difference between the two brakes is their appearance. Disc brakes are more efficient and dependable, but they have certain disadvantages. Drum brakes are cumbersome, yet they are required for parking a car unless you wish to use wooden blocks and sticks.
As a result, modern automobiles still use drum brakes. Because the front wheels have to work the most, manufacturers often equip them with disc brakes, while the rear wheels have drum brakes. Some sports vehicles have disc brakes on all four wheels but one for parking drum brakes.
