Drum Brakes Advantages and Disadvantages

Brakes are invaluable auto parts. Brakes have gone through countless modifications over the years. The most common car brake systems are Drum brake and the Disc brake. Drum brakes are the previous brake types used in the vehicles before the 21st Century. Drum Brakes include a set of shoes or brake pads. These shoes or brake pads press outward against a rotating cylinder part or the brake drum to create friction to halt the vehicle.

In recent days, most of the cars include Disc Brake.  But still, the drum brakes are not obsolete. Drum brakes are still in use. Most of the leading auto shops in NZ also supply drum brakes parts. This helps the car owners to fix their drum brake repair or replacement need with ease.  

But nothing is flawless. The same happens to Drum Brakes. Drum Brakes are not the perfect braking system. This has several disadvantages and a few advantage as well. Here’s an impartial study done on the Drum Brakes to understand the features better.

 

Disadvantages of Drum Brakes

 

A good number of people do not prefer to depend on this brake system. They point out several disadvantages of the Drum Brake system.

 

Gets Water Soaked

Drum Brakes have a sealed off architecture. When the brake hole gets wet due to rain, or flood, the brake design restricts it from expelling the water immediately. It may cause damage to the auto parts and friction rate can decrease. It can lead to a dangerous situation as the stopping ability of the vehicle reduces.

Faster Brake Fade

Several harsh stops required while driving downhill. The brake is used excessively during the drive. It generates extra heat between the drum and the brake linings. The heat causes decreased friction between the drum and brake pad. Hence, the braking system becomes less effective. The braking ability of the vehicle reduces due to brake fade.

Heats Up Quickly

As mentioned earlier, drum brakes have enclosed architecture. It limits air to circulate within the braking system. It causes reduced cooling inside. The extra heat generated inside causes increased radius of the drum. Then a shift pressure is generated between the linings and the drum. It reduces the stopping ability Of the vehicle near about 20%.

 

Advantages of Drum Brakes

 

It is not that the Drum Brakes have only shortcomings. But there are several noticeable benefits. Lower manufacturing cost, simple design, easy maintenance are the main advantages of the Drum Brake. These are the key to its long-term existence.

Easier Maintenance

The sealed off architecture of Drum Brakes have several benefits. All the fittings inside the drum brake are held in one place by spring tension. This helps in easy maintenance of the braking system. It also helps in faster repairing using less labour. Repairing and replacement expenses are also lower.

Cheaper Production and Purchase Cost

Drum Brakes are cheaper considering the disc brakes. Therefore, the cars that include drum brake are cheaper than the cars with disc brake.  And the selling price of the car depends on the manufacturing price. Hence, a few car manufacturer prefer to use drum brakes rather than disc brakes in some models.  It helps them keep the price affordable for potential buyers.   

Can Be Used With Disc Brake

Drum brakes can be customized for better responsiveness. To improve the performance without increasing the cost much, one can customize the braking system.  Using the drum brake in the rear part (as it was) and changing the front part into disc brake improves the performance of the braking system without causing much expenses. Any leading auto shop can offer this type of brake repair service in Dunedin or in any other NZ city.