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#1
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Disc vs. Drum Brakes
Common knowledge says disc brakes are better, and there's obviously a great deal of truth to that since manufacturers have been moving away from drums slowly but steadily over the years. The problem is, short of having a skidpad, the difference isn't so obvious to me in real-world use. Can anyone point out exactly what makes the disc setup superior?
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08 W251 R350 97 W210 E320 91 W124 300E 86 W126 560SEL 85 W126 380SE Silver 85 W126 380SE Cranberry 79 W123 250 78 W123 280E 75 W114 280 |
#2
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I'll let someone else tackle the biomechanics/physics of it. Here's an article - http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/techcenter/articles/43857/article.html
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Chris 2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package 2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options 1998 E430 - sold 1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold 1977 280E - sold 1971 250 - retired "And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon |
#3
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Discs are superior in wet weather as well. Heat dispersion is probably the main advantage, so brake fade isn't as much of an issue.
As far as physics is concerned, spin a bicycle tire really fast...which stops it faster, pushing your hand against the tread, or clamping your hand on each side of the rim?
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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle 2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car 2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver 2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car |
#4
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The biggest difference is the disc brakes clamp on both sides of the rotor and the drum brakes only apply friction to one side.
Also the drum brakes have more parts making them a little more trouble to service and more parts to go bad. Danny
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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles OBK member #23 (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your (")_(") signature to help him gain world domination |
#5
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I've done plenty of drums, so the physical attributes are pretty obvious to me.
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08 W251 R350 97 W210 E320 91 W124 300E 86 W126 560SEL 85 W126 380SE Silver 85 W126 380SE Cranberry 79 W123 250 78 W123 280E 75 W114 280 |
#6
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The manufacture of drum brakes on new products should be banned world wide.
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#7
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Drum brakes get hotter and fade quicker, too. In a panic stop, disc brakes are more certain to stop the car much faster.
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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ... 1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold) 2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp 1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k 2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold) |
#8
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#9
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No only Toyota gets away with it.
Real world? My budy has a GMC 2500 with discs of course. When you need to stop towing a 5k pound boat stuff like that matters! Drums are only used now because they are a bit cheaper, ie its a wayto cut a couple of bucks out. Jaguar and Ferrari solved the drum vs disc debate back in the 50's. Enzo Ferrari hated changing things for the sake of change since drums had always worked well. But he hated getting out braked by Jags even more.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#10
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Lastely drive any 1950's car with a totaly stock drum brake set up. They don't stop, they have horrible brakes.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#11
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Actually, my drums all around 1972 International Travelall would stop on a dime. Now, if the engine died and the booster vacuum went away, then you were hosed.
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1984 300TD |
#12
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I've never had the "privilege" of driving an all-drum car. I guess I'm really missing out...
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08 W251 R350 97 W210 E320 91 W124 300E 86 W126 560SEL 85 W126 380SE Silver 85 W126 380SE Cranberry 79 W123 250 78 W123 280E 75 W114 280 |
#13
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most low end GM and fords, as well as the asian cars are still using discs front and drums rear from what I can see through the wheel spokes.
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Jason Priest 1999 E430 1995 E420 - retired 1986 420SEL - retired |
#14
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Tractor trailers still use drums, which is interesting. If any vehicle needs good brakes, it would be a 70,000 lb. vehicle (stop and ponder that number for a second) that is out on the road all day, every day. The shoes on tractor trailer brakes are enormous, so you get a lot of surface area pressing against the inside of those drums. They also have several axles, usually 5, contributing to the braking power.
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#15
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It's like this, see
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Visualize leaving your ski cabin in the winter and going down the mountain Y O U J U S T L O C K UP and SLIIIIIIIIIDE !!!
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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ... 1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold) 2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp 1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k 2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold) |
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