Drum brakes

[NYC-SE]

Interesting take on one of my pet peeves, drum brakes:

http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobile...ed-today.html/

The author's take is that their use is not a matter of cost but an attempt to increase dealership usage. Not sure if I agree but I can't think of a valid reason why they would still be used.

[bronsin]

Let s see let's see....I'm going for CHEAP since I almost never need to do the brakes front or rear.

Now the wife....

[Kalispel]

I'm not sure how much rear-discs cost versus drums to install at the factory, but it seems strange to me that manufacturers would install such outdated/inferior systems from a servicing and general-design perspective. My 2000 Accord had front disc and rear drums, and didn't feel as responsive during breaking as my 4-disc SE does (it actually took some getting used to at first) - nor did the 2015/2016 Yaris L model rental that I drove recently with rear drums. No more rear drums for me.

I can really appreciate the relative simplicity/reliability of the late 90's, early 2000's technology that the Yaris mostly employs even today, but drums are not simpler (quite the opposite), nor are they more reliable - and date waaaay back there on the automotive timeline.

[NYC-SE]

Originally Posted by Kalispel

No more rear drums for me.

I can really appreciate the relative simplicity/reliability of the late 90's, early 2000's technology that the Yaris mostly employs even today, but drums are not simpler (quite the opposite), nor are they more reliable - and date waaaay back there on the automotive timeline.

Yep!

[enviri]

rear discs is life. I hated working on my rear drums when i had them. HATED.

[ern-diz]

Isn't it just a matter of not being needed on these cars in addition to lasting longer than discs (thereby saving the owner money over the life of the car)?

[brushforhire]

We almost never did any rear drum work, when I was at Toyota. If someone called up pricing rear drums, we often questioned mileage, then if the shop they were at was reputable. That being said, I hate my rear drums, but they still will lock up my wheels, on my Yaris.

Now my 2000 Tundra, that is a different story. I will probably swap those to discs. They never, ever worked right, ever.

[bronsin]

The rear drum brakes on the wifes Camry space backspace are still good with 150,000 miles no 131,000 miles on them.

[Exiwolfman]

175000km on mine and i hate drums grr

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[CoryM]

I've often wondered about drums myself on light-duty vehicles. They have way more components than discs, which would presumably cost more to manufacture. That being said, drum brakes can be manufactured by an outside supplier and easily bolted on by a robot in one piece. This may be where the main cost savings come from. Also may use less over-all material than comparable discs. Since drums typically only come on cheaper vehicles, it probably comes down to cost.

There are other benefits to drums:
-less drag (in theory no, but in the real world yes due to lack of maint)
-less rotating mass = better mpg
-smaller packaging
-longer life

The cons are mainly:
-brake fade/tug. There is a reason why they aren't used on the front. That being said, I've only managed to overheat them once and that involved 20min of racing on R-comps. And it was just a very mild overheat, a little fade and some squealing. For street use, it's not an issue on the Yaris.
-don't work well when submerged. Not really a Yaris issue.
-need to be adjusted manually

On the last point, if you aren't having your rear brakes adjusted you should get it done. It will greatly improve the life of your front brakes, and may improve the life of the rear (prevents tapered wear of the linings).

My biggest complaint for drums is from autoX etc. The brake pedal feel is dependent on how you have your drums adjusted. It's far less consistent than discs.

Cheers.

[bronsin]

My VWS in the 60 and 70s had four wheel manually adjustable drum brakes, non power. I very easy on brakes but only got like 50k out of the fronts.

[tarkus]

When I was living in Europe, all but the most low end cars had all round disc brakes. And of course the far pads needed changing at times, although less often than the fronts. To be honest, unless you're actually into racing, I don't see a huge benefit in having rear disc brakes, plus with drum brakes the shoes last for a very long time.

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[jcboy]

Originally Posted by tarkus

To be honest, unless you're actually into racing, I don't see a huge benefit in having rear disc brakes, plus with drum brakes the shoes last for a very long time.

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Disc brakes in the front are important, but disc brakes at the back are mostly for anti-brake fade. and while city driving won't need this benefit 99% of the time, driving fast on the mountains combined or highways with curved roads will probably benefit from this, although not as much as you'd expect.

[rningonfumes]

Ehh, small car.

On a different note, I did adjust the parking brake on both sides, improved braking a lot.

[yaris1000000]

has anybody changed out drum brakes for disc brakes on the 4 door 2011 yaris