Drums are simple, reliable, work regardless of rain or cold, and make for a good

hand-brake, but they have only ever been fitted to the rear of a car for about the
last 50 years! You just NEED disc brakes up front, no doubt about it!
Discs are more effective, and it can be fairly easy to move a caliper out and fit a
bigger disc. They don't fade the way drum brakes do, or clog with brake-dust the
way drum brakes can. A draw-back of discs is that it is not unknown for a disc handbrake to slacken - if the driver has been using the brakes hard, the disc gets hot and
expands - say it swells from 10mm wide to 10.5mm - the driver parks the car on a
hill, applies the hand-brake and walks away. Soon, the disc cools, shrinks back down
to 10mm wide, and then the pads are slack in the caliper! The car rolls away,
maybe causing an accident! I've seen this myself a handful of times, Citroens were
well-known for it.
resisting brake fade is the #1 advantage discs have over drums.
------respectfully,
drums are way more complicated than discs. springs/adjusters and such.
drums are not reliable when wet.
and most modern vehicles now have an inner drum brake systems behind the rear
calipers for e-brake function.
discs have an advantage in all respects. cost and ease of *preventative* maint as
well.
Disc Drake

Disc brakes - the brake system is an element of the car, brake pads are pressed against the disk,
rigidly secured to the wheel. Disc brake is perfectly combined
with electronic control systems.
The design of disc brakes, a wheel rigidly fixed to the metal
disc mounted on it from both sides of the brake pads. In the
process of braking force to the pads are pressed against the
disk, which slows the rotation of the wheel and subsequently
to a full stop it. After the termination of braking pads are
pushed against the brake disc, the wheel can rotate freely
again.
On the inner side of disc brake pads, equipped with special
replacement brake pads that need to be changed in a timely
manner to avoid damage and failure of the brake disc.
To reduce the risk of overheating, disc brakes and,
consequently, increase the efficiency of inhibition, often in the brake discs have special vents.
These vented brake call. Ventilated disc brakes are equipped with special blades, located between

both sides of the disk, and blows air through it, providing a cooling of the brake mechanism.
Disc brakes have proven to be the most reliable and stable working, so they are widely used in
modern automobiles.
Rear disc brakes have several advantages compared with the drum brakes, such as higher
efficiency, the ability to self-clean. Disc brakes are much more easily adapted to any driver. They
provide a smooth and effective braking, and when heated to high temperatures retain their
properties.
Disc brakes application:
Disc brakes are used primarily in motor vehicles, tanks, but also in machinery and equipment,
and aircraft, bicycles, carriages and railway.
The disc brakes have been widely used in cars and trucks, especially in the premium sedan. The
disc brakes on the new mine hoist brake. The disc brake inertia is small, fast action, high
sensitivity, and adjustable braking torque. The multi-rope friction hoist all use disc brakes.
What are the advantages of disc brakes? In view of the fact that these brakes air can circulate
freely between the disk and the brake shoe, disc brakes are cooled much better, especially since it
is possible to do so ventilated discs extra holes. The gases resulting from friction, dust, dirt, do
not stay on the working surfaces. These brakes are not sticky.
Advantages of disc brakes:
1. A greater coefficient of friction between the abrasive and the steel disc in
comparison with friction pads on aluminum rims;
2. Independence from the weather and road conditions;
3. Do not get clogged with mud and snow;
4. Longer life abrasive pads and discs;
5. Greater braking power;
6. Steel disks unlike the aluminum rims are not afraid of a strong warm-up
during braking ;
7. High accuracy of dosing braking;

Disadvantages of disc brakes:

1. The price high;
2. Increased demands on the torsional rigidity of suspension fork (do not
recommend the use of any fork with disc brake);

3. The complexity of installation, especially for hydraulic systems;

4. Limited maintainability in field conditions
5. High load-spoke wheel set (in order to reduce the diameter of the flanges on
the hubs to increase);
6. Complexity of the replacement of abrasive pads.

What are the main advantages of disc brakes in front and drum brakes in rear?
1. Reducing the braking distance.
2. The uniformity of braking effort.
3. Reducing the response time of braking mechanisms.
4. Improved heat dissipation (important when the active driving at higher
speeds and on mountain roads).
5. Reliability.
6. Ease of maintenance and replacement pads.
there is a reason you dont see drum brake conversions (from disc to drum)... they
are inferior to disc brakes.
drum brakes are more prone to fade from getting hot, they dont dissapate heat as
well as discs, and service is a bit more of a hassle than discs. the extra springs and
adjusters also can fail, eating everything inside the drum, and making an expensive
repair.
discs have a mechanical advantage for stopping power, are easily repaired, and
"may", depending on model, be cheaper to repair.
the dust problem? worry not, just wash the wheels regularly...
Drum brakes are surprisingly, cheaper to manufacture than disc brakes. However,
that is their only advantage. They were fazed out because they don't stop as well,
they fade under heat, and aren't as responsive. I have driven my uncle's 67
Fairlane, 4 wheel drum brakes. When you hit the brakes, the car will spear off in a
random direction. You have to be ready to compensate or have an accident. The
only place you'll find drum brakes nowadays are in the rear wheels of pickup trucks.
This is only because 90% of the braking on a truck is done by the front disc brakes. I
have replaced the front brakes on my truck probably 4 times, never had to touch
the rear ones.
Drum brakes are functionally inferior. Might be cheaper to maintain, I don't know.
Some car insurance companies charge more for having disc breaks all around.

Interesting question. Want to see what others have to say.

I don't buy the brake dust argument. The amount of dust is determined by surface
area and pad composition. The softer the pad, the more dust. Disk brakes are a
more open design, more air moving around them to remove dust. Drums tend to
trap the dust.
What are disc brakes?

Disc brakes (click link for photo), sometimes spelled as "disk" brakes, use a flat, disk-shaped
metal rotor that spins with the wheel. When the brakes are applied, a caliper squeezes the brake
pads against the disc (just as you would stop a spinning disc by squeezing it between your
fingers), slowing the wheel.
Drum brakes (click link for photo) use a wide cylinder that is open at the back, similar in
apprearance to, well, a drum. When the driver steps on the brake pedal, curved shoes located
inside the drum are pushed outwards, rubbing against the inside of the drum and slowing the
wheel.
What is the difference between disc brakes and drum brakes?

Disc brakes are generally considered superior to drum brakes for several reasons. First, they
dissipate heat better (brakes work by converting motion energy to heat energy). Under severe
usage, such as repeated hard stops or riding the brakes down a long incline, disc brakes take
longer to lose effectiveness (a condition known as brake fade). Disc brakes also perform better in
wet weather, because centrifugal force tends to fling water off the brake disc and keep it dry,
whereas drum brakes will collect some water on the inside surface where the brake shoes contact
the drums.
Why do so many cars still use rear drum brakes?

All cars sold in the United States use disc brakes for the front wheels, but many cars still use
drum brakes in the rear. Braking causes the car's weight to shift forward, and as a result about
70% of the work is done by the front brakes. (That's why your front brakes tend to wear out
faster.) By fitting disc brakes to the front wheels and drum brakes to the rear wheels,
manufacturers can provide most of the benefits of disc brakes while lowering costs. (Drum
brakes are less expensive to make than disc brakes, largely because they can also double as a
parking brake, whereas disc brakes require a separate parking brake mechanism.) Even so, a car
with four-wheel disc brakes (versus front disc/rear drum) will still provide superior braking
performance in wet weather and on long downgrades. (That said, you should always downshift
and let the engine control the car's speed on long downgrades.)
How can I tell if my car has disc brakes or drum brakes?

If your car was built in the last thirty years, it most likely has disc brakes on the front wheels, but
it may have drums in the rear. If the car has wheels with big openings, you may be able to see

some or all of the brake assembly. Seen through the wheels, disk brakes look like this, with a flat
rotor set back from the inside surface of the wheel and a wider piece (the caliper) at the front or
rear of the disc. Drum brakes look like this, with a cylindrical drum that is usually flush against
the inside surface of the wheel.
Disc brakes are generally considered superior to drum brakes for several reasons.
First, they dissipate heat better (brakes work by converting motion energy to heat
energy). Under severe usage, such as repeated hard stops or riding the brakes
down a long incline, disc brakes take longer to lose effectiveness (a condition known
as brake fade). Disc brakes also perform better in wet weather, because centrifugal
force tends to fling water off the brake disc and keep it dry, whereas drum brakes
will collect some water on the inside surface where the brake shoes contact the
drums. Hi,It depends on the vehicle and how hard you'll be braking!Basically drum
brakes are quite old fashioned and can 'lock' under hard braking or if they get wet.
This can cause the wheel in question to skid!Most new vehicles these days unless
they are very cheap (usually motorbikes) come with disk brakes. They won't lock if
they get wet or under hard braking.Also disk brakes can have an extra feature
called ABS - or Anti-lock Braking System - what this means is that when you press
the brake pedal the brakes automatically turn on and off a hundred times a second
or so - actually allowing you to steer. Very good. Nearly all cars and many
motorbikes come with this feature as standard or an option.Get disk brakes!

Self Setting Automatic Brake Adjuster

The vehicle is safer when all the brakes are better adjusted, all the time. That's the advantage that
S-ABAs provide.

Automatic Brake Adjuster is one of the most critical items in any air brake system. It is used on
commercial vehicles having Air Brakes with 'S' cam shaft. The basic function of the brake
adjuster is to transmit the braking torque to the 'S' cam and facilitate adjustment of the clearance
between brake lining and the brake drum, which is primarily caused due to the wearing of brake
lining.

The automatic brake adjuster is mounted on the 'S' cam shaft and one end is connected to the
push rod of the brake chamber. When the brake pedal is pressed, the air is let into the brake
chamber and thrusts the push rod out. This in turn moves the adjuster. Since, it is mounted on
the 'S' cam shaft, the shaft rotates and forces the brake shoes away from the other and presses
against the brake drum. Thus, the brake is applied.

When the gap between the brake drum and the brake lining is increased due to brake lining wear;
the automatic adjuster senses and adjusts the gap automatically. ABAs adjust the brakes while
the vehicle is being used, thereby helping to maintain optimum vehicle braking capability at any
given instant of time.