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Until perhaps 10 years ago, drum brakes were standard as the rear brakes of almost every car. They lasted pretty much the lifetime of the car.
by leoedin 3y ago
Until perhaps 10 years ago, drum brakes were standard as the rear brakes of almost every car. They lasted pretty much the lifetime of the car.
- lnsru 3y agoYes. My cheap motorcycle had drum brakes and was fine for many many kilometers. The problem with electric vehicles is that they brake with motors and not with brakes. Brakes gather dust and silently corrode. Apparently latest vehicles periodically activate brakes without driver’s intervention to prevent corrosion and uneven wear.
- jjav 3y ago> Until perhaps 10 years ago, drum brakes were standard as the rear brakes of almost every car. You need to go back more than that. In the 80s nearly every car had rear drum brakes, that phased out in the early 90s or so. Only the very cheapest cars had drums past that timeframe. > They lasted pretty much the lifetime of the car. Having owned a few drum braked cars (including all four wheel drums), not really. You still need to change them as they wear out, it's just a lot more work than disk brake pads which can be swapped out in a few minutes. The rear brakes do a lot less work than the fronts, particularly on smaller lightweight cars (the kind that still had rear drums in the 90s) so in that sense yes, those rear drums lasted a good while (but certainly not the life of the car). If you put front drum brakes on a fast & heavy car, you'll be wearing them out pretty quick.
- namdnay 3y agoMaybe that’s specific to big US cars? Drum brakes are still completely standard on entry level european and Asian models. Rear discs only come into play when you’re going above 100hp and/or 1300kg
- lstodd 3y agoFront disk brakes came into widespread use in 1960s and for a good reason. They are more efficient (read: safety) and much easier to maintain. Rear brakes are almost redundant on entry level cars except for the parking brake. You can just disconnect them and not notice any significant change in handling.
- namdnay 3y agoYes, I haven’t seen front drums in at least 20 years
- jjav 3y agoThe Honda Civic Si went to four wheel disk brakes in 1992, over 30 years ago. Last time I had to touch drum brakes was in 1991 and I'm very (very very) happy about that. Drum brakes are a maintenance nightmare I never again want to experience. I'd rather adjust carburator jets all night before working on drum brakes again.
- deckard1 3y ago10 years ago? As in 2013? Did you mean 40 years ago? Almost every car? On a scale of 1 to 10 billion, how high are you right now?
- namdnay 3y agoRear drum brakes are still standarx for entry level cars in Europe. Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 - the base models all have rear drums
- Kirby64 3y agoAnd EVs with regen, brake usage is also vastly vastly reduced as well. Most folks aren't replacing their disc brakes in their EVs either until very high mileage unless they're hard on their cars.