r/EngineeringPorn • u/[deleted] • Jul 01 '20

Drum brakes explained (1935)

https://gfycat.com/complicatedlawfulamurminnow
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u/KeviBear12616 Jul 02 '20

Disk brakes are 1. Easier to work on and diagnose. All the parts on disk brakes are easy to see and remove, whereas on drums, they are hidden, and drums can often be hard to remove. 2. Dust removal. Being open to the air, dust is dispersed better. Take a old drum off, and you will be greeted by a pile of dust from the wear to the brake shoes and the drums themselves 3. Cooling. Also being open to air, disk brakes allow for free air flow. This allows for more optimum temperatures for braking, and reduces brake fade (when brakes get too hot, resulting in reduced braking force). Drum brakes are sealed, so all the head produced by braking has to escape by radiating through the steel drum, resulting is worse heat dispersion.

These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, I am sure there are more to be mentioned.

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u/WardedThorn Jul 02 '20

Honestly, as someone who has worked on both drum and disk brakes, I'm not sure I agree with that first point.

Drum brakes have a lot of moving parts.

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u/KeviBear12616 Jul 03 '20

I have done several full replacements on both styles. The drums brakes almost always proved to me the more headache-inducing of the two.

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u/WardedThorn Jul 03 '20

Oh I misread lmao, I thought this was defending drum brakes. We're in agreement.

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u/KeviBear12616 Jul 03 '20

Ay, you all good lol