Im doing a report on brakes. I need help finding links to two sites that offer comparisons between rotar and drum brakes. In my repost I am trying to find out which is the overall best braking setup and which offers the most stopping power.
Well, I wouldn't say crucial - the last three cars I've had have run disc brakes and been manuals!
I think this should be of assistance - it'll give you good insight.
Basically the two big advantage discs brakes have over drums are swept area (the bigger the brake, the better the stopping power), and heat disappation.
I found my all-round discs extremely useful today, when I had to scrub of 70mph or so excess speed in order to avoid slamming into the back of very slow moving traffic. Okay, not "very slow", but slower than I was going...
On cheaper, mass-produced FF vehicles, it's not uncommon to see discs on the front, drums on the back - simply because in any given braking situation, the front needs to arrest 90% of the car's mass.
Pros for discs: everything mentioned above, plus far far easier maintenance.
Pros for drums, at least in the rear: They're lighter, to the tune of 10-15 lbs for the whole rear setup. Also, easier to install an e-brake on. In fact, many rear-disc brake cars have a separate, small drum/shoe combination inside the hub that serves as an e-brake.
Drum brakes contain thier brake dust, so you don't have dusty wheels. I have drums on the back of the '3 and it's fine, they work great. It's such a light car that it really doesn't matter what type of braking system it would have, it stops on a dime anyway.
