Disk Brake Vs Drum Brake: What’s The Difference?

Braking technology in cars has come a long way since the 70s as there are so many types of breaking options are available for your car. The use of components like fiber, carbon, and lightweight steel has evolved brakes into more efficient and effective piece of equipment. Safety of your car and others who are walking down the road greatly depends on braking systems. Today cars are equipped with disc brakes and latest ABS technology which is also evolving simultaneously. These equipment’s ensure your safety and by giving you more control and reducing the brake distance.

However, there has always been a difference of opinion among experts on choosing the correct braking system. Some prefer drum brakes, and some disc brakes but both have their perks and to clear out the difference, some points are mentioned here.

Drum Brakes: It was the early braking system that is still used in most of the vehicles. It involves the installation of drums on all four wheels that rotate with the wheels and the components inside the drum too. It uses a set of shoes to stop the wheel from turning. When the brake pedal is pressed the shoe presses on the rotating drum to stop the wheels. Shoes are made of heat-resistant friction materials that ensure proper braking. This braking system is highly effective in most of the circumstances but in difficult situations, drums brakes are less effective. In such situations, drum brakes also fade, and this is because of excessive heat buildup in the drum. The principle of braking is all about turning kinetic energy into heat and drum brakes just do that but in the case of excessive heat buildup they can only absorb the heat according to their capacity. When they are saturated, they lose their ability to stop the vehicle.

Disc Brakes: Though disc brakes work on the same braking principle, but their design is superior to drum brakes. They use a slim rotor disc and a set of calipers to stop the vehicle. Caliper consists of two brake pads that stay on each side of the disc. They clamp together on the disc when the brake is pressed. In this situation, excessive heat buildup is also inevitable but disc brakes are completely exposed to the air and it constant cools the rotating discs. In this situation, the fading and overheating is greatly reduced. The brake distance with disc brakes are far better than the traditional drum brakes and these are accurate too.

However, both braking systems are used today in vehicles but both have their perks, and they have their advantages in different situations.

About the Author:

PartsAvatar.ca was conceived and founded by Dr. S. Singh in 2012. Parts Avatar Inc. has been a successful online supplier of auto parts across Canada since 2015. Parts Avatar currently has warehouses spread all across Canada and excel at providing high quality components at highly competitive prices and superfast shipping. The company aims to become the largest retail supplier of automotive parts and accessories in Canada by 2020. Besides supplying parts, the company is also keen on creating innovative niche markets within auto parts, supply chain and repairs industries.