Disk Brakes vs. Drum Brakes. Which you should Choose

The security and Safety of you and your family rest in your brakes. Brakes are a vital part of the safety system of your car, and you need to know that you can truth them and they will work when you need them. The are some important differences when it comes to brakes. They are basically drums and discs. These are the basics you need to know:

Drum Brakes

These are the earliest form of brakes that are still in use. Brakes us friction to slow the wheels. Drum braking uses pads (brake pads) that press against the inside of the wheel to stop the car. This form of braking uses a natural self applying quality that help the pads bite into the wheel without the need to apply any additional force from the driver.

Drum brakes are usually cheaper and therefore used on economy cars. They are also used on ligher vehicles. However, drum brakes have some disadvantages:

They tend to overheat, and that can cause the pads to bend and cause vibration on the braking system.

When pads overheat they can cause brake fade, that is, the pad loses its gripping abilities, and the brakes may not brake correctly.

Disk Brakes

This kind of brakes are a significant advancement over drum brakes. While drums press against the inner lining of the wheel to stop the movement, a disc pad instead come attached to a brake caliper. This brake caliper depresses the wheels and thus stops the movement. One of the principal advantages is that they are much better at dispersing heat, and they are not as likely to suffer from the problems drum brakes use to have. Although brake fade still occurs, it is less likely in disc brakes.

Because of these advantages disc brakes are now more used on cars, and also are used more often on larger vehicles. However, there are still small vehicles that use drum brakes without problems, since their smaller weight makes discs unnecessary.

One interesting development for drum brakes is that they are used on hybrid cars for two reasons: first, because they are less expensive, and second, because the energy that generates when breaking can be used to charge the batery.