Braking Basics Part 1: Drum Brakes
You always hear me yapping about power, going faster and looking cool. But what you don’t hear me talking about all that often are how to slow down, stop and not kill yourself in the process of going fast and looking cool. Truth be told, having proper brakes on your restomod is one of the most important parts you could ever put on your ride.
Photo Credit: The Samba
There are a couple different ways you could go with your restoration; really, it depends upon your budget and preferences. This is going to be a two part series about brakes. Why? Because it is that important.
Most of the cars that you and I deal with were manufactured with drum brakes on all four wheels. Drum brakes are an older technology, but there is nothing inherently wrong with using this type of braking system.
Drum brakes are still relevant in terms of big trucks, older cars and even the rear brakes of some newer cars. Just as an FYI, the reason why the disc brakes are installed in the front of these cars, is because the front brakes do a majority of the stopping. By design, disc brakes stop better than drum brakes do.
On its most basic level, a cast iron drum attaches to the wheel/tire combo. Whenever the brake pedal is pushed, hydraulic pressure forces two components, called brake shoes, to contact the drum. The harder the pedal is pushed, the greater the flow of hydraulic pressure. The greater the flow of pressure, the further the shoe opens. The further the shoe opens, the more friction is created. This friction stops your car before you hit that tree…
Photo Credit: Euro Truck Importers
This type of system has several serious downfalls that can be quite dangerous, especially to someone who’s never driven a car with drum brakes before. The most serious of which, is that the wheels have a tendency of locking up, causing the vehicle to skid.
Another serious disadvantage is the fact that (older) drum brakes have to be manually adjusted every so often by someone who actually knows how to perform the task. If this is done improperly, or if the drum goes too long between adjustments, the car could be dangerous to drive. This is because the shoes don’t have as much contact with the drum as they did before, which causes you to have to push that much harder on the pedal to get the car to stop.
Finally, drum brakes heat up a lot faster than disc brakes do, simply because there isn’t as much air to cool them down. It is a proven fact that hot brakes don’t stop as well as cool brakes do. This is the main cause of runaway trucks traveling down a mountain. They are warned at the top of said mountain that the hill is steep, and that they need to downshift to a lower gear. Because, at some point, their brakes will be ineffective due to too much heat.
Photo Credit: car parts
Drum brakes aren’t all that bad, however. There are a few benefits to using them. The main benefit to this type of braking system is that brake shoes don’t require the same amount of pressure to engage them, so you can get away with not having a power booster to help push the hydraulic fluid.
Another benefit is that drum brakes usually last longer than disc brakes do. I’ve had the same setup on my truck for several years. Just as long as I adjust them the right way, I don’t have any issues.
I said above that drum brakes don’t require much hydraulic pressure to stop. However, many gear heads opt to install some sort of booster to help aid in stopping, even with a drum brake setup. The reason being, that it is easier to stop the car with more hydraulic power, than it is without. This is the type of setup that I’ve got on my old truck, and I can’t imagine stopping that beast without that extra oomph.
What type of brakes do you have on your car? Do you have any plans to upgrade? And, if so, what are your upgrade plans?
