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HomeFeatured ArticlesDisc Brake vs Drum Brakes | Which is the Best Braking System?

Disc Brake vs Drum Brakes | Which is the Best Braking System?

The two major brakes available right now are the drum brakes and disc brakes. Both have their positive and negatives and today we will compare them and see which is a better choice for Indian driving conditions.

Before we begin a comparison lets go why you should choose one of the braking systems.  If you want to learn more about brakes then click here.

Why Drum Brakes?

They might be an older piece of hardware but drum brakes can still hold their own in the ever-advancing automobile sector. As to why you should choose drum brakes below are the advantages of drum brakes and disadvantages of Disc brake over drum brakes.

Advantages of Drum Brakes

Drum Brakes
Drum Brakes
  1. Drum brakes are quite cheap to manufacture as parts involved in it are quite easy to make. This keeps the overall costs of the vehicle low as well.
  2. Due to how they work, drum brakes require less force to apply brakes
  3. Easier to recondition wheel cylinder than it is to recondition callipers on a disc brake.
  4. Drum brakes can house the parking brakes without taking any extra space.

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Disadvantages Of Disc Brakes

  1. Disc brakes are quite costly to install and produce which in turn increases overall vehicle costs.
  2. The slight entry of air in the master cylinder can completely fail the disc brakes and can lead to serious accidents. This is why brake bleeding is necessary to perform during servicing of a car.
  3. The brake fluid needs to be changed often lest it gets less viscous.
  4. A disc brake without ABS has a really high chance of skidding and locking tires.

Why Disc Brakes?

Disc brakes, compared to drum brakes are quite new and are more advanced. They offer quite a high braking power for their size as well. As to why you should pick them over drum brakes, below are the advantage of them and disadvantages of drum brakes.

Advantages Of Disc Brakes

Disc Brakes
Disc Brakes
  1. Even with a small size disc brakes offer quite a large braking power and can stop high-speed vehicles better than a drum brake can.
  2. As the disc brakes are open they have really good heat dissipation which ensures they never overheat.
  3. Again due to being open they retain no unwanted material and thus don’t fall to rusting or performance degradation.
  4. With the help of ABS disc brakes don’t lock up during use for high-speed braking. Earlier they had the issue of locking up and removing any control over the vehicle. With the help of ABS their biggest weakness is now an advantage.

Disadvantages of Drum Brakes

  1. Drum brakes have terrible heat dissipation which results in overheating and slight expansion of the metallic parts.
  2. Due to being closed, it can collect unwanted materials which can cause issues like rusting or reducing piston performance.
  3. Due to the amount of heat, these brakes generate they wear and tear quite fast. Due to extreme heat and high friction, most of the parts don’t have a long life.
  4. A lot of parts means the probability of failure is quite high.

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Which Is The Better Choice?

Car Disc Brakes
Car Disc Brakes

Even though both of these are used in most cars now with disc brakes being in front and drum brakes in the back, disc brakes are still the better choice. However, you can’t rule out drum brakes. Due to their cheap cost and easy maintenance they can be quite a solid choice for the long run. Disk brakes do however offer better performance in any Indian driving conditions while drum brakes leave much to be desired.

Kartik Rangam
Kartik Rangam
Content Writer at GoMechanic | Loves Writing | Loves Cars | You know where this is heading | Level 12 Meme Lord | EVolution

9 COMMENTS

  1. Hi, firstly it is Drum brakes not RUM brakes,any after drinking Rum it doesn’t matter if it’s Drum or Disc brakes, secondly they aren’t any pistons in drum brakes.
    Last but not the least please get your technical knowledge right,you are writing on a public network
    Regards

    • Hi, first of all, ill take it as a compliment that you were so thorough in reading the article that you were able to find an error in it, ill correct it ASAP. As for drum brakes not having pistons, they actually do have piston. Present in the wheel cylinder their job is to push out the brake lining. Last but not least please keep assumptions about others to a minimum, you are also writing on a public network
      Regards

    • You can blindly go ahead with the latest Honda Activa. Reliability, Efficiency, Frugality. This scooter has it all!

      • In 2013, My Activa threw me 20 feet after its rear wheel got stuck in a pothole ( I always wear armour, hence I walked away from the crash)
        I’ve switched to an Avenger since then.. still ride 120 kms a day Borivali to Churchgate..

  2. Hi, thank you for this informative article. It was very helpful. Yes I agree drum brake and disc brake both are important to run the braking system smoothly. It is also important to use corrosion free braking parts which will go in the long term.

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