Rant: People who think that drum brakes are dangerous

I hate to sound like Andy Rooney, But you know what really bugs me? People who keep telling me that if you run drums on all 4 corners of you car your gonna wreck it. I'm not a engineer, professional mechanic or all knowing car guru but I've had cars with drum brakes for years and have never had issues. I've had close calls but not because of stopping distance. When I was in the Navy in Cal. I ran all over the place in my 63 Chevy pickup with drum brakes. Granted, if you run thru a reall deep puddle your brakes will not be great until you ride the pedal a little to try them out but other than that they are fine. I keep a reasonable distance from the guy in front of me, pay attention and son't drive stupid.
Anyone else? Todd

 

I'm with you. No problems here either.

 

agreed!

 

Better not drive at all then, since there's a chance you can wreck.

As long as you pay attention, i don't see any problems with it. I had all 4 drums on my f100 and it stopped perfectly fine.

 

Every big rig I have driven where drum braked. Just sayin....

 

me 2 ive had more "near wrecks" with antilock brakes then ive ever had with 4 drums


i hate antilocks

 

Some ricer "expert" tell you that?
Everything I own now (except my 51 Ply) has 4 wheel discs, but I think drums work just fine...

 

Only the drum brakes with chrome backing plates are dangerous.........pull them off and send them to me RIGHT NOW!

 

I'm with ya! I run drums on all 4 corners (just like my dad and grandpa did) and can lock them all up if I have to. True, if you're road racing or doing a series of panic stops they will eventually fade but I don't drive that way. I guess everyone who ever drove before the mid '60's was driving a death trap and didn't know it.

P.S., don't tell anyone but I also run a single stock master cylinder. Never had a failure in 50 plus years of driving with one of these and if it does fail, I have a working emergency brake (really, that's what they were called before they changed the name to "parking brake")

O.K., rant over.

 

I have drum brakes on all 4 corners and have felt the same as you in the past as I have driven drum brake cars for 30 plus years with no issues.

But you know what the reality is? Since 1960, the number of vehicles on the road in the United States has increased approximately by 3.5 million every year. And every one of these damn new cars on the road is driven "stab and steer" style by some numb nut with a cell phone in one hand and a cheeseburger in the other.

When that idiot cuts me off, I want to be able to avoid a collision. For now, yes, I plan ahead. But soon there will be disc brakes on the front of my car... Just simple self defense.

 

Drum brakes on my Vette, no problem................ and one master cylinder........... I must have a death wish...............

 

What really pisses me off is that this is the ONLY fucking traditional site on the entire fucking web, and the experts berate the guy who run drums or single circuits, and old fucking engines. Fuck them. Go to some streetrod jackass site and play god.

 

If the chrome plates are drilled, are they still dangerous

 

I run drums, and they stop as well as equivalently sized discs, but I've experienced fade with drums, so I don't trust them as much.

-Dave

 

I run drums, and they stop as well as equivalently sized discs, but I've experienced fade with drums, so I don't trust them as much.

-Dave

 

Not sure where that came from, but... yea.

 

I'm more worried about fast food... Hell I have mechanical brakes on a rod but it is running a banger. Stops very well.

 

Oh in case you didn't know .... besides drum brakes.... bias plys , open engine bays , standard transmissions , "old hot rods" are all unsafe or so I've been told.

But the real danger is in cahseing skirt ....

To quote my auto tech teacher " You'ld be better off working on that damn deathtrap than going out chaseing skirt "
...... if only I had listened!

 

OK by me.... My F100 has discs on the MOPAR front end and I'd SOONER have drums....

 

All the big rigs have drum brakes! Just sayen

 

It's what happens when a dumb ass pulls out in front of you and you needed to stop 15 feet sooner. See picture below.

 

I suppose for overall braking and with some rods running newer engines with lots of HP and lightweight bodys/frames the safer approach would be disc. However, I have never had any problems with the drum brake setups on the 59 Caddy, 62 Impala, 55 Chevy, etc... The two things I DO DESPISE are anti-lock brakes and front wheel drive!! These two "safety improvements" have nearly killed me on more than one occassion! Just sayin'.

 

I used to have a 1971 chevelle 300 deluxe 2 dr ht,bone stock,inline 6,manual steering,manual brakes w drums all 4 corners,never an issue with braking distance or fade.
Oh yeah,with that particular option group,no one asked to borrow my ride.

 

I can't even count all the cars I've had with 4 wheel drum brakes.
Todays anti-lock brake systems are much safer for people who don't understand breaking systems. It's the stop pedal vs the go pedal & Idiot proof in most cases.

Safer for those who are too busy on the phone to notice they went thru a puddle, are doing down a hill, or tailgating.

 

See Below.

 

Drum brakes don't kill people. People kill people.

 

I have driven my 1956 Ford all over the continent with drum brakes and never had a problem. All stock brakes right from the Ford factory and no problems whatsoever. I have had some problems with disc brakes on my '80s and '90s cars though. People are stupid and talk about shit that they don't even know about. People tell me all the time drum brakes are unsafe. Well have you ever even driven a car with properly adjusted drums?? No so fuck off!

 

Hoorah!, take back the hamb from the armchair Motor Trend experts!

 

Elwood you may be on the wrong forum. Were talking 64 and down trad. hot rods, not Chevy muscle cars....put discs on that thing, and or drive accordingly.

If you drive like everyone is ot to get YOU, you will be much beter off. I'm going out the the shop now to adjust my mech. brakes

 

The newer big rigs are going to disc though, because they are better. Just more expensive to make than drums.

I drove my daily late 60's ford with drums, and it was fine. In the desert and in traffic they tend to fade fairly quickly, but they were ok. I put disc on the front, and it was a huge difference. A little easier to get it down from speed, and more of a safety of margin when (not if) some jackleg pulls out in front of me.

My GF's Rav4 has some hellacious brakes on it, I wish I could get my ford to stop that solidly.

I hated having manual brakes though. Damn, I thought I was done for a few times with those. I imagine it was fine when everyone had manual drums, and things were more equal. But when you're behind some late model with 4whl disc, and they lock it up, you better be fast on the pedal with manual drums.