10" Drum Vs. Disc Brakes

[SlinktRR]

I commute in new york city traffic with 11" manual drums, 70 roadrunner. They stop nicely. Just have to be well bled and adjusted and if I see rain in the forecast I take a different car. No, you can't drive like its a corolla but they do the job. 10" drums on a b body..I would definitely upgrade those to front discs.

 

[khryslerkid]

I remember when disk brakes first hit the scene and the biggest difference was when it was raining. They stopped, drums didn't. I use to ride the brake peddle after going through standing water to dry the drum brakes. That's the Brakes!

 

[dual fours]

My 383 69 Charger originally came with 11" drums B31 all around. :tongueflap:

I have 3" shoes upfront & 2-1/2" shoes on the rear in 11" drums. B11 option, 11" Drum Heavy Duty.
If I remember right, it being said, in the old days, front drums are lighter in weight then front discs.
I don't know about todays products?

 

[Ron 73]

I believe the disk brakes are superior but i have played with them for years and cranky had it right, if guys want to use the cheap parts, that is where the main trouble comes in, top of the line parts is a whole different story when braking,,, I was as guilty as others years ago but found out that the exspencive parts work right, And at the same time, you don't usually need to replace them as often...

 

[moparcrazy]

As per the Ram man video, Drums mite be more efficient and take less power to operate, But Drums Brakes in front just Don't make sense to me..,Rear Drums im fine with, But in Front "NO Way !!"

Good Luck, and i do like those brakes on Ebay

 

[Car Nut]

I have 3" shoes upfront & 2-1/2" shoes on the rear in 11" drums.
If I remember right, it being said, in the old days, front drums are lighter in weight then front discs.
I don't know about todays products?

When I took the 11" drums off the front, I compared the weight with the disc kit. Disc's were around 15lbs lighter per side, not really much, but stopping is way better. I can still use the original 14" steelies up front.

 

[66Satellite47]

When I took the 11" drums off the front, I compared the weight with the disc kit. Disc's were around 15lbs lighter per side, not really much, but stopping is way better. I can still use the original 14" steelies up front.

Very interesting, I know that in the '70's we were told that the disc setups were heavier. I took the big 11" drums off my '65 Coronet drag car & put the 10" drums all the way around to reduce weight. The '60's & early '70's discs seemed heavier (especially compared to 10" drums), but I never actually weighed them. The big improvement from discs is that they stay consistent with repeated stops, drums go away noticebly after a couple of hard stops.

 

[Dennis H]

Who here makes consecutive hard stops on the street?

 

[Cranky]

I remember when disk brakes first hit the scene and the biggest difference was when it was raining. They stopped, drums didn't. I use to ride the brake peddle after going through standing water to dry the drum brakes. That's the Brakes!

I ride the brakes 'before' going into water where I think things might get wet and do that with disc or drum setups and that will make things much better

A 383 car most likely will have 10" brakes.

You could get the heavy duty package and it would have 11" drums.

The main thing I noticed going from factory drum brakes to a factory disc setup was not so much a braking power difference but a better braking feel as in with the discs it won't pull to one side when braking. It's harder to keep the drum brakes adjusted just perfectly so, so that it doesn't want to pull to one side when braking hard. I also noticed the front discs don't fade as easily doing a lot of heavy stop and go traffic braking like going up and down the hills we have here in San Diego County.

Never had a problem with drums pulling so long as everything was as it should be and same thing with discs. Right now my Dakota has a slight pull initially when I step on them. The system is old but I've replace the calipers several years ago but I supposed they need attention again. The biggest problem when replacing shoes and getting them to not pull during break in is to make sure they are fitted to the drum. If the drums have been turned a time or two, the shoes will usually have a different curve or radius than the drum and if one drum has been turned more than the other, then you can have a nagging problem with pull. Yup, disc are easier in that respect.

So that's Wayne. Love the shelving!!!!

Heavy duty stuff but it'll all go down like dominoes if it gets bumped hard enough. Been there done that and never again lol

I think to 67Satty's point, the need for a brake upgrade really depends on how and where you drive your car. If you're out doing a lot of street racing, drag racing, or any situation where you're braking from high speeds in short distances frequently, or you live in a hilly area where you are using your brakes almost continually, then it makes sense to make the modification.

If you're just a normal driver, driving the car on mainly level streets at or near the speed limit, then making the mod is more of a "I want it" thing than a "I need it" thing.

Ran a 10.60 car with drums and had no problem stopping even after hot lapping it. Also, I've never been considered a 'normal' driver on the streets. Just ask my buddies lol

 

[patrick66]

I had 10" drums on the '66 up until I did a disc swap from a '73 Duster, converted to a dual master cylinder and added a front anti-sway bar. The 10" never really gave me an issue, as I kept my brakes serviced and adjusted. But, the difference in overall braking was very noticeable. I've also upgraded the rears to 11'', as well, so now it really stops well, stops straight, and in less distance. Only real reason I swapped over is that I had the parts at-hand and figured "why not?"...I do not go canyon-carving in it, nor do I drag race it as I once did on occasion; but the peace of mind the brake upgrade provides is worth it.

 

[67Satty]

Who here makes consecutive hard stops on the street?

It must be pretty flat in San Jose. When I had drums, mine would fade just from going down all the hills we have in San Diego County.

 

[Dave3349]

65 CORONET 500 FRONT DISC CONVERSION

After shopping for front disc conversion kits and discussing the many options with my hot rod buddies for the past 2 years I finally made a decision
to buy the complete kit from Classic Performance Products. Obviously one major factor in the decision was the price. Bought mine on EBay 2 weeks ago
for $379.05 plus tax $30.32 total $409.37 with free shipping. Part number 6374SWBK-S. Please understand, I am 64 years old, owned and built many hot
rods, bought and installed thousands of parts but NEVER had any kits that were this complete or better engineered! I am not kidding, EVERYTHING fits
like it supposed to, all grade 8 US bolts (not metric), bearings already grease packed, and not missing one part. So, in your consideration for disc brake
conversion kits take a look at these folks!!

 

[Cranky]

The link you posted takes me to Amazon with a brake kit for 780 bucks. I'm 65 and have had both drum and disc and well, my 66 will stay drums since I don't have any hills to contend with and don't do multiple hard stops

 

[Bladecutter]

Just can't 'fade' good brakes. I choose discs over drums in any scenario......for as fast as any car goes, I want it to stop faster.

 

[Cranky]

No one as ever faded a disc setup? And the best no fade brakes in the world ain't going to stop you any faster if your tires ain't up to the task. One good example are bracket racers locking up the fronts trying not to break out. There's an S curve on a nice wide road just a few miles from me and seems like every weekend, there's straight line tire marks where someone went into curve too fast and jumped on the brakes. You can tell by the marks that they didn't spin out but went straight off the road when they locked them up. Another argument for ABS? I hate that mess! My last drag car had Wilwoods disc all around. It was 8 mph faster (134) than my previous car that had upgraded (better shoes) 11" drums and the drum car stopped better than the one with the Wilwoods. Does 8 mph make that much of a difference? The drum car was run on an old track with a short shutoff road yet it could still make the first turn off if needed. Had to lay on em to do it but I wanted to know it could if needed plus I just wanted to know how good it could stop. That old Houston International track where I raced was built in 57 only had two turnoffs. If you couldn't make the 2nd one, the only option was the weeds which already had a nice looking dirt road at the end lol and no sand trap. The disc brake car was ran at the new track in Baytown. Can't tell you the footage from the finish line to the first turnoff between the two tracks but I know for sure the distance to it at the new track was shorter but I'm pretty sure neither car could do it. Didn't even want to try it....

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Appears to be a good deal.I prefer more than 1 piston,but that's a good deal.

 

[Darthomas]

I don't like power brakes.
Put manual 73 discs on my 71 Swinger about 1985, along with 11 inch van drums in back. Very happy.

But my 66 Belvedere I want keep drums.
They're 10 by 2 1/2, and I used semi-metallic shoes on front and loved them....always used them until I couldn't get them anymore.

Been a while since I looked for them, but didn't find any the last time.
Anyone know of a source for them?

 

[Cranky]

I don't like power brakes.
Put manual 73 discs on my 71 Swinger about 1985, along with 11 inch van drums in back. Very happy.

But my 66 Belvedere I want keep drums.
They're 10 by 2 1/2, and I used semi-metallic shoes on front and loved them....always used them until I couldn't get them anymore.

Been a while since I looked for them, but didn't find any the last time.
Anyone know of a source for them?

Been awhile since I've done up some drum brakes too but you might check out this site.... http://www.musclecarbrakes.com/

 

[Budnicks]

For a 69 Charger
You can go to almost any reputable parts store &
get OE Disc Brake parts
over the counter replacement parts too, for your application,
easy peasy, not have to search for special parts etc.
especially if your not racing etc.
you would need
rotors discs, disc brake spindles {they were available for your car},
calipers {bendix or Kelsy Hase ?}, caliper brackets, appr. disc brake pads,
castle nuts & cotter pins, inner seals, bearings {inner & outer},
disc. brake flex brake lines, disc brake Master cylinder,
combo distribution/proportioning valve,
bolts/hardware for the calipers/brackets all OE Mopar part #'s
they all will fit/bolt up to your OE org. locations, firewall/or booster,
or your lower & upper ball joints...

there's more than one way to skin or stop a cat !!!

Doctor Diff is a great place to source the parts too,
Summit Racing has comparable kits too, just need to know what you have & want...

there are a bunch of co.'s out there where you can use your org. drum spindles
& do a conversion kit, I used a SSBC Force 10, 6 piston front disc brake drum to disc conversion kit
came complete with proportion valve flexlines etc.
it ain't cheap, but it's a huge upgrade over the single piston Bendix disc...

good luck

 

[Bladecutter]

No one as ever faded a disc setup? And the best no fade brakes in the world ain't going to stop you any faster if your tires ain't up to the task. One good example are bracket racers locking up the fronts trying not to break out. There's an S curve on a nice wide road just a few miles from me and seems like every weekend, there's straight line tire marks where someone went into curve too fast and jumped on the brakes. You can tell by the marks that they didn't spin out but went straight off the road when they locked them up. Another argument for ABS? I hate that mess! My last drag car had Wilwoods disc all around. It was 8 mph faster (134) than my previous car that had upgraded (better shoes) 11" drums and the drum car stopped better than the one with the Wilwoods. Does 8 mph make that much of a difference? The drum car was run on an old track with a short shutoff road yet it could still make the first turn off if needed. Had to lay on em to do it but I wanted to know it could if needed plus I just wanted to know how good it could stop. That old Houston International track where I raced was built in 57 only had two turnoffs. If you couldn't make the 2nd one, the only option was the weeds which already had a nice looking dirt road at the end lol and no sand trap. The disc brake car was ran at the new track in Baytown. Can't tell you the footage from the finish line to the first turnoff between the two tracks but I know for sure the distance to it at the new track was shorter but I'm pretty sure neither car could do it. Didn't even want to try it....

Bingo! The brakes are only as good as the contact patch.