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Facts About Drum Brakes

The main purpose of brakes is to stop or slow down the vehicle. Although there are different types of brakes installed in cars today, the concept behind them remains the same. One of them is a drum brake. It is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against the inner surface of a rotating drum. The automobile drum brake was invented in 1902 by Louis Renault, though a less-sophisticated drum brake had been used by Maybach. The first drum brakes were mechanically operated with levers and rods or cables. Then from the mid 1930s, it was operated with oil pressure in a small wheel cylinder and pistons.

The old drum brakes shoes were subject to wear and the brakes needed to be adjusted regularly or replacing. Some owners initially complained of poor braking with the replacements; however, technology eventually advanced to compensate. Nowadays, drum brakes work on the same principle as disc brakes in which shoes press against a spinning surface which is the drum.

A drum brake system consists of hydraulic wheel cylinders, brake shoes and a brake drum. When the brake is applied, the two brake shoes are forced by hydraulic wheel cylinders against the inner surface of a rotating drum. The result of this contact produces friction which enables the vehicle to slow down or stop. When the brake is released, a fluid is sucked back into the master cylinder and out of the wheel cylinder. This releases the pressure on brake shoes that return to normal via a spring, which allows the wheels to turn freely.

Although disc brakes are the most common used brakes, drum brakes are still used in some modern cars because of some engineering and cost advantages. Drum brakes are often applied to the rear wheels since most of the stopping happens in the front of the vehicle and therefore the heat generated in the rear is less. Drum brakes are also occasionally fitted as the parking and emergency brake.

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