Rear Disk Worth It?

[qwed94]

Well my Dad had an older Jeep Grand Cherokee with drums. My GC has disc (all 4). Truthfully under normal driving conditions. I dont see much (if any) difference in stopping feel. (Never really measured distances). However I have towed my little camper with his Jeep, and now with my Jeep. My Jeep feels much better at braking with the camper. (No trailer brakes--yes I hate that, but thats life right now).

I dont really think discs are that much better under normal circumstances, but under extreme circumstances-discs might just be a bit better.

OOOPS Im sorry I meant to say Dad had a (regular) Cherokee. I think all GCs has discs (dont quote me on that)!

 

[rdss]

And that's why GM went back to drums in their trucks. There was not enough of a benifit for the added cost when all cars rely on their front brakes for the majority of their braking. Which leads back to the track cars needing the discs for increased cooling and longevity as well as a quick swap, but!! we can't forget about the fact that 4 wheel discs just look cooler. If you want to drop the money on swapping in the RS rear discs I'd love to see them on a LTZ or lesser Sonic and more power to you.

 

[sx sonic]

A tune does not improve driveability and power and is completely unbeneficial! Becuase Model T!!

Mhmmm Model T. I'd rock one if it wasn't for this silly high octane gas. What'd those things run on, like 40 oct?

Plus I'd feel so thrifty driving one.

 

[rdss]

Mhmmm Model T. I'd rock one if it wasn't for this silly high octane gas. What'd those things run on, like 40 oct?

Plus I'd feel so thrifty driving one.

You'd need to throw some lead in the gas as well.

 

[sx sonic]

You'd need to throw some lead in the gas as well.

Gahh how could I forget

 

[Macehammer]

And that's why GM went back to drums in their trucks. There was not enough of a benifit for the added cost when all cars rely on their front brakes for the majority of their braking. Which leads back to the track cars needing the discs for increased cooling and longevity as well as a quick swap, but!! we can't forget about the fact that 4 wheel discs just look cooler. If you want to drop the money on swapping in the RS rear discs I'd love to see them on a LTZ or lesser Sonic and more power to you.

Better off just tranny swapping the LTZ tranny into the RS.

 

[rdss]

Better off just tranny swapping the LTZ tranny into the RS.

Sure.....

 

[Macehammer]

Well, from my perspective it would be....

 

[rdss]

And that's a logical perspective. I prefer the sedan so it is not for me. If they released a RS version of the sedan with the 1.6t I'd be hard pressed not to trade up.

 

[Stew]

I prefer the sedan so it is not for me.

+1

 

[Macehammer]

And that's a logical perspective. I prefer the sedan so it is not for me. If they released a RS version of the sedan with the 1.6t I'd be hard pressed not to trade up.

Yeah. I keep forgetting there is a sedan. Part swapping an LTZ into an "RS" sedan would be expensive, even if you kept the LTZ clutch, plus much more of a hassle. All of that interior work... Forget it.

 

[rdss]

Indeed, I have no plans to do the swap. I do think the LT would be a better place to start though, why pay more for the upgrades on the LTZ when you're going to swap parts over anyway. If I keep this car for much longer I will probably look into Katzkin for leather seats, I'm not a huge fan of cloth. No plans for discs in the rear though.

 

[Macehammer]

Never drove/test drove an LT. I think I sat in one briefly. Your probably right about the price. Considering you would be scrapping the majority of the interior...

My only thought would be if you didn't replace the dash/door plastic the interior might look imbalanced... Boring or weird color combinations...

I am unfamiliar with Katzkin, interior decorating (albeit in a manly platform) is not my forte...

 

[rdss]

Yes, the swap would be a waste of time and effort and would look half assed if not done completely.

Katzkin makes leather set covers for a lot of high end projects as well as the common swaps. I will wear out the cloth before I do the swap.

But, we will let the thread get back on topic of rear disc brake swaps for the none RS sonics.

 

[EzekeiL]

Guys, Just get some of these

Garage Pro POLISHED STAINLESS STEEL BRAKE ROTOR SIMULATORS - JCWhitney

Then get some of these

4x Yellow 3D Brembo Brake Disc Brake Caliper Covers Front & Rear Hot Sell | eBay

Then get some of this

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/NCI_Visuals_Food_Beer.jpg

And then a buncha super glue.

Job done.


In all seriousness tho, just paint the drum brake covers and make them look nice cause you will never notice the difference if its your DD

 

[ecohauler]

Why oh why would they still make cars with drum brakes? Seriously.... from a design/manufacturer point of view what is the reason to even continue using drum brakes on any car?

Drum brakes on my old Jeep YJ was a PITA to work on. In the time I spent on the rears drums, I could finish all four corners of my miata.



Oh yeh.. but I agree.. they do a good enough job for this application.

The real reason is probably fuel economy. Most disk brake designs always rub a little bit, even if you're not touching the brake pedal. This makes them more responsive and decreases stopping distance in a panic situation, which is why all new cars have them on the front. Properly functioning drum brakes, on the other hand, pull the shoe completely away from the drum when not in use. The impact on fuel economy is fairly minor, but it is there and may have meant the difference between hitting 40 MPG and 39 in the EPA test, which matters for sales. Even if drum brakes were slightly more expensive to manufacture - and it appears they might be - it's likely they would still show up on many economy cars simply due to the slight fuel economy gains.

 

[american_tuner]

Being a front wheel drive car your front brake will do majority of the work. So to put disc on rear which looks cool would not be very beneficial IMO .02¢

 

[ecohauler]

Front brakes do the majority of the work because the majority of your stopping is done going forward. Front wheel drive has nothing to do with it. However, rotational mass on the rear wheels is less of a concern because of FWD.

 

[13TurboLTZ]

What is wrong with rear drums? My Sonic will stop on a dime and give 9 cents change if I need it to. Nothin wrong with a properly setup drum brake system, hell I do drums in my sleep! Its all in what your used to. Do a set of drums/shoes once or twice, if you have the right stuff it seriously is cake work. I had drums on the back of my 87 Camaro and had NO issues with braking - that car STOPPED.

The real reason is probably fuel economy. Most disk brake designs always rub a little bit, even if you're not touching the brake pedal. This makes them more responsive and decreases stopping distance in a panic situation, which is why all new cars have them on the front. Properly functioning drum brakes, on the other hand, pull the shoe completely away from the drum when not in use. The impact on fuel economy is fairly minor, but it is there and may have meant the difference between hitting 40 MPG and 39 in the EPA test, which matters for sales. Even if drum brakes were slightly more expensive to manufacture - and it appears they might be - it's likely they would still show up on many economy cars simply due to the slight fuel economy gains.

Nope.

If that was the case then why does the Cruze Eco and Volt use disc brakes?

And - if those shoes aren't slightly (and I do mean SLIGHTLY) dragging on the drums you will have a noticeable low brake pedal. There is always a little drag on drums. Actually, more drag on drums than discs!

Drum brakes are cheap, simple, quiet, don't overheat (when on the REAR), and one of the biggest reasons is: they are a contained system - no brake dust, no pitting/rusting rotors when the car sits for extended period of time, no squealing noises in the morning because it rained last week. Drums nowadays last 100k miles and rarely need any maintenance. Gee, I wonder why they still use drums on compacts?

/okimoffmyhighhorsenow

 

[Maddmatts]

^I would have to agree^

My experience with rear drum brakes is that they're extremely low maintenance. Save for any mechanical trouble, they will last, and last, and last. At least GM painted them black. It wasn't long ago when they were left to the elements as bare iron.