Drum vs Disc, Power vs non Power

RustyRatRod said
Drums would be WAY more efficient than discs were it not for one thing. They cannot dissipate heat like discs. If they could and not fade, drums would be on everything made still today. Unfortunately, that's not the case. After three or four hard stops, drums heat up and fade.

All that said, I am a BIG proponent of drum brakes on a street car. Even a race car down as fast as high 10s. Drums are better than discs.....until they begin to fade. Look at the difference in the surface area of a drum brake shoe VS a disc brake pad.

Drums are also much lighter than their disc counterpart. Drum brakes can stop unbelievably quick as long as they are in good working order and have not been neglected. I plan on keeping the drum brakes on my 65 Coronet and it's not gonna be slow with a big block and 4.56 gears.

Road racing? Drums probably not a good idea. I would run them on a drag car real fast. Since they don't have to repeatedly stop and they are light, they are an excellent choice down to a certain ET. JMO.

Drums better than disks? There really isn't anything that supports that.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0709phr_wilwoods_disc_brake_swap/

Not only that, even the big rigs which can get away with drum's propensity to lock much easier than a car (heavier weight) are going to air disk brakes for shorter stopping distances (this is/is going to be an FMVSS requirement).

They even sell the Cruzes like mine with rear drums...my rear disk car stops 10' shorter...and the front brakes are the same...and that's with electronic brake force distribution AND ABS.

I won't push anyone to install rear disk brakes on their car, however, I think its pretty short-sighted to not install front disk brakes. Your cheapness may destroy the car, hurt you, or hurt someone else since you may be unable to stop in time to miss an object that you would otherwise be able to avoid. Its the same reason why I also want everyone to have front anti sway bars and at least 205 tires on the front axle.

On a drag car, do what you want. On the street however, think about the unpredictability.