You need to go back more than that. In the 80s nearly every car had rear drum brakes, that phased out in the early 90s or so. Only the very cheapest cars had drums past that timeframe.
> They lasted pretty much the lifetime of the car.
Having owned a few drum braked cars (including all four wheel drums), not really. You still need to change them as they wear out, it's just a lot more work than disk brake pads which can be swapped out in a few minutes.
The rear brakes do a lot less work than the fronts, particularly on smaller lightweight cars (the kind that still had rear drums in the 90s) so in that sense yes, those rear drums lasted a good while (but certainly not the life of the car).
If you put front drum brakes on a fast & heavy car, you'll be wearing them out pretty quick.
They are more efficient (read: safety) and much easier to maintain.
Rear brakes are almost redundant on entry level cars except for the parking brake. You can just disconnect them and not notice any significant change in handling.
Last time I had to touch drum brakes was in 1991 and I'm very (very very) happy about that. Drum brakes are a maintenance nightmare I never again want to experience. I'd rather adjust carburator jets all night before working on drum brakes again.
How does the accumulated brake dust not affect braking performance? And can it tolerate getting wet inside, or is it somehow sealed well enough to go through puddles without getting wet?
I suppose one could build an all-wheel-drive EV that only uses mechanical brakes during emergency maneuvers.
As the link states, they also increase efficiency, and that allows for smaller batteries, less weight. They're also looking into lighter weight aluminium disc brakes because EVs use them less, and it prevents issues with low usage disc brakes rusting.
This is because of regenerative braking not using the brake pads, using the motor instead.
Maybe dust in the drum isn’t a problem? Or maybe it’s designed so the dust accumulates somewhere other than on the friction surface inside the drum?
However, the EV eats tires like a full-size pickup truck with somewhere to be.
Out of curiosity, why is that?
Edit: I Google’d:
“ Electric vehicles boast instant torque, meaning they accelerate the second you put the pedal to the metal. However, the high instant torque of electric vehicles can also increase wear and tear. In addition to good grip, the rubber compound used for EV tyres also needs low rolling resistance.”
And
“ Teslas are heavier than most other cars because of their battery packs, which can add hundreds of pounds to the vehicle's overall weight. This extra weight puts additional strain on the tires and leads to increased friction between the tires and the road surface, which causes them to wear out faster.”
It maybe a false memory effect but I vague remember this notion about trolleybuses.
p.s. Seeing how many people already killed themselves with Plaid - I think gov should require advanced driving licence for super quick and super fast cars.
As for the Plaid, from what I’ve read the yoke and the high-speed handling are frankly dangerous. If somebody gave me one, I’d sell it and buy something where the drivetrain, the handling, and the aerodynamics are better matched.
It seems like this factor could be easily solved with torque output adjustments, but it won’t be unless it’s regulated.
The unwashed masses now expect every BEV to be performant without knowing the maintenance costs of actual ICE performance cars.
Manufacturers feed into this, as dealers love to have repeat customers for an otherwise low-maintenance car.
50k is nothing, ICE cars often go longer than that without new brake pads. Had my ICE sedan for five years with no sign of brake squeaks yet. Never thought about brakes when I lived on a huge hill either.
You should never ride the brakes for minutes at a time! Even if didn't care about wear, the main problem is they will overheat and become less and less effective so if you suddenly need to brake harder during that downhill, you may have little to no braking power.
Always use engine braking if faced with a long steep downhill. Use the brakes occasionally to modulate speed but never ride them continuously for a prolonged time.
We can excuse the brake riding in the automatic, but why not just downshift the manual?
This. Drum brakes are an inordinate pain to maintain and adjust.
I can change pads in disk brakes on all four wheels in less time that it took me merely to remove the drum from a single wheel in older cars.
https://www.continental.com/en/press/studies-publications/te...
> The drum brake offers even further attractions, the environmental particulate emissions are vastly reduced when compared to the traditional disc brake system technology, that will bring upcoming decisive decisions to comply with increasingly stricter environmental requirements. While combustion engines have had to comply with increasingly stringent emission limits in recent years, the focus has now widened to include foundation brakes. The fine brake dust generated from the brake system can have far-reaching adverse effects on human health, depending on the size of the particles emitted. Experts expect stricter legal requirements from the EU Commission by 2025 at the latest. Drum brake technology takes advantage of the enclosed housing system, allowing the brake dust particulates to be accumulated within the enclosed system that can be collected and disposed in a controlled manner that protects the environment.