How the growing popularity of EVs could lead to a resurgence of drum brakes

Drum brakes are an OG technology that has been around almost every vehicle. First manufactured in 1899, this type of brakes can be found on the original car accessories that Wilhelm Maybach and Louis Renault loved. Slightly smaller than their disk paths, the drum brakes were a bit too long a way to reduce the car due to its efficiency and low cost to make. But it began to lose interest in mechanics in the 1960’s when relatively few machines became available. Available today on buses and buses, drum brakes are set to resume due to the popularity of electric vehicles.

Drums and discs work very differently and each machine has its advantages. Disc brakes also work the way your bicycles work: two pads attached to a pen reach down to create friction and reduce wheel movement. In the case of car brakes, it is a dedicated metal plate (hence, disc) instead of self-rotating. The discs are much stronger and more durable than the drums, which is especially important if the front brakes carry 60 to 80% less car compared to the rear, which is why you will have a hard time finding a car with front corners anymore. The discs also self-adjust, which makes them less susceptible to scratching or pulling, as well as self-cleaning, which makes them quieter. They are also less prone to long-term heat and do not freeze on braking objects such as high mountains.

The drums, too, have their own breathing shoes inside the rotating container that rotates along with the entire wheel and use a piston to press the two shoes out, attaching them to the inner drum wall to create an argument that slows the car down. Because the inside of the cylinder is clearly visible, the drum shoes can be made much larger than the disc pins, which makes them more durable and has a much higher bracing force than the pads that have the same discs. In addition, because the drums are located at the front of the wheel assembly, they can function as parking lots or emergency brakes where cars with four discs require the addition of an e-brake.

In the new generation of electric cars, the brakes on the wheels are more pronounced. Take the VWs New ID. 4 and Europe-only Note. 3 EVs, for example. Both models use Continental drum brakes on their rear wheels. “Drum brakes, by design, have no residual brakes,” a spokesman for the VW test team at North America Region EV told Engadget. “Shoes are always pulled by internal springs. This helps a variety. ”

Ma EV the process of decomposition, which converts the rear of the car for a switch (converting it into an electric generator to hover over car batteries) each time you release the accelerators, it also works with the brake cylinders. By using electric motors on the rear and only slowing down during recharge, rear brakes are often not used, according to VW. You could be in danger of losing the ability to rust or rust if you were to discard it. Drums have no problem because they are printed around neighboring streets.

A spokesman for the Volkswagen AG department of brakes, admitted, “the brakes look old-fashioned, but for an EV like ID 4, that’s a good solution.” He also mentioned the lack of drum residue and traction, as well as their low rust volume which results in a lower drop of brake dust than discs, such as its early advantages.

“The drake brake, which was built into ID.3, offers many advantages, especially in the case of vehicles,” Drs. Bernhard Klumpp, chief business officer at Hydraulic Brake Systems at Continental said 2020 document, “For example, long working hours of up to 150,000 km.” That’s car life right there.

In EV, where battery packs can weigh as much as a U-Haul cart, each gram is worth it and every ounce brings value. While the discs may be more efficient than the drums, they are also more complex – and some add-ons, such as a stand-alone e-brake, all add to the car’s overall weight and price.

And although drum brakes have been around since the 19th century, the same technology continues to evolve. Variety of Continental brakes used in ID. 4, for example, is already in use in some of the top half of the various OEMs.

“First we started the project [of this brake system], ”Said Alejandro Abreu Gonzalez, director of engineering at Continental’s hydraulic brake system division, Engadget. “We have another section that will continue to use electronics to break, we will continue to use this technology.”

Continental has already worked on making all disc-brakes in 2017 directly on the EV market, called A New Idea for Wheels. “The wheelbarrow consists of two parts of aluminum, an aluminum inner bearing star with an aluminum disk for carrying aluminum and an external aluminum wheel mounted with a tire,” the company explained in a press release at the time. “Unlike conventional brakes, the New Wheel Concept toilet holds an aluminum disk inside. This makes it a much larger component, which helps the brakes work more efficiently.”

While New Wheel did not really make the work possible, the project “gave us a lot of information on new things to reduce obesity,” Gonzalez said. “This is something that, with heavy batteries, we need to keep growing.”

Gonzalez admits that changing people’s perceptions of drum technology as old-fashioned and low-key discs would not be difficult. But even though we won’t see a return to wheel-wheel drive, especially not on any racing and sporting car, “Driving a city, I think it’s the best technology that’s smart here on EV.”