Quote:
Originally posted by Budiak
Do I really need a posi? I dont mind grabbing a 9" rear, but is posi really necessary if I'm just making a driver?
Besides, are the drum brakes really that shitty? I found out that the wheels I have are pretty clean looking stainless steel wheels, not the hubcap kind, they look pretty sharp if a little dirty, I'd like discs but if it just means I'm going to have to spend 2500 bucks to change out everything, is it even worth it for the stopping power?
|
Do I really need a posi? No, in fact a posi is not all that good to have on the street for normal driving. Here's why...posi (limited slip) and locking rear ends increase tire wear and can act poorly under certain conditions. Examples of conditions are rounding a curve in wet weather. If you acclerate out of a corner in bad weather, the limited slip can reduce your control of the car by locking up and subsequently breaking traction. To avoid this situation on rainy days you have to be more careful entering curves at lower speeds to avoid your natural reaction to press on the accelerator while coming out of the curve.
Are drum brakes shitty? No, they've been in use for years longer than disc brakes. In fact, drum brakes have more surface area and stop your car with lower effort than disc brakes. Were it not for power brake boosters, most folks would opt for drum brakes. Drum brakes have two annoying properties that disc brakes do not have. Drum brakes heat up faster and consequently the shoes and drum distort. This leads to uneven stopping power. Thus, if you do three successive high speed quick stops, drum brakes will inevitably fade and lose some braking effectiveness. On well designed drum brakes it will take several quick stops before this becomes noticible. Drum brakes perform poorly when wet. This is true, you have to be careful to keep your drum brakes dry else it can feel like you have none. The reason this happens is because drum brakes have a large surface area and use lower hydraulic pressure than disc brakes. Disc brake design provides a lot more pressure (psi) on the rotor than drum brakes do. This provides disc brake stopping power when wet. The bottom line here is drum brakes will work fine for you as long as you understand they have characteristics unlike disc brakes. In normal driving they stop your car just as well as disc brakes do.