Are vented brake discs the norm now?

[DIYspanner]

I ask because my niece's 2007 reg Ford 1.3 KA has vented discs where as my 2001 Rover 45 TD had solid discs.

The recent mot advised on the discs condition for the KA so I've sourced Mintex pads and discs for £30. I'll fit them if her Pops will pay for them.

 

[Burnerman]

Yes, they are much less prone to distortion and brake fade so solid discs are rare now - unless they are on the back.
John

 

[DIYspanner]

Thanks John

Presumably rears are solid cause they're cheaper and don't get as hot due to reduced braking force ?

 

[Burnerman]

Yes, the braking force on the rear is much less than on the front so a thinner disc is all that's needed.
Judging on the amount of discs I change which are badly corroded but otherwise unworn, I have absolutely no problems with the drum brake system!
John

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Another marketing gimmick, nowt wrong with drums on the back.

 

[DIYspanner]

Drum brakes are fine when working but not to service unless on a nice warm day, not on a winter's day when your hands a numb with cold.

The one thing I don't like about drum brakes is when the drum and hub are one piece and you have to take the bearing out to remove the drum.

Regarding the lip on the drum from wear, I remove that using a power file. I haven't got a brake drum lathe.

 

[DaveHerns]

It's a fashion thing. Nothing looks more daft than 19" alloys and 8" drums. As seen on a Fiesta recently with an intercooler radiator cut into the front grille !

 

[DaveHerns]

Do you have to have rear discs to have an electric handbrake? Another stupid fad.

 

[JohnD]

electronic parking brake is handy when there are so many halfwits who won't use their handbrake. Most of them in automatic cars. Brakelights cause dazzle especially in thick traffic.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Do you have to have rear discs to have an electric handbrake? Another stupid fad.

I like my electric handbrake and I have auto hold on a Golf which is awesome (usually) though I do worry about its reliability long term.

 

[Avocet]

Hill-hold is usually via the ABS pump rather than the handbrake.

 

[Avocet]

Discs are becoming more common on the rear partly because cars are getting heavier, and partly because with the advent of ABS and then Electronic Stability Control, the manufacturers can afford to be much less conservative with the rear brakes. They have to ensure that under any imaginable conditions, the rear wheels won't lock before the fronts. They used to do that, simply by "wasting" a lot of the potential braking force on the back - either with pressure limiting valves or just rubbish, tiny brakes, or both. Now they can run them much closer to lockup, safe in the knowledge that the electronics will sort it out. That's part of the reason modern cars stop so much better than older ones.

 

[Ashlee86]

Vented is good and is normal on new cars these days.
Only on the old micra and metro have i seen solid front discs.
Even the last versions of the k11 had vented.