Rear drum brakes?

I think you’re answering the wrong question. The question isn’t do the drum brakes outperform disc brakes. It’s “do the drum brakes do their job on the Tacoma as well as comparable mid size trucks using disc brakes”.

Given the state of technology available on the truck (including ABS) the Tacoma is able to perform as well as any other truck independent of driver skill.

 

Flipping the assembly line from drums to disc is not cheap. The drums work, and work well, so Toyota skipped out on that cost because they knew 4th gen was going to shared platform, so all research and dev and investing was going into that instead of revamping the 3rd Gen. Hell they even kept the same 4 banger option from 2nd to 3rd Gen, didn't even change the engine!

4th gen will have disc brakes because it's going to share with the tundra.

 

I did find it interesting that they used the new 6AT in the 2.7l given all the other stuff that they kept the sames. Also, it seems really weird that they dropped the 5MT in 2018.

 

I tow 5K easily. Level terrain at about 45 -55 max. No issues.
Hills and if you want to do 85mph like some in here than a Tundra.
I have a Tundra I use for when I load two horses. One horse the Taco does just fine.

 

Because it's easier to have everything the same. From a manufacturing engineering perspective, the first 50 percent of the build is the same from a 4 banger 2wd sr work truck package (can't remember what it's called) and a trd pro. The frame, brakes, chassis, suspension (actually now that I say suspension a rolling chassis would be different between them), transmission, etc is all the same. The first half of the assembly line doesn't care whether it's going to a pro or sr, they're doing the same thing anyway, and for manufacturing and QA that's an amazing trait in an assembly line.

The manual is so low in demand, remember the people who post here and moan about manual transmissions are the vocal minority. Toyota didn't see the sales numbers to keep them and be profitable. If they did, they would have kept them.

 

Because it is a better technology for the rear of a truck. It is better off-road and allows for passive pre load of the bed. Discs do neither.

 

Doesn't the motor, trans, and T case come to the line as one unit? In my mind, it would be odd to be bolting the engine to the trans in the frame. I could be very wrong.

But, I do see where you are coming from.

My guess on MT SRs is that their take rate is as good as or better than the V6. But, the 4cyl versus 6cyl numbers might not have been there.

 

It could. I don't know off the top of my head. But that's fine, where did the motor and trans and t case get assembled? There's an assembly line in there, too.

 

Oh yeah. All the major subassemblies have their own lines at Toyota or their suppliers.

 

Rear disk brakes are what keep our trucks so reasonably priced.

 

Welcome to Tacoma world

This^

They have a tundra rear disc brake upgrade
But

This^
Good luck In your new coming build!

This^ & what's the milage on it? if you dont mind

 

Six pages and no response from OP

What in the hell is everyone talking about?
I dont want to read 6 pages of probable bickering , although sometimes can be fun.

 

While I do agree that all other consumer grade trucks have gone the way of all-wheel disk brakes however hevy-duty trucks still use drum brakes (rear) and have no issue towing or stopping.. yes their drum brakes are way bigger then a Tacoma's but they are also towing way more weight.

Drum brakes work, cost less to maintain, and stop as well as disk brakes under normal conditions (Not riding the brake down hill as Disk brakes have the ability to cool off better which is the reason they are being used in front).

Toyota, in all official channels, has stated over and over they have NO plans to switch to disk brakes in the rear.... when/if they will no one knows except Toyota.

 

yes I under stand, "No issues." but the issue is the speed limit is 70 so it sucks for the mile of traffic behind you.

But i would not tow live animals at 70, anyways.... so......

 

Not only that, but regardless of the engine, there are no mid size trucks I would tow 6500 lbs with for any distance.

 

The disc brake is superior in vehicles that require lighter wheel mounted brakes for consumer use. HD trucks and tractor trailer Riggs are not under that restriction. You can always build a large enough drum brake that’s more effective then a smaller disc brake.

Besides, in tractor trailer rigs, the vast majority if the weight is in the trailer, not the tractor. The trailer has very large specialized brakes for the load. The tractor supplies the control, not the actual braking surface.

 

Haha, no shit! TW takes the bait again!
OP was on last night, and on again late this afternoon, no reply, just checking on the trap.
You guys fell for it.

 

I agree with both. The trundra change is due first.....then what every new technology is appropriate will filter to the Tacoma. Toyota will not do turbos and diesels in the Tacoma unless the demand requires it and the sales suffer. They aren’t much now.
They are primarily for off road and sporting use.

 

Found this while perusing drum brake info on the interwebs (Haynes.com):

Drum brake advantages
Brake shoes today are still being used. Here are some advantages that drum brakes have over disc brakes:

• Drum brakes can provide more braking force than an equal diameter disc brake.
• Drum brakes last longer because drum brakes have increased friction contact area than a disc.
• Drum brakes are cheaper to manufacture than disc brakes.
• Rear drum brakes generate lower heat.
• Drum brakes have a built-in self energizing effect that requires less input force (such as hydraulic pressure
• Wheel cylinders are simpler to recondition than with disc brake calipers.
• Brake shoes can be remanufactured for future use.
• Drums have slightly lower frequency of maintenance due to better corrosion resistance.

Drum brake disadvantages

• Excessive heating can happen due to heavy braking, which then can cause the drum to distort, and thus cause vibration under braking.
• Under hard braking, the diameter of the drum increases slightly due to thermal expansion, the driver must press the brake pedal farther.
• Brake shoes can overheat to the point where they become glazed.
• Excessive brake drum heating can cause the brake fluid to vaporise.
• Grab is the opposite of fade: when the pad friction goes up, the self-assisting nature of the brakes causes application force to go up. If the pad friction is enough, the brake will stay engaged due to self-application, even when the external application force is released.
• Another disadvantage of drum brakes is their relative complexity.
• Maintenance of drum brakes is more time-consuming, compared to disc brakes.

 

Pretty much what I said... they are bigger on Heavy Duty trucks. The drum brakes on Tacoma's are extremely sufficient for the use our light duty trucks see. Heavier loads = Bigger Brakes. You just said it more elegant then I did. I have never had an issue stopping with the Tacoma.. now I do not tow max but I do tow up to 5K and I hauled way.. way over the rated limit several times (My specific truck being 2020 OR with Prem/Tech is only just below 1K haul).