Why drum brakes on most of the Tacomas

Wow, couldn't be more wrong (about price). Look at all the parts in a drum brake! More parts = more expensive.

IT COSTS MORE TO MAKE A COMPLEX AND HEAVY DRUM BRAKE THAN A SIMPLE AND LIGHT DISK BRAKE!!!!

 

Just because you scream it doesn't make it true.

 

Emphasis may make truth sink in better to people who aren't smart enough to add up all the extra metal in a drum brake.

 

?
Stop by your local parts store, any one of them, and ask about what it costs for a front caliper on your Toyota. Then ask them what it costs for a wheel cylinder and a hardware kit. Then call the dealership and ask them the same thing. Then let us know which one's more expensive.

Plus, this way Toyota avoids the expense of designing and manufacturing a disc setup for the rear axles, rather than sticking with the drums they've been using.
I wouldn't expect disc brakes out back until Toyota replaces the old rear axle with a new design, to be honest.

 

Are you that dense?
1) We aren't talking about COST, this discussion is around WEIGHT.
2) What somebody CHARGES for something is NOT a reflection of what it COSTS them, it is a reflection of WHAT YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT.

 

Who's dense, slick? Make up your mind and get back to me.

And if you're talking about weight, take a brake drum, shoes, hardware, etc and weigh them. Than take a caliper, rotor, and pads and weigh them. I think you'll find that they're pretty damn close, and the caliper/disc combo might actually weigh more.

Additionally, what something costs to manufacture is directly related to what it costs to purchase. It's just not the only factor.

 

Whatever, screw you.
It still costs a LOT more to MANUFACTURE a drum brake than a cheap disk brake.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Not necessarily. They're both just lump of cast iron. A caliper/disc setup is actually two lumps of cast iron, really. And that takes more machining than a drum. On a drum you just have to machine the friction surface and the seating surface for the wheel. A disc/caliper requires that you machine the disc to spec (friction surface and mounting point), plus the caliper pots, mounting points, slides, etc. So the cost of the manufacturing process may actually be higher for the disc/caliper setup.

But, I'm not a machinist, or a Toyota accountant, so I can't tell you what they pay for either one.

 

Both of them are "machined" on a lathe by robots. The drum itself is considerably more complex in shape than a disk, but robots don't care too much about that. And then you need to add in all the extra material. Drum brake with 2x as much cast iron, means you're paying 2x as much for raw materials.

 

Doesn't matter who's doing the machining, it still needs to be done. And considering that both the disc and the caliper require machining, even if the machining for a drum is more complicated (which it's not, really), they only have to cast & machine one complex piece, instead of two complex pieces.

FYI, drums don't use twice as much cast iron.
A drum for a 2nd Gen Tacoma weighs 24.5lbs, and a brake disc weighs 18. The caliper adds another 5-6lbs to that.
So, by weight, the difference between a drum and a disc setup is negligible. Which means that you're using about the same amount of cast iron.