Disc Brakes Vs. Drum Brakes.

In 2004, all 2-wheel drive Chevrolet Yukons, Suburbans, Avalanches, TrailBlazers and Silverados had rear disk brakes as standard equipment.

For 2005, rear disc brakes are still standard equipment on all 2-wheel drive Chevrolet Yukons, Suburbans, Avalanches and TrailBlazers.

However, the 2005 Silverados are another story. All 2005 2-wheel drive Chevrolet Silverado 1500HD, 2500HD and 3500 models have rear disc brakes as standard equipment. HOWEVER, the 2005 2-wheel drive Silverado 1500 model has rear DRUM brakes -- with no option to upgrade to rear disc brakes.

Now I know that we have already discussed this downgrading of the low end Silverado to an inferior rear drum braking system on this newsgroup. Some posters thought this decision by GM to eliminate rear disc brakes from the "SAFETY & SECURITY" section of its 1500-series trucks was a chicken shit thing to do. Other posters said that this is no big deal and that second-rate rear drum brakes are good enough for a truck of this size. The fact remains that drum brakes are inferior to disc brakes, otherwise, GM would be putting drum brakes on the front, as well.

In order to give some creditability to its reinstating of the old fashioned rear drum brake system, GM has made the brake drums bigger, possibly in an attempt to increase stopping power and heat dissipation. Unfortunately, this newly-designed rear drum brake system of the 2005

1500-series Silverado has a brake drum which is so large that it requires the use of a 17-inch rim in order to give it adequate clearance. The use of this larger rim necessitates the use of lower profile tires, so the load capacity of the 4 standard-equipment tires of the 2005 truck is reduced by 264 pounds when compared to the standard tires which were on the 1999-2004 1500-series trucks with 16-inch rims.

The bottom line is that GM has made the decision to go back to drum brakes on the rear of its 2005 Silverado 1500-series trucks to save money. Even though drum brakes have more parts than disc brakes and are harder to service, they are less expensive to manufacture.

So my question is: How much does GM save by using rear drum brakes instead of rear disc brakes?

Reply to
One-Shot Scot
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$67.89

Reply to
Battleax

One-Shot...you really are making a mountain out of a molehill, tempest in a teapot, big bad boogie man where there isn't one...etc.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

My question is: How long are you going to beat this dead horse??

Reply to
Tony Kimmell

'til its head sounds like a rotten pumpkin?

-Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

Evidently this is going to be a career move for him as he spent considerable time on that last rant.................

I for one like drum brakes.

Doc

Reply to
"Doc"

Thank you. I had a feeling that the savings would be less than $100 per truck.

Reply to
One-Shot Scot

He must have a lot of free time on his hands. He wrote a 400 page long rant about the 4.3 V6 not too long ago as well.

-Tony

Reply to
Tony Kimmell

dissipation.

Reply to
Gary Picha

Yeah, I believe that dollar figure. Where's the facts? Let's see some data!

Brian

Reply to
el Diablo

Scot....you didn't really take that post seriously, did you?

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Lol, I just threw that figure out there. Well at least we know where he gets his "facts". b

Reply to
Battleax

Definitely will likely be the next backward step for GM trucks?

Definitely 8 track player AND Real glass windshields, none of that coated safety stuff.

Reply to
richb

No AC for sure

Reply to
James Del Mul

Your gag post is probably closer to the true figure than you know. The bean counters at GM see $67.89 per vehicle differently:

50,000 vehicles times $67.89 = $3,394,500.00.

A million here and a million there. It all adds up.

Maybe the savings is $100 per vehicle, for a cool $5 million saved per

50,000 vehicles.
Reply to
One-Shot Scot

This is a cross post:

alt.autos.dodge.trucks, alt.trucks.chevy, alt.trucks.ford

If I had crossposted, you would be seeing my Ford and Dodge posts here on the alt.trucks.chevy newsgroup.

So, where are they?

This is the car business. A person who walks into a dealership backward and pays the asking price is what is known as a complete laydown. But what if the asking price is more each year for a truck that has less quality? So far, the base price of a 2005 GM 1500-series truck is $395 more than the 2004 model and the 2005 now has drum brakes on the rear. This downgrading of equipment has not gone unnoticed. According to a GMC marketing representative with whom I talked on the phone, there have been many complaints about GM's rear drum brakes.

The degradation of the braking system of GM's 1500-series trucks is only the tip of the iceberg. GM and its competitors are caught in a downward spiral of rising costs, giveaway financing, pressure from the EPA and the necessity of generating bigger and bigger profits for its shareholders. GM will continue to chip away at its truck quality, as long as people don't object.

But, people will always pay more for higher quality. Educated consumers will pay a lot more for a Honda than they will for a Kia or Hyundai. This is in spite of the 10-year, 100K mile warranty of the "comparably equipped" Korean shit box.

My complaint is not that GM has started putting cheaper, less-efficient drum brakes on its 2005 1500-series trucks. My complaint is that GM does not even offer rear disc brakes as an option on its 2005 1500-series trucks.

Maybe former GM truck buyers will speak with their wallets when making their next truck purchase and buy another brand.

Reply to
One-Shot Scot

Scot:

I think you are asking the wrong cost & performance question.... and I do own a 2000 Silverado 1500 4x4 EXT LT...

I believe the truth in the brake change 'may' lie in

braking effectiveness on the 1500 rear truck axle...

The two rear disc brake performance issues I read on the NET are

the rear parking brake wear out AND rusted pins on the

on the rear disc brake sliding calipers... Both of

these items may cause both poor rear brake performance and

expensive/frequent repairs.....

It looks like big/improved rear drum brakes negates

both of these repair/performance brake issues

showing up in the future... I think no

Automotive Engineer in his/her right mind would

ever go back to Front Drum brakes... as the Front

axle brakes do 90% of the vehicle braking on 1500s...

Reply to
Dennis Mayer

Are you sure about that? In the 2005 service manual, it appears that the 1500 series is offered with either disk rear or drum rear. I'll tell you what....I'll take my digital camera into work and capture a picture of a 1500 series with rear disc brakes. The trucks are rolling in and out of our shop every hour or so, so if there is a 1500 with rear discs, I'll grab a picture of it. If there is such a beast, will you drop the subject?

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Bhaahhh Bhaahhh, that's funny Ian. ;-)

Brian

Reply to
el Diablo

Hi!

Hope you noticed the rather convenient sequential amount of that number.

William The Guesser (cookin' the books by day and flamin' by night!)

Reply to
William R. Walsh

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