I had a Ducati with a huge diameter four-leading-shoe drum brake on the front that was as good as any disc on the market. Cost more to make them.

 

Very true... about three quarters of the braking force is done by the front brakes. If you ever ride bikes you'll notice that the front brakes are not only more effective, but also all you really use except in bad conditions. And ever wonder why spirited driving leaves you will brake dust covered all over your front wheels? The weight is transferred to the front of the car under braking (as seen through dive) and gives more responsibility to the front wheels to stop the car.

 

my dad and i both have the same body style camrys except his has rear drums and mine has 4 wheel disc. my car definietly stops alot faster than his.


why are there light marks on his tires at the end of each spoke?

 

It is true. On the firt stop, Drums will perform better than discs (assuming that the pad material is the same), because the pads have more surface area, and if the drums are dual servo action (most) the movement of the car helps in braking. After this, the drum brakes heat up and stop worse than disc, but they are initially better.

 

There was some guy asking about cross-drilled brakes a couple of days ago. I can't find that thread here now. You know, the one where they pointed him to the 30-page Altima board "discussion".

 

Heeeeeeey, don't make fun of all-wheel drums, my 356 has em on all four corners!