Alright so I was thinking about it, how much of a difference is there between drums and rear calipers and what's more effective and would it be worth doing in the future

 

if you mean the difference between rear drum and rear disc s brake set up that rear disc brake is better, its lighter and better stopping power

 

like ssredtint said lighter and better stopping power, but also more expensive to replace/repair. IMo it one of those things that you get what you pay for and 4 wheels disc brakes are a must snce the new millenium

 

Dont forget the heat problem of drums.

 

If you autocross or roadrace your car, that may be an issue. If you live on a mountain, it might be an issue.

If all you do is drive normally, its not really worth it or necessary.

 

Drums have a much higher tendency to fade out from excessive heat. The disc brake is better at dissipating all that accrued heat from constant braking cycles that it has become the favored braking system for performance and overall safety.

If you take a car equipped with drum brakes on all 4 wheels and one that is equipped with disc brakes you will find that the first initial stop the drum brakes are just as good as the discs or better. however, you take the same cars and make them do several stops back to back and you will see the stopping distance increase at a much faster rate then that of a disc brake equipped car.

 

I know sport and ss come with all 4 disks but they're 5 lug, how much would a rear setup run me for a 2.2?

 

i've autocrossed with the rear drums alot and have had no problems, about 80% of your braking comes from the front anyway. for better stopping ability look to tires, if you can lock the brakes up then the braking system is outperforming the tires you have.

 

the REAL benefit of discs is that they are easier to control, drums are harder to keep even and smooth.

that said, it's really only an issue on the front, on the rear drums are fine.

 

my dealer told me to not deal with the drums, and get better discs/pads for the front because that is where the 2.2's receive most stopping power, especially in coupe form.........me = warped rotors at 12,000 mi.

 

My rotors and pads are still really good. It's just when you take corners on the highway and brake, it feels like the car is leaning forward to the opposite of the one you're turning to, feels like the back is not braking at all to even it out.

 

it is the drums then....................dealers.................my LT coupe did the same thing. glad to have my mz3 with discs at all 4's.

 

what you're describing is weight shift and has nothing to do with what kind of brakes you have. while autoxing front drive cars use that to rotate in the turns, the rear gets light and starts to slide to change the direction the car is pointing.

 

my mz3 does not do this though, better suspension???

 

actually that's a good thing when you learn to use it to setup the car to exit the turn.

 

don't know, i'm not familiar with mazda suspension. what kind of suspension does your car have

 

works on cannonball runs at very high speeds. pretty sure i've warped the rotors though. gotta get a set of drilled/slotted rotors in the very near future.

 

I'm just afraid of that weight transfer pushing hard enough and making me lose traction

 

ummm all I can say is that there's a reason that they stopped putting drum brakes on the front of the car....

 

i'd suggest getting your braking done before you start turning.

 

Yeah I know, but sometimes when you're on highway and going around the corner and need to brake, it feels really unstable, even with the springs, not as bad as stock but I could still feel it, I guess more suspension mods will help.

 

when I finish my rear brake conversion I will give you some specs on how much of a change it is, but i would say that your tires will make a bigger difference, get some good rims and tires then try a new compound on the front discs before you upgrade to rear disks.