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Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:45 pm

I just did my rear brakes (drum) and I don't like the idea that the new hand-brake cables I put in, needed so much adjustment. In other words, I suspect my drums are worn too much. I didn't have them turned because the ridge was not very great; and with the new shoes, it stops fine, of course. But the handbrake cables are cinched down quite a lot, especially for installing new shoes.

So, I'm going to replace the drums with new ones--like I should have done to begin with.

I see German ones for $79.00 and $89.00, and Brazilian ones for $57.00. I usually buy German if I can, but what's the German drum have that the ones from Brazil don't have? Are there fitment problems? Do the ones from Brazil wear faster? Or are the German ones simply more because they're from Germany?

Tim

Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:56 pm

I honestly don't know but I would suspect the quality of the casting will be the only physical difference.
The Brazilian ones probably wear faster and probably cost more because rent, minimum wage, shipping from, etc is is more expensive in Germany than in Brazil.

Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:53 pm

There's that word, "probably". But why do we assume the people in Brazil would make an inferior brake drum?

The German one I spoke of is made by Zimmerman.

I just have to wonder what the Germans do to their drums that the Brazilians neglect to do. Is the steel better? Are their drums a more perfect round? Do they fit the axel slines any better? Why would we just assume that the ones made in Brazil are inferior?

I know when it comes to a Master Cylinder, I went for the German because of all the funky stories on this forum about non-German masters. But the thing is, I have an Empi front disc conversion, so the rotors are no doubt not from Germany. Yet, the rotors were a perfect fit and seemingly very well made. My guess is that they're made in China. But ... the quality is there. So I just wonder if the extra money for this kind of part (drums) is just for paying the Germans for their higher standard of living--and not a better quality product.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't buy, say, engine tin or brake light switches from China, but most of the tires we get today are chinese made. And I'd rather have Khumos than Firestone, anyday.

Still, it's the drums from Brazil that I wonder about.

Anyone bought them and can give an unbiased opinion?

Tim

Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:20 am

If your only choices are brazil or german then you should get the german ones.

Most brake drums do not have splines, if the splines don't fit right or strip out you will REGRET it lemme tell ya.

There WERE other choices, made in italy and another(was it denmark?, the netherlands? I forget) but at the moment there aren't any I see.

Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:28 am

The issue here is all quality control. I work in parts and service (not in the auto industry) and you see it all the time. Some stuff from China is just as good as from European countries, it's all about what the distributor wants. A Chinese factory will make products to the specifications the offshore supplier demands. If garbage is acceptable to EMPI, and the price is so low that they can make a good profit selling their cheap garbage cheaply, then the Chinese factory will press a million ill fitting parts out of garbage recycled steel and pump them out to EMPI or Bugpack, who gladly accepts them with dollar signs in their eyes. If they demand something better the Chinese factory will make something better. Glenn the moderator posted some pics a while back of knock-off Iphones that were pretty much indistinguishable from the real ones. Remember, Iphones are made in China too, and everyone drools over them. Every electrical component in everything you own is made in China or Taiwan.

Regarding the brake drums, you'll find a similar issue with QC. I just got a bus last year and knew nothing about them, the parts for them, etc. I needed brakes done so while researching I learned that rear drums for the 68-69 (mine is a 77 though)models from Brazil had an issue with the drums cracking, just a bad batch of bad castings or what have you, so it was advised to avoid those. I didn't read anything negative on Brazilian front rotors though and I bought some. Much cheaper than the German ones and they fit fine and have been holding up well for the last year. It's just best to do the research and get opinions, which is what you are doing Tim!
If I were me I'd call or email a trusted vendor and ask about quality. Places like Bus Depot, Aircooled.net, and Bug City have been very upfront and helpful in my experience when asking about the quality and fit of certain parts.
In my personal opinion I don't fear the "wear" items (drums, shoes, fuel pumps, shocks, etc) from Brazil and Mexico as these cars were still in production there recently and these are the parts that get changed as part of routine maintenance on ANY car. Like anything else though there are degrees of quality there too. Someone from Brazil recently posted a nice list of the varying quality by manufacturer. Very last post here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=582186&highlight=brazil
Most of the South American OEM suppliers to VW(Brosol, Varga, Bocar, etc) are still producing these parts for the aftermarket.
Hope this helps...

Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:55 am

Wearever drums ( & discs ) from Advance Auto about $37. each , Made in China . I deliver them all day to auto repair shops and have them on my 69 Bug & 91 Jetta , I never see defect returns on these unlike some other Chinese parts . They seem to be very good quality but I couldn't tell you if they will last 150,000 miles and 20 years like the originals .

Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:21 pm

There maybe nothing wrong at all with your drums,,could be your new emergency brake cables,,,try a good pair of used ..

Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:44 pm

for almost $200 in drums, I'd just get disc brakes, but that's just me. :lol:

Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:44 pm

might just be my bad luck but I've found Brazil drums to be very dicey. Most I've bought were out of round and needed to be turned before being usable,.I've never had this issue with German brand ones, which is all I buy now

Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:37 pm

I've heard that sometimes Brazilian drums give up their threads as you tighten lugs, as well as being out of round.

I also heard that Italian are pretty good--but German is just a little bit more.

So ... today I got a set of Zimmermans--made in Germany.

I'll put them in tomorrow.

I was going to spray paint them today, but it's raining and it's too cold for painting. I'll just do it later.

Tim

Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:04 am

Tim Donahoe wrote: I've heard that sometimes Brazilian drums give up their threads as you tighten lugs, as well as being out of round.

I also heard that Italian are pretty good--but German is just a little bit more.

So ... today I got a set of Zimmermans--made in Germany.

I'll put them in tomorrow.

I was going to spray paint them today, but it's raining and it's too cold for painting. I'll just do it later.

Tim
Tim
Where did do get the Zimmerman drums from?

Sat Mar 01, 2014 8:46 am

Brand quality? Volkswagen: Rear brake drums, tension springs, rear brake shoes with linings, rear brake hoses and rear wheel brake cylinders... genuine VW parts only, for late VW mexican Sedan 1600i, By the way: The brake drums are better, in my opinion.

Sat Mar 01, 2014 4:23 pm

I got the Zimmermans from Napa Auto Parts. They were not cheap.

Antonio, do you have a website that we can check out your stuff? I have no problems with Mexican VW parts, but I have no idea of how to obtain them. I merely see where you have certain parts (some of them, hard to get--like charcoal cannisters) when you respond to threads.

I'm sure your VW Mexican drums were cheaper than my Zimmermans. :)

Tim

Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:04 pm

Tim Donahoe wrote: Antonio, do you have a website that we can check out your stuff? I have no problems with Mexican VW parts, but I have no idea of how to obtain them. I merely see where you have certain parts (some of them, hard to get--like charcoal cannisters) when you respond to threads.

I can not post information about items for sale here. If you have a question, just send me a PM or an email.

Tim Donahoe wrote: I'm sure your VW Mexican drums were cheaper than my Zimmermans. :) Tim
I do not think so. The genuine Volkswagen parts are more expensive that any aftermarket stuff. :)

Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:41 pm

Antonio, I paid Napa Auto Parts $88.00 a piece for the Zimmerman Drums (made in Germany). I have to admit, they were excellent drums--very precise and well made.

Antonio, I just Googled you and found how to order parts from you the next time I need something genuine. :wink:

Tim