Contrary to brake lining, brake shoes are not designed to improve the miles of your automobile. They are designed to assist you to stop your vehicle! Brake shoes are important elements of specific braking systems and contrary to popular visions they are not the same thing with brake linings. Let's learn what brake shoes are, why they are important and what difference have from brake linings.

What are brake shoes?

Brake shoes have similar functions with brake linings but they are absolutely NOT the same things.

Brake linings are part of the disc brake system. In these kinds of systems, brake linings are clamped against a rotor disc by a caliper – that is why they are called "disc brake".Brake linings that are clamped against rotor make needed rubbing to stop the vehicle.

Brake shoes are part of the drum brake system. Brake shoes are crescent-shaped parts and on their one side, there is a rough rubbing material. They are placed on a brake campane. When the brake pedal is used, brake shoes are pushed to the outside and rubbed inside of campane and thus it slows down the wheel.

Campane type brakes and brake shoes are parts of an old-style brake system and they are not commonly used on modern vehicles. However, since campane type brakes’ manufacturing is more appropriate on some vehicles models’ rear wheels will have campane brakes.

Brake Shoes with Brake Linings.

When brake systems are subject, most vehicles of our time have disc brakes with brake linings. As mentioned formerly, to decrease production costs some vehicles have disc brakes on the front side and campane brakes on the rear side. Since they generally can hold more stopping force, the disc brakes are used always on front wheels. On brake shoes and brake lining systems, there are some more differences that you can find.

The direction of Brake Force

The main difference between brake shoes and brake linings is force directions. Brake shoes stop the vehicle by pushing outside but brake linings stop the vehicles by closing up to each other. Instead of being placed in brake campane brake linings are placed around a disc which is called “rotor”. Calliper slows down and stops vehicle by compressing brake linings and pushing them on rotor disc.

Stopping Power Amount

Another difference between brake shoes and brake linings is needed amount of power to stop the vehicle. Even though brake shoes have wider rough surface area which is typically needed to make essential dragging for stopping vehicle, they do NOT have stopping power as much as brake linings on disc brake systems. Disc type brakes generally provide more speedy stopping power than campane brakes and that is how they provide stopping vehicles earlier and at shorter distance.

The expectation of Durability Period

Because of their location in the system, brake shoes have more durability period than brake linings. Since they are mounted on the backside of the vehicle, brake shoes can have a longer durability period as they do not receive much stopping power.

Additionally, brake shoes are mounted inside the brake campane so that they can provide more protection from rust, dirt and corrosion. But if dirt or waste enters in brake campane, campane may trap and this may cause brake shoes may be abraded much faster. On the other side, brake linings are more exposed to road conditions and to possible dirt and etc. But since brake linings clean rotors from dirt, residue by wiping out brake linings and their rotors may resist longer.

Service

Brake shoes are more resistant to corrosion since they are closed up. However, the brake shoe system is more complicated than disc brakes and makes changing brake shoes more difficult and more time-consuming. Brittleness of brake linings potentially exposes them to corrosion but makes them more findable.

Neither brake linings nor brake shoes do not have durability for corrosion. Typically when repairing brakes, reaching to brake linings is faster and easier but reaching to brake shoes takes more time. Also, brake shoes may require additional settings to be sure for brake shoes’ touch to drum.

When brake shoes should be changed?

Even though brake shoes do NOT need service as often as brake linings they do not resist forever. Just like brake linings, to prevent brake system problems or worse to prevent brake breakdowns brake shoes must be changes regularly. Some brake shoes are designed to resist several thousand kilometers but driving habits, road conditions and whole weather conditions may affect brake components’ life.