Brake shoes vs brake pads?

MOSt smaller cars get DRUM brakes in the back anyways, and he is PROBABLY right here!

Brake Shoes Vs Pads

A pad is used on disc brakes. A disc brake is literally a disc and the pad are flat square or rectangle little plates that go into the caliper which then simply squeezes down on the rotor disc and that is how you stop. Cars have had disc brakes on the front as standard equipment since around 1970. Untill the 1990's most cars (and trucks) had drum brakes on the rear. A drum is what it sounds like it is a round drum shaped piece. The brake shoes are curved pieces that go inside the drum and push out to ride on the inside of the drum to stop. Rear disc brakes got pretty common on middle and high end cars in the 1990's. Some of the base or lower end models still come with rear drum brakes.

Most cars now days you can look through the gaps on the rims and see the brake disc. If you first look at your front you will see what the disc looks like. It should be bare shinny metal. If you then go to the back and see the same thing your car has rear disc. If you look at the rear and just see either a painted or rusty metal you have drums. Where it gets slightly complicated is some makes put a tiny drum inside the rear disc for the parking brake. These tiny shoes hardly ever have to be replaced and if you do have to replace them you usually have to buy the parts from a dealer because its just that rare to have to replace them so I doubt that is what you got from the parts store. Most likely your car has optional rear disc. It could be something like if you got the 4 cylinder D model you have rear drums but if you got the V6 DX model you have the optional rear disc. I just made those model numbers up, I dont know what the hundai models are like, just giving you an example of how you may be able to figure out what you need.

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RE:

Brake shoes vs brake pads?

I need to change out my brake pads and when I told the guy at advanced auto that I need rear brake pads I didn't pay attention to the box and he gave me brake shoes. Am I still able to use shoes instead of pads on my hyundai elentra?

Brake PADS are for disc brakes which are very common for front brakes, and SHOES are for drum brakes which may still be seen on rear brakes for small cars. your car may have different sub-models that have disc brakes on the rear axle. the sure way to tell is to look at them, disc brakes will look about the same as your front brakes, they will be a large shiny disc with a caliper on it where pads would go on to. A drum brake will generally be dull grey or rusty all around with no visible mechanisims on it's outside. If still not sure, jack up the wheel and turn it. A drum will turn with the wheel, a disc will turn but the caliper will remain stationary.

With some designs, the rear brakes uses both shoes for hand-brake operation and pads for foot brake operation..Check your car!!

If you need to ask this question you should be nowhere near your brakes.

Take it to a garage.

If you can't even look at the rear brakes and tell which type they are you should not be playing with them!!!

breake shoes