Depending on your vehicle, those brake mechanisms are composed of either rotors, calipers, and brake pads; drums, wheel cylinders, and brake shoes; or a combination of the two systems.

Note: The rim-brake instructions here are only for swappable pads in systems that have separate brake pads and shoes. Some inexpensive brakes feature one-piece shoe/pads that must be unbolted.

One option is the TRP Inplace to-in adjustable brake shoes and pads, the same ones featured on the popular white Magnesium and Carbon Adjust TRP EuroX brakes. But at $80 MSRP, these pads are out of ...

Since brake pads create the friction that helps slow your car down when you press the left pedal, which subsequently pushes the pads against the brake disc (also called the brake rotor) or drum ...

Checking the condition of drum brake shoes is a bit trickier than checking disc brake pads. That's because the drum itself covers up all of the braking mechanisms — even if you can peer through ...