That explains why the front shoe is worn more than the rear, but does it also explain the wedge shape wear pattern on the front shoe? I don’t see why the bottom of the front shoe would wear more than the top.
Normal wear for a simplex type of drum brake system.
Duo-servo drum brake will wear even with primary/secondary shoe but the simplex type is most common on modern vehicles, probably because the braking is more consistent though out the range of braking application.
To George_San_Jose1: The reason for the wedged shape is the friction of the material against the drum forces the shoe downward. The drum wedges the shoe back toward the anchor. The anchor is not a pin like a lot of similar front/rear brakes but a floating stop, which allows the shoe to slide down causing the tapering shape.
To: Nevada_545: The duo-servo drum brake is a very powerful brake because the primary shoe drives into the secondary shoe, compounding the stopping power. I had a set of these brakes on a 1956 Buick Special. The car weighted a couple of tons, but with a good set of Raybestos shoes bedded in, it could lock the wheels without power brakes. -That was quite a car, no power brakes, no power steering, twin turbine torque converter followed by a manually shifted two speed hydraulic transmission-
1 Like
new shoes and new drums. i should be good.
Don’t forget to grease the backing plate.
Thanks, good explanation.
my equinox has a light pedal feel. it stops quite well. feels ok
my saturn vue has almost identical parts. but the vue does not feel anywhere as easy to stop. much more pedal effort. since they are related and similar in size, shouldnt the vue stop as well? vue has new rear drums/shoes. both have a good amount of pad material and the rotors both appear to be in the same condition.
Different sizes of brake lines and master cylinder bores are two of the major reasons brakes May differ in feel of brakes. I’d assume different brake boosters may make a difference also.
1 Like
I’d be careful about making generalizations in regards to brake pedal feel
Some vehicles have a rock hard pedal, while others have a rather soft pedal
If you’re only used to vacuum brake boosters, the first time you drive a vehicle with hydro-boost, you may think there’s something wrong with the brakes. It feels quite different
The vue and equinox share the same pads. Same part numbers.same rotors. Both are dual piston calipers. Vacuum boost. How did hydro boost enter discussion?
Here I am giving you free information, and you don’t appreciate it
some people . . .
Could be differences in pad material, how the pads were bedded when new, maybe the brake fluid in the vue has more moisture (from water) in it, maybe the brake lines on the vue are older or more deteriorated and swell a bit when you apply the brakes. I’m just spitballing ideas. Lots of variables even with similar parts, I guess. As long as the both stop and no fluid is leaking, I wouldn’t sweat it too much. The vue is a little older than the nox, right?
i have changed the rotors/pads on the vue in the past. while the nox has stuff that it came with. you drive 1 car and get in a 2nd car and it never feels the same. guess i am used to a light brake pedal on the nox and the vue is not a light brake pedal application. yes, different pads. maybe i have pads that bite well on the nox?
Possibly the different pads come into play.
One thing I have noticed - I changed the brake hoses (and fluid, obviously) on a 1979 Jeep (I think this was around 1999, so 20 years on them). I really noticed a night and day difference in pedal feel. They weren’t leaking and there wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with the old hoses. I’m not sure what the age difference is in your two vehicles. Probably not 20 years, but I suppose a few years difference could be noticeable. Man, I was shocked how good that old Jeep could stop after that! 
. But I believe age of hoses and fluid are a factor to pedal feel too. I doubt my 2005 vehicles have as good of a pedal feel as they did when new.
exact same brand pads and rotors on both cars?
same version also?
For example AC Delco advantage is the budget line, whereas AC Delco professional is better quality
Just throwing some ideas out there
One of the posters above said the way the nox’s brakes are configured, that makes it easier to feather the pedal to adjust the stopping force you want to apply. That’s also what causes the wedge shaped wear pattern. Does your vue develop the wedge shape wear pattern too?
On my mt. bike I purposely adjust the brake pads so they are slightly slanted w/respect to the rim (rather than perfectly parallel to the rim). I do it this way b/c if I want to slow down slightly, but not so much to get the tire skidding (always a challenge on dirt trails), I can hold the brake lever back every so slightly, and only the trailing edge of the brake pad touches the rim. Definitely makes it easier to stop while maintaining control and preventing skids. And I get a wedge-shaped wear pattern by doing that.
This also reduces/eliminates brake squeal.
my pic was of the vue. with the wedge shape. which is how they wear normally it seems. i have not looked at the nox shoes but i assume they wear the same. the nox stops fine. new flex hoses on the vue might help brake feel