For most folks, the gradual wearing-in of your brake pads and rotors will be performed through natural driving, but if you want your pads to perform great right out of the gate, and minimize potential issues, doing a procedure known as &#;bedding in&#; is extremely helpful. It&#;s also a good way to safely stress-test your braking system to be sure everything is working properly, and even more important, it helps you understand exactly how your brakes do their job.
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The first thing to understand is what actually is happening with a fresh set of pads and rotors. If you look at the friction surface on a used rotor, you&#;ll notice a shiny, smooth grey-blue &#;glaze&#; that is on the surface. This material is actually known as &#;pad transfer&#;. It&#;s actually brake pad material that through the high temperature, high friction process has been deposited on the rotor. A brake pad pressing against bare metal actually doesn&#;t stop well. But, a brake pad pressing up against brake pad material, with steel underneath stops! But, when you first change your pads and rotors, you have none of this pad transfer material on your rotors, and laying down a good foundation for future material is what the bedding-in procedure does.
Many times, if pads are run too hard, too fast, the pad surface can heavily transfer (think literally melt) onto the rotor when the car is parked, which causes an uneven area of pad material deposited on the brake rotor. Once you drive again, new pad material is then deposited on top of and around this extra deposit, creating an un-even surface on the rotor. In a majority of cases, this very phenomenon is what is actually diagnosed as a &#;warped rotor&#; when newly installed pads and rotors quickly develop a pulsation. There&#;s a good chance this problem could have been avoided with the proper bedding-in procedure wasn&#;t done properly!
It&#;s important to understand that this procedure should be performed on a safe road, away from traffic &#; as it&#;s a good way to test the system of new brake components for any other faults: You will be stopping frequently, so pick a good, flat road where you are able to achieve speed of 45-50 MPH, and be able to stop quickly, away from cars. The break bedding in procedure is a process of quickly heating and cooling the brakes in a repeated fashion, and while doing so it deposits a layer of pad material on the rotor surface. Temperature needs to be slowly heated to max use, which will create a smooth, even pad transfer. To do this, follow the following steps.
Find an open stretch of road that will allow you to safely stop your vehicle multiple times.
Accelerate to 35 MPH and apply moderate brake pressure to reduce your speed to under 5 MPH.
Repeat this process 2-3 times, accelerating back to 35 MPH and moderately braking.
Next, increase speed to 50 MPH and strongly brake down to 5 MPH. You don&#;t want to brake strong enough to activate your ABS or lock up the tires. You should be able to come down to 5 MPH within a few seconds.
Repeat this process 4-5 times, then drive an additional 1-2 miles while very lightly braking to cool down the brakes.
It&#;s important to avoid coming to a complete stop during the hard-braking stage as it&#;s possible to melt brake pads against hot rotors. Of course, should a deer, pedestrian, or Sasquatch run onto the road, feel free to mash the brake pedal. Safety first!
Your stop-and-go session is now complete. Park the car and allow the brakes to fully cool for an hour. For best results, avoid pressing down on the brake pedal when parked and take a route home with minimal stop lights while the brakes are cooling.
While bedding in your brakes can sound like a sensitive procedure, one funky stop isn&#;t going to ruin your efforts. There&#;s no need to stress out, just drive safely and avoid emergency stops when possible.
The important thing here is once you&#;ve completed the procedure, be sure to go easy on the brake as you return the car back home for cooling. The idea is to heat the brakes up through the cycles listed above, and then let them cool easily on the ride home, and while the car is parked. Once done, your brakes have been bedded in, and a good foundation has been put down!
IMPORTANT: FOLLOW THE PROPER BREAK-IN PROCEDURE FOR NEW BRAKE PADS/ROTORS USING THE PAD BEDDING PROCEDURE AS FOLLOWS. PROPER PAD BEDDING CAN PREVENT PERFORMANCE ISSUES.
The break-in procedure is critical to brake performance. Proper break-ins are necessary to establish an even layer of friction material deposited on the rotors from the brake pads. It is very important that this initial layer of friction material is evenly distributed.
How To Break In New Pads with Drilled & Slotted Rotors
Below is the break-in procedure for new pads with Drilled & Slotted Rotors.
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You can find the break-in procedure for Evolution Coated Rotors here.
You can find the break-in procedure for Track Day brakes here.
To break in new pads with Drilled & Slotted Rotors:
Perform 5 moderate to aggressive stops from 40 mph down to 10 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool and do not come to a complete stop. If you&#;re forced to stop, either shift into neutral or give room in front so you can allow the vehicle to roll slightly while waiting for the light. The rotors will be very hot and holding down the brake pedal will allow the pad to create an imprint on the rotor. This is where the judder can originate from.
Then do 5 moderate stops from 35 mph to 5 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool. You should expect to smell some resin as the brakes get hot.
After this is complete, drive around for as long as possible without excessively heating the brakes and without coming to a complete stop (Try for about 5 minutes at moderate speed).
This is the cooling stage. It allows the heated resin in the brake pads to cool and cure.
After the brakes have cooled to standard operating temperature, you may use the brakes normally.
Do You Need to Break In Brake Pads and Rotors?
The break-in process for new brakes is called &#;bedding.&#; It involves the controlled heating up and cooling down of brakes to improve braking performance. During the bedding process, an even layer of brake pad material is transferred to the brake rotors. This can also help to prevent future brake fade by releasing gas from the pad material.
Breaking in new rotors is an important step that helps your new brakes perform well. This process ensures:
Proper brake operation
Smoother and quieter braking
An accurate feel for how your new brakes operate
Optimal performance
If the break-in process is skipped, the vehicle&#;s ability to slow down and stop is not optimal when the new brake pads are pressed against new rotors. A vehicle will stop much faster and smoother when a layer of brake pad material is already present on the rotor. The break-in procedure achieves this by applying an adequate base layer of pad material on the rotor to ensure optimal braking performance.
What Happens If You Don&#;t Break In New Rotors?
Breaking in your rotors ensures that your braking system will perform to its full capacity. If you do not properly bed your rotors, your vehicle will not deliver optimal braking performance.
Braking systems that are not broken in will have random, uneven deposits of brake pad material on the rotors. When the brakes are engaged, this uneven layer could cause varying levels of pulsing in the pedal, shaking of the vehicle, and vibrations in the steering wheel.
To understand the effects of failing to bed new rotors, it is important to understand how friction affects the ability to brake. Brakes use friction to convert kinetic energy to thermal energy. This process involves two types of friction:
: This type of friction occurs when two surfaces rub against each other, namely when the brake pads are pressed against the rotor. With abrasive friction, the only force that stops the rotor from spinning is friction. Abrasive friction generates great amounts of heat. Heat can then soften the rotor, break down the particles of the brake pad, and cause the overall failure of the brakes and rotors.
: This type of friction involves the thin layer of pad material on the surface of a rotor. When the brakes are applied, this thin layer of material bonds with the pad. As the pad moves across this surface, the bonds break and reform to create adherent friction. Brake pads that rely primarily on adherent friction can last longer because the pads do not grind down solely the rotor&#;s surface. They also tend to have less brake dust.
As abrasive friction cleans the surface of the rotor, adherent friction forms, breaks, and reforms pad material layers. These two types of friction work together to provide you with the friction needed to stop your vehicle. There are no pads available that rely solely on either abrasive friction or adherent friction (although some may rely on one mechanism more than the other).
Once the pads and rotors have been correctly broken in, a thin, even layer of pad material will be present on the surface of the rotor. This thin layer is the foundation upon which the brake system will stop your vehicle. When your brakes are properly broken in, abrasive friction will clean debris from the rotor and create a smooth surface for adherent friction to work. Adherent friction will break and reform the rotor and pad material&#;s bonds to leave a smooth layer of pad material to work with at the next rotation.
When rotors and pads have not been correctly bedded, the mechanisms of abrasive and adherent friction do not function ideally. This causes brake systems&#;especially at high temperatures&#;to create random and uneven deposits of brake pad material on the rotor&#;s surface. As mentioned above, this can cause brake pedal pulsing, steering wheel vibration, and vehicle vibration.
Have a Question? PowerStop Can Help
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