how to bed in brakes in the city?

[garlicbreadman]

how do you bed in your brake rotors/pads in the city?

I'm not fortunate enough to have the country roads next to me where i can do multiple 60-5 mph stops and then drive for 10-15 miles without stopping to cool off the brakes.

anyone know how car manufacturers bed in their brakes?

 

[Rolla07]

alot of brakes dont need to be bedded. if anything id say go easy on them for the first thousand or so miles.

 

[Doog]

Do 25 to 30 gradual easy slow downs from 35mph to 5 mph with 1 mile of cool off in between each one. Then you are done.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman

anyone know how car manufacturers bed in their brakes?


They recommend no panic stops for 500 miles. But you can bed them in by the 35-5 method in about 45 miles. In most cases it will extend pad life by 40-50%. I get 70-80k out of some factory pads doing this.

 

[EricF]

find a church parking lot on saturday.
Just go 30mph for 30' then firm brake 3 times.
Wait a few minutes for things to cool down, do it again 2 more times.

 

[Kestas]

I have an interstate service drive near me that is somewhat deserted in the evening. I'll admit that I'm sometimes leery of bedding in brakes for fear of attracting attention.

 

[JHZR2]

go at night when some arterial roads will be lighter travelled. its possible even in manhattan.

 

[mechtech2]

They will bed in just fine with normal driving.

Forget about internet advice about pad deposition and such, which only applies to very tough racing conditions - EXTREME heat.

 

[RiceCake]

Just drive normally. Avoid plowing on the brakes or riding the brakes for long periods of time (IE down hills). Also don't come to complete stops on hot brakes if you can, else they plant in spots and bake onto the rotors unevenly.

Usually 200-500 kilometers and you're fine.

 

[ChrisW]

Agree with much of the above. I've found that with recent [ceramic] friction formulations, the multiple 60-5 stops to burnish pads is unnecessary so long as we're talking fresh pads and new/flat rotors. I haven't done the 'stoptech/hawk' burnish steps since switching to ceramics [namely Bendix CT-3, Akebono ProACT or Raybestos AT pads] and haven't had an issue with brakes not bedding in properly. Some of the non-racing pads I've used lately even say in their install/marketing material that the pad itself is already pre-burnished at the factory. I've always thought that the high speed burnish steps were more for racing temperatures to get a quick friction film on the rotor faces and to get all bonding material in the pad burned off so it wouldn't act funny at racing temps. And I've always thought then, with brand new cars, you can still see cross-hatching/non-directional finish on the rotor face and I'm certain that bedding in pads like Hawk and Stop-Tech say to do is not part of the Pre-Delivery prep checklist.

 

[Falken]

I'm of the "drive normally" camp.

Maybe make a few firm stops when you are fairly sure they have been worked a bit. Just to see if in an emergency you have the braking power you expect and not less.

 

[TFB1]

I'll drive around town for 15min making several 35/40mph slows/stops, done...

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: ChrisW
I've always thought that the high speed burnish steps were more for racing temperatures to get a quick friction film on the rotor faces and to get all bonding material in the pad burned off so it wouldn't act funny at racing temps. And I've always thought then, with brand new cars, you can still see cross-hatching/non-directional finish on the rotor face and I'm certain that bedding in pads like Hawk and Stop-Tech say to do is not part of the Pre-Delivery prep checklist.


Some of the racing teams in Oz used to pre-cook their pads by using a section of cast iron flywheel heated to some pretty high temps, then clamp the pads to it, and monitoring a "char" line of cooked out binder as the friction surfaces heated up. 1/4" of baked pad, and it was ready for a pad stop in the race.

 

[bigjl]

All I have ever done is take it easy for the first few hundred miles.

Some pads for sale in the UK have a break in coating applied to the pad, when I put discs and pads on my previous Mondeo the discs (Pagid) had a coating that meant you didn't have to clean the oil off prior to fitting, this coating had a mart appearance and went inside the veins of the vented discs and also helped prevent that part of the disc rusting.

The pads with the break in coating were EBC.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman
how do you bed in your brake rotors/pads in the city?

I'm not fortunate enough to have the country roads next to me where i can do multiple 60-5 mph stops and then drive for 10-15 miles without stopping to cool off the brakes.

anyone know how car manufacturers bed in their brakes?


There is no one formula for everyone. Brake pads and system configurations are too varied.

Forget all the baloney about bedding doesn't work or isn't needed as some of the most knowledgeable people in the business agree it is effective, but only if done correctly.

The simple fact is you can drive 2-500 miles and bed them that way or you can go out to a deserted area and bed them in 10 minutes or less. Depending on your pads and braking system heat sink abilities this can take 3-5 near stops from 60 mph to ten from 80 mph. Contrary to many opinions here you do not just bed for pad material deposition to the rotors to generate cohesive friction, but also to season the pads.

Best explanation is here from my friend Dave Z:

http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

Some more excellent material at Stoptech.

 

[mechtech2]

Note the above is a RACING site, with racing instructions.
Not at all for normal street cars.

 

[rslifkin]

I just drive it very aggressively until the brakes are good and hot and stinky, then let them cool. For that run and the first 100 miles or so after, it gets kicked into neutral coming to a stop so I don't have to sit on the brakes while stopped.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Note the above is a RACING site, with racing instructions.
Not at all for normal street cars.


No it is not it is for any car.

Bedding allows your brakes to reach their full potential. Until they are bedded, your brakes simply do not work as well as they can. If you've installed a big brake kit, changed your pads and rotors, or even purchased a brand new car, you should set aside time to bed the brakes according to the instructions below. Proper bedding improves pedal feel, reduces or eliminates brake squeal, prevents (and often cures) brake judder, reduces brake dust, and extends the life of your pads and rotors. For more details on the theory of bedding, please refer to this article

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
go at night when some arterial roads will be lighter travelled. its possible even in manhattan.


+1 That is what I do.

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Note the above is a RACING site, with racing instructions.
Not at all for normal street cars.


No it is not it is for any car.

Bedding allows your brakes to reach their full potential. Until they are bedded, your brakes simply do not work as well as they can. If you've installed a big brake kit, changed your pads and rotors, or even purchased a brand new car, you should set aside time to bed the brakes according to the instructions below. Proper bedding improves pedal feel, reduces or eliminates brake squeal, prevents (and often cures) brake judder, reduces brake dust, and extends the life of your pads and rotors. For more details on the theory of bedding, please refer to this article


Of course new pads/rotors need to seat.
The article basically describes the Stop Tech methods. Pad deposition in the amounts they describe occur at very high temps - racing.
Umpteen jillion people break in their brakes with normal driving, and produce very good results.