breaking in brakes...what do you do

Grit dog wrote:
If just replacing pads without turning the rotors, I always scuff up the rotors real well with some med grit emery cloth. Figure that helps bed the brakes in quicker.

This ^^^^^^

If just replacing pads without turning the rotors, I always scuff up the rotors real well with some med grit emery cloth. Figure that helps bed the brakes in quicker.

Engineer9860 wrote:
I have always "bedded" my new brakes. I have never replaced a rotor on anything that I own.

My '97 Blazer still has its original rotors/drums at 280,000 miles, so I must be doing something right.

I guess it is typical of a few RV.net members to ridicule anything they read on here, but brakes are nothing that I take lightly.

I have to ask-with that mileage-have you ever measured the thickness of those rotors and checked them against machine-to specs or discard specs? They do "wear" also.

There is much more to braking than just having the ability to skid
the tires if no ABS....if you do have ABS...to then initiate ABS,
which has many attributes other than just cycling MC PSI to keep
the tires from stopping or slowing down to skid

Modulation is my main requirement with a very close second of thermal
characteristics

OEM to mud hen friction materials can skid/ABS the tires and again there
is much more to it than just that

But, generally that is all folks think is it and all they want. Okay
too, as that is the expectations...but not mine. Mainly because
consider braking of higher importance over acceleration and ultimate
speed...though am still a boy racer that also loves it

Modulation and the shape of the braking curve go hand in hand.

I can out stop a similarly setup 1996 Suburban (GMT400's have poor
to bad brakes, but can be made to be good to almost great...another
but it takes constant tuning) because I don't allow my Sub to go into
ABS...unless I've gotten into a situation where I've no other choice
than to nail it to the floor

Real experience, as going through an intersection one morning while
the pavement was wet from early dew...a Land Rover jumped his stop
sign thinking I also had one...nailed the brakes to find that the
pavement could not support that kind of braking. So ABS kicked in
and seemed like accelerated, but know just stopped decel and continued
at whatever speed (under 20MPH by that time...was going 25MPH)

Hit (glancing) that guy and almost ran into the Honda on the other
side of the intersection.

ABS initiation has 'less' braking than the point just before ABS
turns on. That is where I modulate it to be, or try to

Without properly bedding in 'my' brakes, their braking curve looks
way different. Haven't, nor the instrumentation to do so, but know
how it looks via the feel because did purposely NOT bed in a set
of proto-types tested for a buddy. Other set did bed in

Learned much on that in an oblique way while still in college and
working part time as a designer in a Industrial controls company
Was assigned to design to a DOT specification for a tire test stand.
One of the first solid state (up till then, they had hydraulic)
dynamometer's for this

We were 2nd contractor to the dynamometer builder, we did the controls
and electric motors

Tires of old also have a similar break in vs performance. Tires today
do not as much, but they still have 'some' break in requirements or
attributes

With all that, goes back to a previous comment that bedding in is
for the purist of braking or high performance

So, just understand that there is a difference, but then maybe most
folks won't bother nor notice the difference...

I had Hawk SD pads and EBC rotors put on my 3500 last year. Hawk had a process they wanted you to follow after the install. A couple stops from 35 mph and one from 60 as I recall. Someone could look it up if they so desired. I did it as they instructed. Don't know if it makes a difference (great brake combo by the way)but I did it.

I could not find anything in my Ford F150 manual but I have read something similar to what Les posted. The "go easy" for ~200 miles is what I follow.

180,000 on original rotors.

BenK wrote:
Hey Lessmore...please post a picture of the glove box manual page on HOW2 break in
the braking system

I'd love to see what it says

Ben, sorry for the wait.I don't know how to post photo's to the computer, but I will quote you the passage about break in of brakes in the GM Owner's manual.

" Avoid making hard stops for the first 200 miles or so. During this time your new brake linings are not yet broken in. Hard stops with new linings can mean premature wear and earlier replacement. Follow this break in guideline every time you get new brake linings. "

Les

Engineer9860 wrote:
I have always "bedded" my new brakes. I have never replaced a rotor on anything that I own.

My '97 Blazer still has its original rotors/drums at 280,000 miles, so I must be doing something right.

I guess it is typical of a few RV.net members to ridicule anything they read on here, but brakes are nothing that I take lightly.

X2

and that so many only think 'performance' is quickness and ultimate MPH

The stoptech bedding process really is meant for a WAY more aggressive pad then a street car or truck usually would have. I use a similar processes as the one posted for the my weekend fun car with an aggressive pad, and a more extreme for the race car (during on tract practice, not the streets.) Any street car, all you need is to drive it and give yourself a little extra stopping distance for the first couple of days of driving have always worked well for me.

Rotor wear was also mentioned, really it depends on the brake material and how aggressive it is....the more aggresive the faster it will wear through a rotor. I have a 98 S10 similar to the mentioned blazer where I put on new rotors when I aquired the truck and 140k miles later still running the same rotors, but on the 3rd set of pads (DC area commuting.)

On my weekend toy/track car im lucky if I can get 2 sets of pads on one set of rotors and those pads last a few track instruction weekends or about 20k miles. The race car....4 races and the whole setup is toast....its all bout the compounds.

I have been in the SCCA for several years and most people I know that take their car on the track will bed their brakes. It is the safe way to insure your brakes will work right every time. I have always done it and never had a problem with my brakes. Before I met my wife she warped rotors all the time and now she does not.