"Warping" Rotors!

[229]

Originally Posted By: JZiggy
What pads have you had good luck with, 229?


Akebono or OEM. No break in required. You can crystalize the rotors with too aggresive of a break in with racing pads.

 

[SteveSRT8]

The stoptech link is written by one of the most well known names in racing. He may have a bit of experience.

I can tell you we bed in EVERY vehicle in our fleet and personal stable. It has saved us thousands of dollars due to the rotors not actually being warped. None of our rotors have ever 'crystallized".

I have even fixed a few friends cars with bad pulsation with the procedure described above.

 

[bigmike]

I got tired of the awful OEM rotors on my truck (they lasted 13k miles) and bought Powerslot rotors and used the OEM pads. No more problems and I'm at 54k miles now.

I also follow the Hawk pad installation procedure with any new pads and torque lug nuts.

The procedure is:

1. After installing new brake pads, make 6 to 10 stops from approximately 30-35 mph applying moderate pressure.
2. Make an additional 2 to 3 hard stops from approximately 40 to 45 mph.
3. DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!
4. Allow 15 minutes for brake system to cool down.
5. After step 4 your new pads are ready for use.

 

[JZiggy]

Sounds good guys. I think it's safe to say that getting these Brembos is not a bad decision (vs. eBay rotors). I also keep reading good recommendations on the Axxis deluxe pads as a good OEM-type pad.

I will try to break-in procedure as bigmike described and hope for the best. If that fails, I'll try OEM pads and probably look into front wheel bearings. Although there is no sign of wear on those...

 

[229]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The stoptech link is written by one of the most well known names in racing. He may have a bit of experience.

I can tell you we bed in EVERY vehicle in our fleet and personal stable. It has saved us thousands of dollars due to the rotors not actually being warped. None of our rotors have ever 'crystallized".

I have even fixed a few friends cars with bad pulsation with the procedure described above.


You can crystalize the rotors with TOO aggresive of a break in

 

[mechtech2]

Umpteen jillion cars have their brakes broken in perfectly by just normal driving.
Once again, the race stuff/pad deposition does not apply.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Umpteen jillion cars have their brakes broken in perfectly by just normal driving.
Once again, the race stuff/pad deposition does not apply.

I agree. After the brake pad(front or rear or both) was changed with/without rotor, I just drive normal and apply the brake pedal as usual when I got to red-light or stop sign, so far none of the rotor-warping problems.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Yep. That's totally correct. Street cars NEVER have pad deposition on rotors. Sheesh.

It's your car. You get to do whatever you want to it.

Ostrich mentality here runs rampant. I have used the bedding procedure on many different cars/trucks and it almost always works. It even resolves so called 'judder' or vibration issues on vehicles with well used disc brakes. Not just newer pads/rotors, but on older ones too.

So you guys keep selling/buying more parts and we'll keep saving thousands of dollars by using appropriate bedding procedures!

 

[Jim Allen]

Yep, bedding in is important to any set of brakes from a Geo Metro to a Ferrari. I am a fairly recent convert to the more scientific method, but when I wrenched for a living on high end cars, I learned an abbreviated form of it that really helped forestall brake noise after a brake job. I did it because I was told to but now I do it because it's right.

 

[mechtech2]

Let us not polarize and set up an easily knocked down straw man.

No one said there is never any pad deposition on a street rotor.

This require very high temps and continued use at those insane temps. This is not normal at all for most street cars.
It rarely occurs unless extreme conditions are encountered.
And if there is pad deposition, any pad deposition will be wiped off during our 99% normal driving.

Even the 'stoptech ' articles say as much, and they are the source of the pad deposition material.

 

[229]

Akebono says no break-in needed. Are you saying the factory beds in the brakes on new cars? The rotors look new on the vehicles I buy. When I bed-in street pads by the procedure you mentioned I come back with blue rotors and the pads almost on fire. Resin will be melting from the street pads. I do a light bed to be sure the brakes are working and use good pads that do not smear under legal sreet driving conditions. The bed-in procedure you reference is for high performance pads and rotors. The pads are very hard and high temperature stable. These need to be broken in hard. The answer to pad depositation is to match the pads to the proper type of driving style. Over-heating pads caused the depositation so if I take them out to re-bed the rotors (according to this racing-pad break in procedure) instead of turning them on the lathe I subject them to more heat than the cause. Light "brake testing" for street pads and heavy bed-in for racing pads and rotors. Mix the two and you have problems.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Yep. All we have is problems here. 9000 pound work vans, Silverados (unloaded), high performance cars, econoboxes... even a few oldies out in the shed!

I'd be fine if everyone wasn't so absolute about dismissing it. It should be obvious that you don't use the exact same procedure on every car. But the referenced link procedure has been a savior around here with virtually no rotor replacements anymore until minimum thickness has been reached with ANY PAD! I have literally save thousands of dollars!

Note that the EVEN deposition of pad on the rotor surface is desirable. It's UNEVEN pad deposits that are often mistaken for so-called 'warpage'.

I repeat that no one is bound in any way by this info. Each of us is free to do whatever we want to our own cars.

 

[Donald]

So twice I have put good ceramic pads and good rotors on my Jeep GC and each time in 10K miles or so, I get some pulsation. I am definitively not a driver with a heavy foot on gas or brake. In addition the brakes stop the vehicle OK, but nothing to write home about. I was thinking of using this scotch brite round pad on a drill (HF) to rough up the rotors or have them turned a little.

 

[fiddler2068]

I'd be interested in some numbers from manufacturers or fleet programs regarding the bedding in and not bedding in on regular cars and not trucks, heavy use vans, high performance vehicles.

I didn't even know you were suppose to bed in until BITOG and have never done so in both of my cars, a 92 civic and a 2000 cr-v. I haven't experience any juddering or even noticed anything from the brakes other than they stop when break pedals are pressed. When they squeal, go to dealer and get them serviced.

fiddler