jamesbob02

This question came up at the bottom of one of my other posts, but didn't get any answers.

Basically, I had all my rotors turned (4wheel), and they were all near the minimum to turn. Also bought Raybestos QuietStop Ceramics all the way around. I was informed that the pads didn't need to be broken in like usual because of their material, but apparently that info was wrong. Less than 100 miles later, my rotors are all "warped", whether that be cementite deposits or whatever.

Anyways, so I have to buy new rotors. Is there some process I should do to "break in" the new rotors, or is that only for pads? Also, can I assume that my pads are already broken in enough? What precautions do I need to take?

I'm getting paranoid about this, because it seems that no matter what I do to my brakes, it screws them up worse. My first change, about a year ago, went real well, then I bought Performance Frictions to stop better, and all they ever did was squeak and "warp" the rotors. So last week I get tired of it and have the rotors turned and got the ceramics, and the moaning sounds ten times worse then the squeaking did.

What should I do to make sure I do it right this time? Thanks.

jamesbob02

Anybody? I really need help with this, guys!

Kat

iTrader: (4)

Did you remember to clean and grease the pins and bushings?

Kat

jamesbob02

Pins and bushings? Don't know what you're talking about. I did repack the bearings, though.

Kat

iTrader: (4)

Pins aka the things that hold in the calipers to the spindle.

Bushings aka the small thing between the pin and the caliper.

Both of them need to be cleaned and greased. What happens is the the caliper gets stuck in one spot cause it cant freely move to compenstate for the dfferent thickness of the pads. So you get uneven brake pad wear and noises in a few hundred miles of installing new stuff.


edit: Also where the caliper slides agains the spindle needs to be cleaned and greased. Forgot about that.

Kat

jamesbob02

Ok I see what you mean. The fronts don't have bushings, correct?

Also, my front pads came with shims, which I'd never seen before. I actually forgot to put them on, but I'd never used them before anyways, so I figured it was no big deal. I know it sounds careless not to grease certain things and to not use the shims, and I'll rectify that next time, but I'm pretty sure they're not causing all four rotors to moan - I think I failed to break the pads in correctly.

Regardless, I'll need new rotors, so the original question stands - what do I need to do in order to break them in correctly?

Thanks.

Dr G

Jamesbob02:-

The information you require can be found in the below links:-

Rotor Seasoning for Street or Light Track Applications
http://www.baer.com/Support/TechTips.aspx?TechTipID=4

Pad Bedding for Street or Light Track Applications
http://www.baer.com/Support/TechTips.aspx?TechTipID=5

Hope that helps,

Gordon

jamesbob02

Thanks.

TomP

Also, how do you come to a stop? I heard (and it makes sense) that a lot of heat damage to rotors is caused by coming off the freeway doing 65 (or more), and then coming to a stop at a stop light and waiting for the light to turn. The heat from the pads just "sits" on that one spot on the rotors until the light turns green.

So ever since I heard that, if I ever do a harsh braking from an off-ramp, I'll stop back a couple feet. Every 10 seconds or so, I'll let the car roll up an inch or two and then stop it for another 10 seconds, over and over again... <i>hopefully</i> helping the heat dissipate a little more evenly.

jamesbob02

I'll be honest, I've never had good braking manners, and this is the first time I've ever encountered the problem. 90% of the people out there do a harsh stop off the highway and sit at light without thinking about it, and probably quite frequently, too, but you don't here 90% of the cars out there moaning like mine is.

I see your point and it seems to make sense, but it just seems like it cant be that big of a deal if everybody's breaking the rules and there seems to be little to no "warping" going on out there.

My guess is its the pad break-in time that's crucial to saving the rotors, although everybody has to change their pads too, and I guarantee you most of them aren't asking how they should break them in.....to most people they're just brakes, they should work like they're supposed to.

From the things I've read over the past couple of days, you'd think if you stopped hard once, or sat at a light once, your rotors were ruined, yet everybody on the road probably thinks a whole lot less about such things, even after changing pads, and there doesnt seem to be any problems.

I mean, I think of my mom for example, and I know how she drives, and doesn't even know what a brake pad looks like, yet she's gone through multiple sets on multiple cars over the years, and not once has she had a bad rotor.

I don't know what's the truth, or how severe the effects are of bad braking manners, but one thing's for sure: I have terribly bad luck with brakes and rotors.

iggy1991

I had kinda the same problem when I forst got my new ceramics but didn't know it at the time. I had the car in the shop to do my brake work cause something went wrong during m brake work. They finished their work and I was happy. I was gonna test the new brake pads by trying to stop as fast as possible. I did it and it def didn't stop all that quick. After a day I took it back to the shop and told them it didn't stop all the well. They told me they had installed 70 dollar ceramic pads(I almost fell over at the 70 price tag). They said they needed to be brokin in for a few hundred miles and that I shouldn't TEST them out for a while. They said I glazed them over with the braking without letting them set to the rotor. They said to just gently brake when possible. Who would have known, they didn't tell me. Got a new set for free.

jamesbob02

I read either on the package or the website for the pads that I bought that they did not need to be broken in. I think this is false, and I think it's the root of my problem.

jamesbob02

From Raybestos website:

"Quiet Stop™ Brake Pads Features and Benefits:

Feature: A revolutionary ceramic friction formulation
Benefit: Ultra-quiet braking performance with ultra-low dusting

Feature: 100% shimmed, slotted and chamfered
Benefit: Exceptional durability, resistance to fade and rapid recovery

Feature: Integrally molded
Benefit: Superior strength

Feature: Coverage for late model domestic and import passenger cars and sport utility vehicles
Benefit: First to Market with O.E. specified ceramic applications and popular upgrades

Feature: Post-cured
Benefit: Requires no break-in period, for safe and consistent performance"

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I bought the Bosch ceramic pads for mine and Bosch claims there's no break in period as well. Theirs are "laser burnished" to eliminate break in.

RegaPlanet

Always breakin your rotors to insure durability and reliability.

For street pads breakin is not necessary for everyday driving but for maximum performance it is. Basically if you were going out to the track(road course or some extended aggressive driving) with street pads it is suggested you do a breakin lap for your pads alone, rest a short period after that(till they've cooled and then continue without worry. Basically what you're doing is cleaning the pad surface to get to the raw material of the pad and not the leftover deposits from average braking that buildup.

Warped rotors can come from numerous problems such as:

-inappropiate pad/rotor combination
-poor brake biasing
-poor brake hardware working order(leaky piston will cause the -other working pistons to work harder on the rotors to stop possibly overheating one or more)
-sitting with the brakes engaged after heating them to high temps(1000+ degrees)
or just overusing/abusing them

Our stock rotors/brakes suck unless you have 1LE's for performance driving. They're not hard to warp at all. After your rotors warped the first time you I assume put the better than stock Quickstop ceramic pads on a turned rotor which is a more agressive pad creating more heat on a rotor thats now lower than manufactured spec. Should be no surprise they warped almost instantly when driven to the limit. The squeaking noise is normal on performance pads. In most cases the better in performance pad you use the more and louder it will squeak and the more dust they will give off.

Also, as already suggested, make sure the rest of your brake mechanicals are in "like new" working condition if you expect your "like new" rotors and new pads to perform as such.

jamesbob02

I'm going to get the Raybestos rotors to go along with the pads, because they're the only ones that I can logically assume would work with the pads with little trouble. Also, I'm thinking about rebuilding the calipers if I think I can do it.

Thanks for the help.