Did a search and didnt get anything. The Porterfield website is pretty brief with its bedding instructions (see below). Anybody got any more detailed info on how to bed the R4S pads correctly? Specifically, I was wondering how many "hard stops" to do, and what exactly a "hard stop" is. Are these 60-0 stops, or what, and do I need to be able to smell the pads to know I'm doing it right. Thanks.

Porterfied website says:
"The Carbon Kevlar pads have a bedding in procedure. Make light to medium deceleration stops to slowly heat up disc. This must be done slowly to avoid thermal shock to the disc. Make a series of hard stops, allow to cool slowly.

 

i say left foot brake them and ride them till they fade. then let them cool down by crusing around slow. then do it a few more times till they feel like they have a good bite to them. it may take a few heat cucles to get them fully done.
my $0.02
-spenc

 

No--do not come to a complete stop!!!

Do a few 60-5mph stops (probably about 8 times) and brake a little harder each time, but don't lock the brakes up.

Then, drive around and let everything cool off. The smell should not be as pronounced after about stop number 7 or 8.

 

the pads are pretty much ready for use. I did some mild and medium stops. Then 1 week later I was on track with them.

 

As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with Porterfield, I bought the R4S front and rear, and I asked about the bed-in procedure and I was told they don't really have one for the R4S. I am to take it easy on the first day, light stops, etc. Then day two I can brake a little harder, and by day three I should be fine. She said just don't do any panic stops until day three. The lame brake-in advice on their website is apparently for the R4 pads. I'll be at Summit point in August, and Pocono Raceway in Oct, so I'll let you guys know how they hold up.

 

Left foot braking and dragging the brakes to heat them up is exactly what you SHOULD NOT do when bedding in brakes. It is a combination of HEAT _and_ PRESSURE which must be achieved to properly bed a brake pad, NOT just the heat.

In short, follow the recommended bedding procedures of each set of pads you use, or send me an e-mail at andie@cobaltfriction.com and I'll walk you through it for the type of compound you have.

Andie Lin

 

woops

 

They should be bedded after one 20 minute session on the track. Well that's how I did mine anyway.

How do you know if your pads are bedded properly anyway? What kind of problems would you have if they weren't??

 

if ur pads aren'd bedded fully, u'll have bad braking performance. it will be ok for daily driving, but at the track or an autocross even, u'll notice the braking won't be up to par.
my .02
-spencer

 

that explains why my brakes felt like poo when i bedded them like that and went to an autox and it felt like i had no brakes. thanx for the tip

 

..purchased track pads, I had the same questions, although I'm using panther + pads; there should be some carry over in the information. One aside, I bedded these pads the night BEFORE my track day, and did not notice any diminished perfomance; as a matter of fact they performed very consistnetly w/ litterally no fade, all day, in 107 degree ambient heat, I was at Willow Springs running the big track yesterday, still tired.

Anyway, per Carbotech's pamphlet, you should perform 6 or so 60-30 slow downs, increasing pedal pressure gradually as you slow, and 6 60-0 stops; and repaeat if neccessary, after the 1st 6 stops I could begin to smell the pads, the smell stayed the same after even the 12th stop, I didn't repeat the procedure as I had a 2 hour drive to the track, during which I could work some heat into the pads as well. Again, I noticed no fade throughout the day, and the pads bite: HARD. When cold however, they have that "wet" feel to them, that goes away after a few moderate stops.

For added resource; I've included Brian Hastly's bedding advice below:

Pad break-in varies between brands, but usually consists of warming the pads thru a series of 40-15mph slow downs with 15-30 seconds in between. After this has been done the pads should be allowed to cool completely. Then you can proceed to heat them up again by doing 60-15 slowdowns and again letting them cool completely. After you have done this the pads should be ready for higher temps and severe braking conditions. The best way to do this is to read the manufacturers break-in spec sheet and follow it to the letter. If you overheat the pads before they have had a chance to heat cycle a few times the pad material will usually wear very quickly, and you won't get the same life from them.


Hope this helps,
-Hubert