Brake Bedding | What, How & Why?

What is "brake bedding", why is it important and how do I do it?
 
Brake bedding, we've all heard this term before, spoken about regularly amongst car enthusiasts in varying levels of context and accuracy. Despite this procedure being so commonly known, the amount of people experiencing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) after installing new brake pads and discs shows that concept of brake bedding isn't understood clearly enough or being applied correctly.
 
Correctly bedded pads form a transfer layer of material on the surface of the disc which improves overall bite and performance. This is achieved by gradually increasing the temperature on the pads and discs. Without proper bedding that simulates the correct heat and torque loads seen in actual driving conditions, a pad cannot reach its optimal performance. Applying the correct process will also ensure that the pads will result in a disc with a consistent transfer layer which prevents juddering (vibration) from occurring. 
 
Some of our discs such as DIXCEL SD Type and Brembo Sport | TY-3 are delivered with a thin zinc coating to prevent corrosion. Prior to beginning the brake bedding procedure, this coating must be worn off the braking surfaces, by driving the car slowly (under 50km/h) and performing very light brake applications in order to remove the coating without generating heat. (Too much heat or pedal pressure, this coating can be deposited unevenly on the disc and impregnated into the pad, further increasing the likelihood of judder development). Once a visual inspection of the braking surfaces confirms that the coating has been evenly removed, begin with the bedding procedure as specified below.
 

  • Drive vehicle to a remote area and perform at least 30 brake applications of 3 second duration. Use light/medium deceleration with varying starting speeds, leaving at least 500m distance between each brake application. The purpose of this procedure is to gradually increase the temperature in the components without thermal shock and to mate the brake pad and disc friction surfaces. Important note: Do not come to a complete stop during this process.

  • The pedal should feel stronger/firmer after every set of stops. Once the pedal is firm, proceed to perform 3-5 high speed stops from approx 100km/h to 10km/h with 1 minute intervals. The purpose of these longer brake applications is to achieve full contact between the pads and discs, whereas the shorter stops typically contact the outer section of the disc only. Both procedures are necessary to gradually increase the temperature of the brake system. 

  • After the repeated stops, drive the vehicle for several kms with little or no braking in order to adequately cool the components.

  • The system is now ready for normal use.
 
Correctly bedded pads and discs will look like this, with an even layer of pad deposit across the entire surface:

 
Please contact us for any individual motorsport bedding instructions.
 

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