QA

Question: How To Break In Brakes

Brake Bedding Instructions Speed up to 35 mph. Use moderate brake pressure to slow down to 5 mph. Repeat 2-3 times. Speed up to 55 mph. Use strong brake pressure to slow down to 5 mph. Repeat 4-5 times. Drive for 5-10 minutes to allow the brakes to slowly cool down. Park the vehicle and let the brakes cool for an hour.

How do you break in new brake pads and rotors?

How Do I Break In My New Brake Pads and Rotors? Find an empty parking lot or street. Engage hard braking at 40mph. Go 50mph and jam the brakes until ABS engages. Repeat step #3 four more times. Reach 65mph, then slow the car down to 15mph. Let your brakes rest for 20 minutes. Conclusion. Extend the Life of Your Brakes.

What happens if you don’t break in brakes?

If the pads and rotors have not been bed-in correctly, the mechanism of Abrasive and Adherent friction will not work well and use of the brake system, especially at high temperatures, will result in random and uneven deposits of brake pad material on the rotor surface. There is only one way: BED-IN YOUR BRAKES.

Do you need to break in brakes?

Anytime you install new brake rotors, brake pads, or both, it’s advantageous to bed in your new brakes. Bedding in your brakes is just an industry term to explain breaking in your new brakes. Slightly more aggressive than normal braking. You don’t need to come to a complete stop for each pass.

How many miles does it take to break in new brakes?

Most brake pad compounds will take up to 300-400 miles to fully develop an even transfer film on the rotors.” Failure to follow these procedures may result in brake judder, excessive noise, or other difficulties in bedding-in the new brake pads. The pads need a fresh surface to lay down an even transfer film.

Why do my new brakes sound like they are grinding?

New brake pads are a bit stiff and need to be broken in. The process of breaking in new brake pads is referred to as bedding in. When your pads are being bedded in, you may hear some squealing, screeching or grinding. But this noise should lessen as you drive your car and allow the pads to become worn in.

Why does it smell like my brakes are burning?

When you use your brakes for the first time, the heat produced during that reaction causes polymerization, also known as curing. During this polymerization reaction on your brake pads, various gases are released. Those gases can smell like burning. The smell should wear off after a few hours on new brake pads.

Do mechanics bed in brakes?

Once the new brakes or rotors are installed by a licensed mechanic, the next step is to bed in the brakes. Bedding in the brakes is usually done in two rounds. During the first round, the vehicle is driven at a speed of 45 mph, with a medium-to-easy slow to stop, repeated three or four times.

Can you bed in old brakes?

You should not be fading your brakes during the bed-in procedure. The point is just to get pad material onto the rotors and then let everything cool. The process recommended by stoptech will produce fade. They say to expect fade by the 5th deceleration, otherwise you are not braking hard enough.

Can you bed in brakes in the rain?

A bedding procedure can be done at any time or repeated as necessary so there’s no reason to rush out and do it in the rain. Just be aware that optimal friction and performance won’t occur until after a proper bedding.

How do you drive with new brake pads?

Usually with new brake pads installed you’ll want to drive the car to about 60 mph and bed them in, meaning apply the breaks hard. You’ll need to do this about 3 times or so and then take your car somewhere you can lightly break after you’ve bedded them in.

How do I season my rotors?

Return to your safe location for driving as fast as 60 miles-per-hour. Next, perform medium-effort partial stops (about 50 percent) from 60 miles-per-hour down to about 15 miles-per-hour. Once completed, drive for five minutes with little to no braking, allowing your rotors to cool.

Why does my car shake after changing the brake pads?

This is actually fairly common, because brake pads are supposed to wear down and get replaced when they’ve worn down until there’s only ¼ of it left. The vibration that you’re feeling could be the brake pad’s wear indicator, which emits a high pitch squeal for when it’s time to replace it.

How should brakes feel after being replaced?

Your brakes feel spongy after replacing the pads due to not bleeding the brake lines of air. Originally Answered: Why do car brakes feel spongy for a while after putting new brakes on old rotors? Because they have to adapt to the possibly worn and uneven rotors.

Can I drive with grinding brakes?

You shouldn’t keep driving your car if your brakes are grinding. Not only is it really unsafe, you can also make the repair a lot more expensive than it needs to be. A grinding noise suggests that your brake pads are excessively worn, and the metal backing is scraping against the brake rotors.

Why do my brakes sound like something is dragging?

Typically, this dragging sound is caused by a brake caliper or brake drum that has either seized or not completely released when you took your foot off the brake pedal. For more information on how to identify brake noise, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.