Bedding in Brakes at 950 Miles-Too Late??

[mitch65]

I have babied the brakes so far, just waiting for the 1200 Mile point to have some fun, is it too late to bed in the brakes?

[dan99]

it's never too late

[bimmer-boy]

Originally Posted by mitch65

I have babied the brakes so far, just waiting for the 1200 Mile point to have some fun, is it too late to bed in the brakes?

I thought after 150-200 miles you could do the bed in procedure

Ask Avlinch he had a very detailed procedure he wrote up

[avlnch]

Originally Posted by bimmer-boy

I thought after 150-200 miles you could do the bed in procedure

Ask Avlinch he had a very detailed procedure he wrote up

You should properly bed in your brakes (break in procedure for breaks). Doing so will improve pedal feel, reduce or eliminate brake squeal, prevent brake judder, lower brake dust, and overall extend the life of your brakes.

Brake pads and rotors that are brand new normally have a special coating on them to prevent rusting and corrosion while they are stored and shipped. Immediately after new rotors and or pads are installed you should drive normally for a while so that the brake pads can polish the rotors clean of any film. Avoid any sort of aggressive braking. It's extremely important that you do not start the bedding in process until after you have driven normally for long enough (around 70-100 miles to be safe) for the pads to polish the rotors clean.

Once you are satisfied that all traces of the film is gone and your brakes are polished clean, you may start the bedding in process. Begin sometime in the early morning, in an area of very light or no traffic and be sure no cars are driving behind you as you will be braking in an unusual manner that others will not expect.

Brake Bedding In Process:
1. Reach about 60mph and gently apply the brakes a few times in order to slowly bring your brakes up to their normal operating temperature. You want to ensure that you do not thermally shock the rotors and pads by skipping this step and starting this process with cold brakes.

2. Reach a speed of 60mph and aggressively brake down (hard) to 15mph. After braking down hard from 60-15, immediately bring the car back up to speed (60mph) and repeat for a total of ten aggressive near-stops. Do not substitute a higher speed as doing so will produce too much heat and create a negative result. Ensure that you absolutely do not come to a full stop, you only want to brake down to 10-15mph. If you come to a full stop and keep the brakes engaged, you could imprint pad material onto the rotors causing a negative result (vibration and uneven braking). While you want to brake hard from 60-15, you don't want to brake too hard to the point where the wheels lock and or the ABS system engages. You might start to feel some brake fading towards the end (7, 8 or 9th cycle) and smell the brakes, all of which is normal for the bedding in process.

3. After your last near stop (10th cycle), immediately bring your car back up to speed (above 50mph) and drive for about 5-7 minutes while using the brakes as little as possible. The goal here is to cool down your brakes. In order to do so, you need constant airflow and should stay off the brakes as much as you possibly can.. use engine braking as a substitute. Try to not become trapped in any scenario that requires you to come to a full stop. If you must come to a full stop, the best thing to do is to immediately let off the brakes once stopped (hopefully you are on level ground so you don't roll).

4. Optional: After you complete the cool down process, Perform an additional three-four near stop cycles, this time from 80mph to 15mph. Repeat three more times, then move onto the cool down process again to complete the bed in process. You should ensure that the brakes are cooled down before parking the car in order to prevent a negative result(s).

You may or may not need to complete another bedding in cycle for a total of two bedding cycles. After you have cooled down the brakes, bring them back to normal operating temperature (as described in step one) and complete a second bedding cycle (steps 2-3).

Once you have completed the above (after two full bedding cycles), you should notice a more firm pedal feel. Also, you may notice a very slight blue tint and grey film on the rotors. The blue film tells you that the rotors have reached break-in temperature and the grey film is brake pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor. These are both good indicators. The best braking performance occurs when there's an even layer of pad material deposited across the rotors. This will minimize or remove any squealing noise, increases braking torque, and maximize the life of the rotors and brake pads.

[Bluehorseshoe]

Avlnch, does this process apply to any car with non ceramic brakes?

I wonder why BMW doesn't recommend this procedure.

I've never bedded my brakes. Maybe that's why I always have significant amounts of brake dust and squealing after 12-15k miles.

Anyone have positive experiences bedding their brakes? Thanks.

[N.S.A]

Originally Posted by avlnch

You should properly bed in your brakes (break in procedure for breaks). Doing so will improve pedal feel, reduce or eliminate brake squeal, prevent brake judder, lower brake dust, and overall extend the life of your brakes.

Brake pads and rotors that are brand new normally have a special coating on them to prevent rusting and corrosion while they are stored and shipped. Immediately after new rotors and or pads are installed you should drive normally for a while so that the brake pads can polish the rotors clean of any film. Avoid any sort of aggressive braking. It's extremely important that you do not start the bedding in process until after you have driven normally for long enough (around 70-100 miles to be safe) for the pads to polish the rotors clean.

Once you are satisfied that all traces of the film is gone and your brakes are polished clean, you may start the bedding in process. Begin sometime in the early morning, in an area of very light or no traffic and be sure no cars are driving behind you as you will be braking in an unusual manner that others will not expect.

Brake Bedding In Process:
1. Reach about 60mph and gently apply the brakes a few times in order to slowly bring your brakes up to their normal operating temperature. You want to ensure that you do not thermally shock the rotors and pads by skipping this step and starting this process with cold brakes.

2. Reach a speed of 60mph and aggressively brake down (hard) to 15mph. After braking down hard from 60-15, immediately bring the car back up to speed (60mph) and repeat for a total of ten aggressive near-stops. Do not substitute a higher speed as doing so will produce too much heat and create a negative result. Ensure that you absolutely do not come to a full stop, you only want to brake down to 10-15mph. If you come to a full stop and keep the brakes engaged, you could imprint pad material onto the rotors causing a negative result (vibration and uneven braking). While you want to brake hard from 60-15, you don't want to brake too hard to the point where the wheels lock and or the ABS system engages. You might start to feel some brake fading towards the end (7, 8 or 9th cycle) and smell the brakes, all of which is normal for the bedding in process.

3. After your last near stop (10th cycle), immediately bring your car back up to speed (above 50mph) and drive for about 5-7 minutes while using the brakes as little as possible. The goal here is to cool down your brakes. In order to do so, you need constant airflow and should stay off the brakes as much as you possibly can.. use engine braking as a substitute. Try to not become trapped in any scenario that requires you to come to a full stop. If you must come to a full stop, the best thing to do is to immediately let off the brakes once stopped (hopefully you are on level ground so you don't roll).

4. Optional: After you complete the cool down process, Perform an additional three-four near stop cycles, this time from 80mph to 15mph. Repeat three more times, then move onto the cool down process again to complete the bed in process. You should ensure that the brakes are cooled down before parking the car in order to prevent a negative result(s).

You may or may not need to complete another bedding in cycle for a total of two bedding cycles. After you have cooled down the brakes, bring them back to normal operating temperature (as described in step one) and complete a second bedding cycle (steps 2-3).

Once you have completed the above (after two full bedding cycles), you should notice a more firm pedal feel. Also, you may notice a very slight blue tint and grey film on the rotors. The blue film tells you that the rotors have reached break-in temperature and the grey film is brake pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor. These are both good indicators. The best braking performance occurs when there's an even layer of pad material deposited across the rotors. This will minimize or remove any squealing noise, increases braking torque, and maximize the life of the rotors and brake pads.

wait, what is that gray brake dust in chunks come off my brake caliper when I wash my car and when I park it in the garage it leaks out on the floor and its look brown/orange leaking on my garage from the calipers?

[avlnch]

The brown stuff when you wash and/or park after washing is rust.

When you are done washing your car drive just a few feet with slight pressure on the brakes to remove it.

Don't park it before doing so, or else it will bind the rotors to the pads and you'll notice that if you try to move, you'll need 1,200rpm's of the S63TU to brake free and you'll hear it.

[thebishman]

Originally Posted by Bluehorseshoe

Avlnch, does this process apply to any car with non ceramic brakes?

I wonder why BMW doesn't recommend this procedure.

I've never bedded my brakes. Maybe that's why I always have significant amounts of brake dust and squealing after 12-15k miles.

Anyone have positive experiences bedding their brakes? Thanks.

Always bed your brakes in a high performance vehicle with high performance brakes; otherwise you are selling the car's abilities short.

Do the above procedure; keep the calipers and rotors clean; use Permatex Ceramic paste on the backing plates of the pads if necessary, and remember that high performance floating rotors are much more prone to make noise; it's in their nature.
Bish

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by mitch65

I have babied the brakes so far, just waiting for the 1200 Mile point to have some fun, is it too late to bed in the brakes?

I have never "Bedded in" bakes on any car, I have covered 4900 miles in My LCI and the brakes are barely used, I don't blast up to roundabouts ect.
No squealing/squeaking Nothing, brakes work fine when I need them.
Computer says 90K left on the front and rears

[k3silk]

This does work... I did this a few years back on my M3

[Fast400]

Bedding will optimize your pad/rotor performance...but at 950miles it's too late. Now this doesn't mean that you did anything wrong. Millions of people have new pads installed and then just drive. Their brakes work just fine. We're talking about maximize the final 2% we could get from the pad/rotor.
If the rotor and pads are new the Bedding is not as critical. When putting new pads to a used rotor the bedding procedure will gain it's most benefits.....just my thoughts on this having done both replacement with taking the car out and 'bedding' the pads, and without.