5/8/2017 BigBrakeKitBedin

PadandRotorBedInTheory,DefinitionsandProcedures
StopTech'sRecommendedProcedureforBeddinginPerformanceBrakeSystems
byMattWeissofStopTechandJamesWalker,Jr.ofscRmotorsports

Whenasystemhasbothnewrotorsandpads,therearetwodifferentobjectivesforbeddinginaperformancebrakesystem:heatingupthebrakerotorsandpadsinaprescribedmanner,soastotransferpadmaterialevenlyontotherotorsand
maturingthepadmaterial,sothatresinswhichareusedtobindandformitarecooked'outofthepad.

Thefirstobjectiveisachievedbyperformingaseriesofstops,sothatthebrakerotorandpadmaterialareheatedsteadilytoatemperaturethatpromotesthetransferofpadmaterialontothebrakerotorfrictionsurface.Thereisonepitfallinthis
process,however,whichmustbeavoided.Therotorand,therefore,thevehicleshouldnotbebroughttoacompletestop,withthebrakesstillapplied,asthisrisksthenonuniformtransferofpadmaterialontothefrictionsurface.

Thesecondobjectiveofthebeddinginprocessisachievedbyperforminganothersetofstops,inordertomaturethepaditself.Thisensuresthatresinswhichareusedtobindandformthepadmaterialarecooked'outofthepad,atthepointwherethe
padmeetstherotor'sfrictionsurface.

Thebedinprocessisnotcompleteuntilbothsetsofstopshavebeenperformed.There'soneexception,however.Somepadmanufacturerssellraceready'pads,whichhavebeenpreconditionedbyflameheattreatingorlaseretching,toprovidea
maturesurfaceonthepadface.Ifracereadypadsarebeingused,thenthesecondsetofcontrolledstopsisunnecessary.Alsonotethatthesamecircumstancesexistwhenasystemtobebeddedhasnewrotorsandusedpads(astrategythat
professionalteamsusetobreakintheirrotorsaheadoftime)oneonlyhastoperformasinglesetofstopstotransferpadmaterialuniformlyontothenewrotor.

Notethat,ifthebrakesofavehiclewithhighperformanceorracingpadsarenotusedcontinuouslyinanaggressivemanner,thetransferlayerontherotorscanbeabraded(literallywornoff).However,thetransferlayercanbereestablished,ifneeded,
byrepeatingoneseriesofstopsinthebedinprocedure.Thisprocessmayberepeatedasoftenasnecessaryduringthelifeofthepad.

Thischaracteristicisusefulwhenasystemisalreadybeddedinwithonepadfrictionandanotheristobeusedgoingforward,likewhenchangingbetweenpadtypesforthestreetandtrack(andthenafteratrackevent,backagain).Theprocedureunder
thiscaseisdifferent,wherethenewfrictionisinstalledandthevehicleisfirstdrivenfor5to20miles(8to33Km)withlightuse,keepingthepadfrictionandrotorcold.Thispromotestheabrasivefrictionmechanismcleaningtherotorsurfaceofthe
previouspadmaterialbeforeperformingeitheroneortwobedincyclesasprescribedbelow.Onesetofstopsasoutlined,ifthepadsbeinginstalledareused,twoifthepadsareactuallynew

Thebedinproceduresbelowoutlinethestepsrequiredtoeffectivelybedinperformancebrakesystems.Westronglyrecommendthat,inordertocompletethebedinsafely,thebedinproceduresbeconductedindryconditionsonaracetrackorother
controlledenvironment,soasnottoendangeryourselforothers.Pleasenotethatweneitherrecommendnorcondonedrivingathighspeedsonpublicroads.Whileitisimportanttogetenoughheatintothesystemtoeffectivelybedinthebrakes,itis
evenmoreimportanttoexercisecommonsenseatalltimes,andtoconductthebedinprocedureresponsibly.

BeddinginStreetPerformancePads
Foratypicalperformancebrakesystemusingstreetperformancepads,aseriesoftenpartialbrakingevents,from60mphdownto10mph,willtypicallyraisethetemperatureofthebrakecomponentssufficientlytobeconsideredonebedinset.Eachof
thetenpartialbrakingeventsshouldachievemoderatetohighdeceleration(about80to90%ofthedecelerationrequiredtolockupthebrakesand/ortoengagetheABS),andtheyshouldbemadeoneaftertheother,withoutallowingthebrakestocool
inbetween.

Dependingonthemakeupofthepadmaterial,thebrakefrictionwillseemtogainslightlyinperformance,andwillthenloseorfadesomewhatbyaroundthefifthstop(alsoaboutthetimethatafrictionsmellwillbedetectableinthepassenger
compartment).Thisdoesnotindicatethatthebrakesarebeddedin.Thisphenomenonisknownasagreenfade,asitischaracteristicofimmatureorgreen'pads,inwhichtheresinsstillneedtobedrivenoutofthepadmaterial,atthepointwherethe
padsmeettherotors.Inthiscircumstance,theuppertemperaturelimitofthefrictionmaterialwillnotyethavebeenreached.

Aswhenbeddinginanysetofbrakes,careshouldbetakenregardingthelongerstoppingdistancenecessarywithincompletelybeddedpads.Thisfirstsetofstopsinthebedinprocessisonlycompletewhenalltenstopshavebeenperformednot
before.Thesystemshouldthenbeallowedtocool,bydrivingthevehicleatthehighestsafespeedforthecircumstances,withoutbringingittoacompletestopwiththebrakesstillapplied.Aftercoolingthevehicle,asecondsetoftenpartialbraking
eventsshouldbeperformed,followedbyanothercoolingexercise.Insomesituations,athirdsetisbeneficial,buttwoarenormallysufficient.

BeddinginClubRaceorFullRacePads
Foratypicalperformancebrakesystemusingracepads,thebedinproceduremustbesomewhatmoreaggressive,ashighertemperaturesneedtobereached,inordertobringcertainbrandsofpadmaterialuptotheirfullracepotential.

Wetypicallyrecommendasetoftenpartialbrakingevents,from60mphdownto10mph,followedimmediatelybythreeorfourpartialbrakingevents,from80mphdownto10mph.Alternately,asetofelevenstops,from80mphto40mph,orasetof
sevenstops,from100mphto50mph,wouldbeapproximatelythesame.Aswithstreetpads,eachofthepartialbrakingeventsshouldachievemoderatetohighdeceleration(about80%ofthedecelerationrequiredtolockupthebrakesand/ortoengage
theABS),andtheyshouldbemadeoneaftertheother,withoutallowingthebrakestocoolinbetween.

Again,dependingonthemakeupofthepadmaterial,thebrakefrictionwillseemtogainslightlyinperformance,andwillthenloseorfadesomewhatabouthalfwaythroughthefirstsetofstops.Thisdoesnotindicatethatthebrakesarebeddedin,
exceptwhereracereadypadsarebeingused.Thisphenomenonisthesameasthatwhichoccurswithhighperformanceorstreetpads(exceptthat,whenracereadypadsareused,theydonotexhibitgreenfade,andtheywillbebeddedinafterjust
onecompletesetofstops).

Aswhenbeddinginanysetofbrakes,careshouldbetakenregardingthelongerstoppingdistancenecessarywithincompletelybeddedpads.Thisfirstsetofstopsinthebedinprocessisonlycompletewhentherecommendednumberofstopshasbeen
performednotbefore.Asageneralrule,itwouldbebettertoperformadditionalstops,thannotenough.Thesystemshouldthenbeallowedtocool,bydrivingthevehicleatthehighestsafespeedforthecircumstances,withoutbringingittoacomplete
stopwiththebrakesstillapplied.

Aftercoolingthevehicle,asecondsetoftherecommendednumberofstopsshouldbeperformed,followedbyanothercoolingexercise.Insomesituations,athirdsetisbeneficial,buttwoarenormallysufficient.

Racerswillnotethat,whenapadisbeddedinproperly,therewillbeapproximately2mm(0.1inch)ofthepadedgeneartherotor,onwhichthepaintwillhaveturnedtoash,orthecolorofthepadwillhavechangedtolookasthoughithasbeen
overheated.

Insummary,thekeytosuccessfullybeddinginperformancebrakesistobringthepadsuptotheiroperatingtemperaturerange,inacontrolledmanner,andtokeepthemtherelongenoughtostartthepadmaterialtransferprocess.Differentbrake
systemdesigns,padtypes,anddrivingconditionsrequiredifferentprocedurestoachieveasuccessfulbedin.Theproceduresrecommendedaboveshouldprovideausefulstartingpointfordevelopingbedinproceduresappropriatetoindividual
applications.

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