Phokaioglaukos

I just replaced the Pagid RS-19 front brake pads. The Pagid web site has quite a procedure describe for proper bedding of their pads. Basically, it require getting some serious heat into the pads and then doing some heavy braking from speed. I cannot do that on the street, but I will be on the track on Saturday. Here's the question: am I ok driving to the track with light, street kind of braking and then following the bedding procedures once on the track, or should I bed the pad on the highway as soon as I can on the way to the track?

The old RS-19s looked pretty good, except one had a bit of a crack across the narrow side. No chunking.

hinchcliffe

I would think a few hard stops from 60-20 on the high with no one around should bed the pad fine.

jakermc

I am only on my first set of Yellows (RS-19), but I found them more sensitive to the bed-in procedure than Orange pads. I bed them in on a side road following the normal procedure and then went out on the track a little while later. The whole first day on the pads I was never really comfortable with them. The next day, they felt much better.

There is a theory that pads need to 'de-gas' over night after being bed in. With Orange, it never seemed to matter. With the Yellows, I wonder if its more important.

TD in DC

Chris, maybe I shouldn't, but I actually used to do that break-in procedure on the way to the track, particularly on the way to Watkins Glen, VIR and Summit Point. Of course now that I trailer my car, I can no longer do this.

So long as you are traveling on a road without too much traffic, it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, on the highway, it is easier to let the brakes cool by simply going normal speeds and not using the brakes. The real treat is breaking in your brake pads at night. I don't know about pagids, but PF-97s treat you to a fireworks show for the first 3 or 4 bedding attempts. It actually kind of startled me the first time I saw it.

You can do it on the track as well, but I find that to be a little more "complicated."

To answer your original question, I think that you will probably be fine with light highway driving (might glaze a bit) so long as you break them in on the highway to the track. Why not just swap pads the night before so that you will not have to drive very much before you break them in properly?

kurt M

Do a search on this. there is a bunch of good info and there are reasons to do it right.

bgiere

Pagids (at least for me) are the most sensitive to proper bedding procedures. I have ruined alot of Pagids by failing to bed them properly. I am now using PF 01's and found them to be excellent and there is no "fancy" bedding procedure. just my opinion.

Phokaioglaukos

Ok, you guys talked me into it. I just drove out to the turnpike and bedded my new pads according to the Pagid directions, set out below. I'm sure the other drivers, few though they were, believed me odd or obnoxious or both as I accelerated to 90 mph, braked to 50 mph, and repeated. Then hard braking from 110 mph to 50 mph, etc. The car does stop bood, though.

Here's what Pagid says:

Why bedding?

To transfer a layer of friction material onto the brake disc faces to achieve maximum performance.
To stabilize compressible materials to avoid a spongy pedal.
To boil off volatile elements in the friction compound in order to have the initial ‘green’ fading during bedding and not during the race.
To align the pad surface with the brake disc surface to have full contact.
If pads do not get bedded properly and / or used too hard right out of the box will likely lead to pad glazing. Pad glazing is a condition where the resins in the pad crystallize on both, the pad friction surface and the brake disc surface, resulting in poor stopping performance, brake judder and vibrations.
Also rapidly escaping volatile elements and moisture from the resin would seek an immediate escape route out of the friction compound, creating small fissures that would lead shortly to cracking and chunking.

1.) BASIC BEDDING IN
To initiate some heat in the brake discs and pads.

4 to 6 stops with medium brake pressure from approximately 150 km/h (90 MPH) to approximately 80 km/h (50 MPH).
Distance between each brake stop approximately 300 - 400 meters (300 to 400 yards).
The pads should not reach temperatures above 400° Centigrade (550° Fahrenheit).
No dragging!
Blocking of the air ducts might be helpful to reach appropriate temperatures quicker.

2.) IMMEDIATELY AFTER BASIC BEDDING IN AT HIGH SPEED
Simulating race conditions
One stop with medium to heavy brake pressure, without allowing brakes to lock from approximately 180 km/h (110 MPH) to approximately 80 km/h (50 MPH).
No dragging!
Recovery stops with light brake pressure 3 to 4 times. (Cleaning procedure)
Repeat the high-speed stops including recovery stops 2 to 3 times.
Allow a cool-off distance of approximately 500 m (500 yards) between high-speed stops.

BRAKE DISCS
If possible, pads should be bedded on used but NOT worn out brake discs.
Pagid brake pad material can be used either on solid, grooved or cross-drilled discs.
For disc bedding please refer to the disc manufacturers’ own instruction.

MOUNTING NEW PADS ON USED DISCS
Edges of pad surface should be filed roughly to 45 degrees to ensure that the pad carries fully and evenly and is not touching the edge of the disc.
Do not use discs, which are pre-bedded, or have been used with friction material other than PAGID.

George from MD

"Pagids (at least for me) are the most sensitive to proper bedding procedures. I have ruined alot of Pagids by failing to bed them properly. I am now using PF 01's and found them to be excellent and there is no "fancy" bedding procedure. just my opinion."

And that's why I went to Hawk's and couldn't be happier.

TD in DC

OK Chris, since your question got answered, I would like to ask a related question. I am a big fan of avoiding bedding in new brake pads on new rotors when possible, but I was unable to avoid this recently. My brakes seem to work fine, but the rotors are not shiny. There appears to be a little of the PF 97s smeared on the rotor. Since the brakes seem to work fine, I am inclined to do nothing. however, I can't help but wonder whether they would work even better if the rotors were "shiny" like they usually are. Any ideas or tips?

Thanks,

TD

Phokaioglaukos

Everyone with GT3s seems to like the Pagid RS-19s. They are the endurance pads, so they are thick (too thick for the anti-vibration "spiders" to also fit), last a long time and are relatively easy on rotors. Because they are Pagids, as are the OEM pads on the GT3, they are compatible with the friction material that is already on the disc. If you follow the "old discs with new pads and new discs with old pads but not new discs with new pads" rule, then you are stuck with Pagids! That said, I like them pretty much.

Phokaioglaukos

Todd, I am NO expert, but I have bedded as directed on new discs and have noticed some smearing of friction material on the discs. I'm not worried, but I am watching it. I also plan this weekend to take a peek at the discs on others cars to see how they compare. Of course mine is also a street car so that light on street braking does scrape the friction material off the discs, and then the brakes squeal like the devil on brake application. Last night I also noticed a bit of high-pitched whistling that disappears on brake application and actually seems louder at low speeds (20 mph) than at higher speeds (35 mph). The pads did not seem to drag upon installation, but I'll be listening for this sound to change, too.

George from MD

TD for what it's worth I was told (by my mechanic who really likes and recommends Pagids) that you couldn't expect to see the material evenly distributed unless the pads were essentially bedded and then used consistently (i.e. heated to DE/race levels). If the material isn't consistently applied it is normally not a problem- but if the inconsistency is too great the the pads will need to be rebedded. You'll know this as when you brake it will feel like the rotors are warped and you'll get the "juddering" feel.

That was my problem with the Pagids- I would wash the car between events, it would sit and light rust would form on the rotors leading to the need for rebedding. And I would have to rebed them by really heating them- dragging the brakes halfway around the Glen for example.

That's why I ended up switching to Hawks. Dustier and harder on rotors but IMO they stop the car as well or better and no PITA rebedding and worrying about even application of material.

Anyway I'm no pro but just relating what I heard and hope this helps.

sjanes

You rotors shouldn't be shiny. The purpose of bedding a pad is to put the transfer layer of pad on the rotor. See here: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml for a good explaination of pad bed-in.

And FWIW, I ended up switching to the PFC 97 from the Pagid line (orange, black) cause it was hit or miss on getting the pads properly bedded.

TD in DC

Even with properly bedded brake pads, rotors are usually pretty shiny. You only need to put on a very thin layer of pad on the rotor, which usually is not very visible. I am talking about a visible grey layer of pad on my rotors. Looks bad, but seems to stop fine with no juddering . . . Of course, I try not to use my brakes much at all anymore

bgiere

agreed, i ran PFC 97's after getting baffled by the Pagid procedure...am now running PFC 01...great pads.