Just like I said, how do you do it properly and safely?

 

if your talking about breaking the new pads in after replacement.

i do around 8~10 light stops from around 30~40 MPH, letting the brakes cool down for about 2~3 minutes between each stop. i then let them cool for around 10 minutes & do 4 or 5 medium stops from around 60 MPH, again, letting them cool down about 5 minutes between each stop. for most pads this is enough to get them seated in for normal driving.

 

Thanks dude. Thats exactly what I was looking for. This is the first time I do my own brakes (and it was from stock 10.5 fronts and drum rear to 1LE's all around) and I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't driving around dangerously!

 

I've read about seating brakes, and IIRC, I even messed around with it when I went 1LE, but interestingly enough when a shop has done my wife's brakes (Chrysler LHS and Jeep Cherokee), no mention of seating has ever come up. So how important is it to a normal consumer?

JamesC

 

It probably isn't very important, but it doesn't hurt and just may make me feel better if nothing else. So I figured why not.

Thanks guys

 

JamesC, they should have done a test drive after the brake job before they let you have the car.
during the test drive is when we seat the brakes, we seldom tell our customers that we seat them in, just that we did a test drive after we finished the job. i would never turn a car over to the customer with out taking a test drive, i have to know the car stops like it should.
i have used pads that claim they don't need to be broken in, they seem to work better right out of the box but they also seem to squeal more later on.

 

Does your test drive include all the steps in the seating process, or is it simply a short drive to determine that all's generallly good with the system?

JamesC

 

For procedures on pad bedding, rotor seasoning, and bleeding, look on Baer's site:

Baer Brake Systems

Click on Baer Tech, then click on Braking 202-How-To guides, this should cover it for you.

Ed

 

Thanks again, ed. I knew I had read that procedure somewhere, I just forgot where. Thats the procedure that I did (almost) and with these things, I can slam my wife into the windsheild at will!! (Like I would eaven think abiut it )

 

JamesC, it depends on the customer.
some of our customers never get over 20 MPH, a few of them will be running 80+ as soon as they hit the freeway.
at minimum we do 8~10 light stops with 1 or 2 medium stops. that will give the average driver dependable stopping, long brake life with a minimum of squealing problems along with rotors that will stay true for the life of the pads.
they are all told the brakes are not fully broken in, & not to use them hard if possible for around 200 miles, if we put on new rotors, around 400 miles.
this covers 99% of all drivers, its that 1% that needs more, but you know who they are, they want the best parts & don't care what the price is.

 

Cool. Thanks for the reply.

JamesC