Bed in new brakes?

[rh71]

08 X5, heavy car - finally had to put in new rotors, and pads all around at 50k miles - Textar (OEM pads and rotors) which notoriously had a lot of dusting but these newer ones supposedly are better. More on that in a bit. So conflicted with whether I should be bedding the brakes this time as I had zero issues not doing the bedding after just pads being done 3 years ago and the car stopped great every time even when the front pads only had 230 miles left according to the sensor.

My very trusted indy mechanic says to take it easy for the first 50 miles and didn't recommend bedding even after being asked directly while the internet only mentions the bedding procedure in passing. Some articles go on to say it actually improves braking as well as reduces brake dust (secondary importance if that's even true).

Right now it's only got 5 miles on them light braking but it surely does not [yet] bite like what I'm used to. Thoughts?

 

[Zivic]

do it if you want. doubt it will make much of a difference

 

[jaha2000]

With modern materials its far less imprortant IMO than something with organic pads from the 60s.

 

[NutBucket]

Lookup the pads you bought and see if there is a recommended break in procedure. Generally, unless you're using "high performance" pads, they're not going to have a specific procedure.

If you want to bed the brakes, most procedures call for a few hard stops with dwell time to let everything cool off.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i've done so in the past. i've personally never noticed a difference. i did notice a difference between stopping power in the winter though. I had weak stopping until the brakes warmed up after 3-5 stops at a red light.

 

[KentState]

If the manufacturer thinks it necessary, they will usually state that with the pads.

 

[silicon]

08 X5, heavy car - finally had to put in new rotors, and pads all around at 50k miles - Textar (OEM pads and rotors) which notoriously had a lot of dusting but these newer ones supposedly are better. More on that in a bit. So conflicted with whether I should be bedding the brakes this time as I had zero issues not doing the bedding after just pads being done 3 years ago and the car stopped great every time even when the front pads only had 230 miles left according to the sensor.

My very trusted indy mechanic says to take it easy for the first 50 miles and didn't recommend bedding even after being asked directly while the internet only mentions the bedding procedure in passing. Some articles go on to say it actually improves braking as well as reduces brake dust (secondary importance if that's even true).

Right now it's only got 5 miles on them light braking but it surely does not [yet] bite like what I'm used to. Thoughts?

Just using them should be good enough? I have never heard of a bedding-in procedure unless its a race car.

 

[C1]

silicon is right. If the brakes were done correctly, you should experience normal braking after 50 miles for sure.

Probably the most important thing is to make sure no caliper is binding. Take the vehicle on a short highway trip (eg, 5miles continuous at 60+ mph). Ensure during such time that the brakes are not used (use hand brake to instead to stop vehicle). Pull over and check that the disks are only warm (not hot). If any one is hot, then the piston in that caliper is not "backing off" properly and has too much drag. (Typically caused by dirt accumulated behind the piston due to use/age.)

If the above is so, then there will be issues which become hard to live with eventually (eg, excessive wear, rotor warp, squeal when braking etc.).

 

[nakedfrog]

I bedded the brakes on all three sets I did last year... only takes 20-30 minutes.