Porterfield bedding in procedure??
- Thread starter MAVPR
- Start date
From their website:
From a speed of about 60mph, gently apply the brakes to slow the car down to about 45mph, then accelerate back up to 60mph and repeat. Do this about four or five times to bring the brakes up to operating temperature. This prevents you from thermally shocking the rotors and pads in the next steps.
Make a series of eight near-stops from 60 to about 10 mph. Do it HARD by pressing on the brakes firmly, just shy of locking the wheels or engaging ABS. At the end of each slowdown, immediately accelerate back to 60mph. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! (Note: With less aggressive street pads and/or stock brake calipers, you may need to do this fewer times. If your pedal gets soft or you feel the brakes going away, then you've done enough. Proceed to the next step.)
During this process, you must not come to a complete stop because you will transfer (imprint) pad material onto the hot rotors, which can lead to vibration, uneven braking, and could even ruin the rotors.
Depending on the pads you are using, the brakes may begin to fade slightly after the 7th or 8th near-stop. This fade will stabilize, but not completely go away until the brakes have fully cooled. A bad smell from the brakes, and even some smoke, is normal.
After the 8th near-stop, accelerate back up to speed and drive around for as long as possible without using the brakes. The brakes will need at least 10 minutes to cool down. Obviously, it's OK to use the brakes to avoid an accident, but try to minimize their use until they have cooled.
If club race pads, such as Pagid Orange or Porterfield R4, are being used, add four near-stops from 80 to 10mph. If full race pads, such as Pagid Black, are being used, add four near-stops from 100 to 10 mph.
After the break-in cycle, there should be a blue tint and a light gray film on the rotor face. The blue tint tells you the rotor has reached break-in temperature and the gray film is pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor face. This is what you are looking for. The best braking occurs when there is an even layer of of pad material deposited across the face of the rotors. This minimizes squealing, increases braking torque, and maximizes pad and rotor life.
After the first break in cycle shown above, the brakes may still not be fully broken in. A second bed-in cycle, AFTER the brakes have cooled down fully from the first cycle, may be necessary before the brakes really start to perform well. If you've just installed a big brake kit, the pedal travel may not feel as firm as you expected. After the second cycle, the pedal will become noticeably firmer. "
From a speed of about 60mph, gently apply the brakes to slow the car down to about 45mph, then accelerate back up to 60mph and repeat. Do this about four or five times to bring the brakes up to operating temperature. This prevents you from thermally shocking the rotors and pads in the next steps.
Make a series of eight near-stops from 60 to about 10 mph. Do it HARD by pressing on the brakes firmly, just shy of locking the wheels or engaging ABS. At the end of each slowdown, immediately accelerate back to 60mph. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! (Note: With less aggressive street pads and/or stock brake calipers, you may need to do this fewer times. If your pedal gets soft or you feel the brakes going away, then you've done enough. Proceed to the next step.)
During this process, you must not come to a complete stop because you will transfer (imprint) pad material onto the hot rotors, which can lead to vibration, uneven braking, and could even ruin the rotors.
Depending on the pads you are using, the brakes may begin to fade slightly after the 7th or 8th near-stop. This fade will stabilize, but not completely go away until the brakes have fully cooled. A bad smell from the brakes, and even some smoke, is normal.
After the 8th near-stop, accelerate back up to speed and drive around for as long as possible without using the brakes. The brakes will need at least 10 minutes to cool down. Obviously, it's OK to use the brakes to avoid an accident, but try to minimize their use until they have cooled.
If club race pads, such as Pagid Orange or Porterfield R4, are being used, add four near-stops from 80 to 10mph. If full race pads, such as Pagid Black, are being used, add four near-stops from 100 to 10 mph.
After the break-in cycle, there should be a blue tint and a light gray film on the rotor face. The blue tint tells you the rotor has reached break-in temperature and the gray film is pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor face. This is what you are looking for. The best braking occurs when there is an even layer of of pad material deposited across the face of the rotors. This minimizes squealing, increases braking torque, and maximizes pad and rotor life.
After the first break in cycle shown above, the brakes may still not be fully broken in. A second bed-in cycle, AFTER the brakes have cooled down fully from the first cycle, may be necessary before the brakes really start to perform well. If you've just installed a big brake kit, the pedal travel may not feel as firm as you expected. After the second cycle, the pedal will become noticeably firmer. "
PhoenixGTS
Enthusiast
Ran the Porterfiled R4-S for over year. Super clean. Super quiet. Barely stop the car. After finally owning up to the fact nothing happened when I hit the brake pedal at 100 mph (low speeds are fine) I gave up on them and put the stockers back in. Messy (so far still quite) but dang they stop hard in conjunction with four sticky tires.
You will love them puttering around town. But fear them at speed.
You will love them puttering around town. But fear them at speed.
Don't know if you are using them for track pads or not...?
I DO know this from personal experience...if you can at all find a place to bed your pads in correctly right up front, you will get all the life outta that pad!
I have made the mistake of putting pads on, driving to the track thinking...'oh the 2 1/2 hr drive they will get bedded in good'....nope! Had to take some laps at the track to get them 'track' bedded (120mph-->20 stops), then pit to let them cool down.
I would be interested to hear what you think of those pads.
I DO know this from personal experience...if you can at all find a place to bed your pads in correctly right up front, you will get all the life outta that pad!
I have made the mistake of putting pads on, driving to the track thinking...'oh the 2 1/2 hr drive they will get bedded in good'....nope! Had to take some laps at the track to get them 'track' bedded (120mph-->20 stops), then pit to let them cool down.
I would be interested to hear what you think of those pads.
Great info thanks.
I am using these pads for the street, I went out and bedded them in today. From driving around today I love that there is no noise at all, that horrible OEM squeal is gone and that makes me very happy! while changing the pads I also upgraded to Toms 40mm rear calipers which seem to make a big difference! I am going to bleed the brakes once more just to make sure I got all the air out and then I will go out and see what I make of the stopping power of these pads.
I am using these pads for the street, I went out and bedded them in today. From driving around today I love that there is no noise at all, that horrible OEM squeal is gone and that makes me very happy! while changing the pads I also upgraded to Toms 40mm rear calipers which seem to make a big difference! I am going to bleed the brakes once more just to make sure I got all the air out and then I will go out and see what I make of the stopping power of these pads.
Similar threads
