Brake Bedding
Brake Bedding FAQ
copyright 949 Racing 2006-2023
Mating pad to rotor first
There are two separate components to bedding brakes; mating the pad surface to the rotor and outgassing the pad material. Mating must be done first. If the pad compound requires a transfer layer, this is done during the mating process. When new, the pad and rotor may not make full contact, only contacting a narrow band or streaks on the swept area of the rotor. Easy driving will eventually mate these two surfaces so full contact is made. G-Loc R series pads require a transfer layer that is created during his mating process. You can see the glossy blue tint of the G-Loc transfer layer in the image below. GS1 do not require a transfer layer, just mating.
Transfer Layer
If the same brand of pad has already been used on the rotor then the transfer layer will already be present and you can skip this step. Pads with a higher metal content tend to strip away any previous transfer layers, particularly when cold. Older 70’s tech high metal content pads only require mating, essentially creating a new transfer layer every time you step on the brakes. G-Locs have very low metal content, mostly ceramic-carbon-Kevlar so rotor wear is relatively low, which is facilitated by the transfer layer. When the transfer layer is complete, you can proceed to the next step, outgassing.
Out gassing pads
Outgassing must be done only after the mating process. Some brake pads do not have much adhesives in them and rely instead on rivets to attach to the backing plate. These low adhesive pads generally need minimal bedding but pay a price in total pad volume and potential rotor damage when worn down. Bonded pads with higher adhesive content like G-Loc need to be out gassed. Gradually bring the pads up to temp until they begin to smoke and fade a bit. Immediately bring the car in with minimal brake use and park it. Ideally overnight but between sessions will work in a pinch. Attempting to outgas any pad without them being mated risks deposition. Deposition is small hot spots on the pad overheating, tearing parts of the pad compound off and leaving pad deposits on the rotor. This will feel like warped rotors.
Pre-bedded pads
We recommend purchasing your G-Loc pads pre-bedded. If you are putting them onto a rotor with a transfer layer, you don’t need to do any prep. Send it from the pits. If you factor in what a session costs, it’s less than the cost of pre bedding and one less headache on race day. For endurance racing, we will create the transfer layer on all of our spare rotors in practice or testing so we can just throw them on mid-race if need be.
Pad management
We routinely get calls from customers asking us how quickly we can ship pads, often overnight. Oops! Once you settle on a pad compound you like, immediately buy another set of fronts and rears. When the current pads are maybe half worn, take them off and save them as your spare set. These spares should be enough to finish out a weekend if you run out of brakes first session Saturday morning. Order your next set when your pads are worn half way and keep the spare set in your spares kit. Managed right, you never run out of pads or have to overnight anything. Missing all the afternoon sessions because you wanted to save the cost of spare brake pads is not cost effective 🙂