Is it really this difficult to season the rotors and bed the pads per the Baer instructions! Where the hell do I find a road to do this on? We have no deserted roads around here for this.....too much traffic! Anybody have any practical advice?!

 

While I don't really have the same problem you do I still want to do the stopping portion of the seasoning process without traffic. I plan on doing it early on a sunday morning with roads dry. This will be after I have driven the car normally for about a week.... without (hopefully) any hard stops. I talked to Baer about the process and what is important are the heating and cooling cycles.

This probably didn't help much.

I took the aluminum hats off the front rotors and painted them red and with clear coat. The paint I used is 300 degree centigrade (about 600 degrees farenheit). I also masked the rear hats (since they are not removeable) and painted them as well. I tried yellow but stripped it off because I didn't care for the color and went to red. When I make the swap I will repaint my rotors. Should look pretty good.

 

I was unable to complete the 3 separate cycles for seasoning the rotors and bedding the pads. I presume I need to start all over? HELP from any knowlegeable parties out there!!

 

Well..I learned early to ask when I did no know....
..so what the heck does Seasoning means???
BPP installing new Eradispeed's on my vert right now, so I guess I should know what this is..

Thanks,
Richard
http://home.adelphia.net/~reikeland/Corvette.html


[Modified by eikeland, 12:15 PM 1/15/2002]

 

eikeland

The new rotors need to go through a process where the rotors are heated and cooled. Supposedly this has an effect on the material and will increase their effectiveness and life. I have also heard that correctly seasoned rotors and pads will result in less noise.

There are actually two, but similar, procedures. One for new rotors and one for new pads. Baer actually recommends seasoning rotors with used pads. I am on business (travel) now and don't have my instruction sheets in front of me. I will attempt to post the instructions when I return home, maybe under tech tips.

 

Like Chuck Broten I also follwed the procedure of driving gently for a week then doing the bedding in process very early on a Sunday morning. I can't find the instructions on the Baer website again so have posted them below. Sorry it's rather long...

What proper “Rotor Preparation” is all about
The first step in preparing the brake system for duty is to “SEASON” the rotors. The most visible effects are that of burning the machine oils from the surface of the iron and establishing a wear pattern between the pad and rotor. The most complex task it performs is that of relieving the internal stresses within the material. If you’ve ever poured water into a glass of ice, and noticed the ice cracking, then you’ve witnessed, first hand, the effects of internal stresses. The rotor casting and cooling processes leave the rotor with internal stresses.

By gradually heating the material, the crystalline matrix will reconfigure to relieve these internal stresses. After these stresses are relieved, the rotor is ready to accept the heat of bedding pads. Heating the rotors before they are fully seasoned can result in material deformation due to the unrelieved internal stresses in the material. This deformation may cause a vibration from the brakes. In order to prevent this vibration, all PRO-RACE+ rotors are trued before shipping.

Rotors need to be gradually elevated to “race” temperatures before any severe use. A “nibble”, or slight vibration, normally indicates rotors that were heated too quickly. After initial “Seasoning”, when running your car at open track events or serious canyon carving, you should use the first lap of a session (or first couple miles of open road), to warm the brakes as well as the engine, gearbox, etc. Where an engine turns chemical energy into motion, the brakes turn that motion into thermal energy....and lots of it! And where there is no cooling system for the brakes as there is for the engine, and there’s not, the brakes could use the courtesy of a warm-up lap.

Remember to ALWAYS WARM THE BRAKES before any heavy use!
Seasoning Procedure:
1. Before you begin, please note: The following represents the minimum recommended “Seasoning” process. If your situation offers any opportunity to perform gentle preliminary “Seasoning” outlined in Step 2 below for a longer period of time, this will generally render even better performance and increase further long term rotor life.
2. Use the vehicle for 5 to 6 days of gentle driving. Use the brakes to the same extent that you used the stock brakes, DO NOT TEST PERFORMANCE or ATTEMPT HEAVY USE UNTIL ALL ITEMS OUTLINED HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. It is imperative that excessive heat is not put into the rotors at this stage. They need temperature-cycling to relieve the internal stresses.
Note: Zinc plated rotors (which are an extra cost option) need a couple of extra days of driving to wear through the plating before “Seasoning” actually will begin.
3. Find a safe location where the brakes can be run to temperature.
A. Your goal is to gradually increase brake temperatures with progressively faster stops. Start by performing FOUR 60 to 70 mph stops, as you would in the normal course of driving.
B. Next, perform FOUR medium effort partial stops (about 50 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with (5) minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool.
C. Then, perform FOUR medium-hard effort partial stops (about 75 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with (10) minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool.
D. Park the car and allow the brakes to cool overnight to ambient temperature. You are now 50 % done with the rotor “Seasoning/Bedding” procedure, proceed to STEP 4 the following day.
4. Return to the safe location where the brakes can be run to temperature.
A. Make sure the brakes are warmed to full operating temperature and then, perform (4) medium effort partial stops (about 50 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with (5) minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool.
B. Then, perform (4) medium-hard effort partial stops (about 75 %) from 60 mph down to 15 mph. Follow this with (10) minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool.
C. NOW, make (6) HARD partial stops from 60+ mph down to 15 mph or until rotors have reached an operation temperature of between 900 and 1,100° (Note: Temperature paints to accurately measure rotor temperature may be purchased from Baer Racing). Every effort should be made to perform this procedure without locking a wheel. Follow this with (10) minutes of freeway driving with LITTLE to NO BRAKING to allow the rotors to cool.
5. Let the system cool off over night. The rotors are then ready for the next step in Preparing your Brake System: Bedding Pads.
Bedding Pads
Bedding brake pads has a couple of important effects
The friction material in semi-metallic pads is held together by an organic binder, usually a type of phenolic material. As the pads get hot, the binder boils, and burns, from the top surface of the pad. Once this burning or “Bedding” takes place the friction material makes proper contact with the rotor.

Some race/performance pads, like the Performance Friction’s line of pads, are designated as “pre-burnished” from the manufacturer. In our experience these pads still benefit from“bedding”. “Bedding” pads establishes a wear pattern between the pads and rotor. Some pads, like the Performance Friction pads, deposit a layer of carbon in the surface of the rotor. They need that layer of carbon to perform at peak efficiency.

Most Baer Claw™ systems which are equipped with PBR calipers, SS/DRAG, SPORT, TRACK, and TRACK+, come standard with metallic pads. However, PBR based A-SEDAN systems, as well as PRO-RACE and PRO-RACE+ Systems with the Alcon calipers feature carbon metallic pads from either Pagid, Performance Friction or Tekstar.
Bedding Metallic or Carbon/Metallic Pads - (NEVER DRAG the brakes)
1. Note: Never “Bed” pads on rotors which have not first been “Seasoned.” Always allow a substantial coast down zone when bedding pads that will allow you to safely drive the car to a stop in the event of fade.
A. Perform (4) repeated light to medium stops, from 65 to 10 mph, to bring the rotors to temperature.
2. Perform (2) heavy stops, back to back, at a point just pending wheel lock, from 65 mph to about 5 mph.
3. Drive for (5) to (10) minutes to create cooling airflow, without using the brakes if at all possible.
4. Perform (3) light stops in succession.
5. Perform (8) heavy stops, back to back, at a point just pending wheel lock, from 65 mph to about 5 mph.
6. Drive for (10) minutes to create cooling airflow, without using the brakes if at all possible.
Metallic brake pads need high temperatures to keep the pad “Bedded”. If you drive the car for a period of time without using the brakes extensively, you may need to “Bed” the pads again. This is not a problem. Simply repeat the procedure.

When switching from Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads to semi-metallic brake pads (something we do not recommend), you will need to wear through the layer of carbon that the PFC pads have deposited in the rotor surface. The new pads won’t grip well at all, until this layer of carbon is removed.

Racers should “Bed” a few sets of pads at a time. In the event you need to change brake pads during a race, you MUST use a set of “Bedded” pads. Racing on “non-bedded” pads leads to a type of “fade” caused by the binding agents coming out of the pad too quickly. This is called “green fade”. These binders may create a liquid (actually a gas) layer between your pads and rotors. Liquids have a very poor coefficient of friction. This condition is the reason for reverse slotting or crossdrilling rotors, as it allows a pathway for the gasses to escape.

If any of this is unclear or you have comments, please call us at (602) 233-1411.

 

What the hell did I get myself into. I just ordered these rotors and now I am scared to put them on. Sounds like I need a weekend to do all of this. Is all of this really necessary??

:confused:

 

Thanks a Million times for this detailed info.
Now I know what I have to do when I get my vert back from BPP.

Richard

 

It looks much worse than it is, it only took half an hour or so to do. I found that on the penultimate stop the brake pedal became noticeably soft and on the last one I had that major :eek: Ican'tstoppleasedon'tgetinmyway feeling !! So really do make sure you're on a clear dry straight road !

 

te51cle is right. I've had mine on for about 5 days now, and I'm getting there. I did pay close attention to my braking style before I did the switch. I've got a MN6, so I make it a point to use the trans to slow me down. This way, the brakes get mildly heated for a week. This Friday I'm gonna do the first night of heavy use. Park it till Saturday and then run it Sat morning. Leave it for 5 hours or to, then I should be good to go. One thing I would recommend, and I didn't do this, is to use your old pads for the initial break in. I didn't, and the new ones squealin a bit, which drives me nuts. You'll be fine, take it easy for a few days and the brakes will be fine.
Dave

 

Thanks for the advice, but my second question got buried: I was able to do the first cycle of seasoning the rotors, but due to traffic, was not able to complete the other seasoning steps and the bedding of pads steps. Can I now start over?????????? Looks like I'll have to do this in the dead of night on the highway, and hope the CHP doesn't spot me making all those crazy stops!!!

 

Do you have an industrial park nearby? That's where I'm planning on going. There are straights long enough to get some speed, plus it's all level.
Dave

 

I never seasoned mine. Had them 6-8 months with no problems.

Lates,
Justin

 

Would having the rotors cryo-treated (i.e. heat/cold cycled) be as effective or almost as effective as the seasoning process? (i.e. wouldn't this be essentially the same thing?)
Cheers
Jason

 

teeceemv; If you were able to get the whole first day in you don't have to start over. The reason for seasoning the rotors is when the rotors are cast the metal cools unevenly and it creats stress points in the rotor. When they are heat cycled these stress points are relieved. On the second day of seasoning the rotor needs to get to 900-1100 deg. F. This is the last step to getting rid of the stress points.

If you think your pedal fades on this step, wait till you bed the pads. 8 hard stops in a row from 65 to 5 the smoke rolled off the pads. It sure stops good now, no noise.