Paragon P3 bed-in process

[shijima_ending]

Hi all, I'm not the most mechanically-inclined so bear with me.

I ordered P3 pads all around with shims for the front -- and I'm just now looking at the bed-in process after buying them (shame on me). I'm taking a look at this link and... is this process practically not achievable on public roads or am I just looking at the steps too literally?

A few things that stood out to me:

"Avoid coming to a complete stop using the brakes."
"Block off brake ducts if necessary to allow optimal bedding-in temperature."
"Do not apply emergency brakes right after bedding-in as this may distort the rear rotors."

And just overall their steps for stop and go and cruising just seem impossible to do exact.

Are most of these steps for paragon rotors specifically (I'm on stock rotors)? Do these steps really even matter since it's a street/light-track pad? Or can I do the basic bed-in process for almost any other pad which is no hard braking and no overheating the brakes for 200-300 miles?

Thanks

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[Rhorn]

I bought the P3 Pads and did exactly what the procedure called for. I did 10 stops for the first time and 3 for the higher speed sessions.

I drove around in my neighborhood and did it. I did it around 9/10 at night where there weren't people walking about. I wouldn't recommend it doing it on a road unless you do it at an ungodly hour like 2AM in the morning.

I'd say yes the steps matter, and generally those are the steps. The pads I have on now are CSG pads and I bought a set that was prebedded but those were only for the front. The rears werent prebedded and I didnt bed them in and I could see pad deposit on my rear rotors during my track day.

You do not want to use your e-brake or parking brake at all because it can meld to the rotor because of the heat, and you definitely want to do the 20 minutes of driving above 60 or whatever speed it says so that it will cool down the brakes. Not sure what the logic is behind not coming to a complete stop but most bed-in procedures say to always go from a speed down to ~5mph.

I used 2 sets of Paragons. The first time I bedded them as soon as I put them on, second time I did it the day before I went to the track. I think the brake pads will be fine to not bed in for street use but you'd definitely want to do it on the day of or before your track day.

 

[shijima_ending]

I bought the P3 Pads and did exactly what the procedure called for. I did 10 stops for the first time and 3 for the higher speed sessions.

I drove around in my neighborhood and did it. I did it around 9/10 at night where there weren't people walking about. I wouldn't recommend it doing it on a road unless you do it at an ungodly hour like 2AM in the morning.

I'd say yes the steps matter, and generally those are the steps. The pads I have on now are CSG pads and I bought a set that was prebedded but those were only for the front. The rears werent prebedded and I didnt bed them in and I could see pad deposit on my rear rotors during my track day.

You do not want to use your e-brake or parking brake at all because it can meld to the rotor because of the heat, and you definitely want to do the 20 minutes of driving above 60 or whatever speed it says so that it will cool down the brakes. Not sure what the logic is behind not coming to a complete stop but most bed-in procedures say to always go from a speed down to ~5mph.

I used 2 sets of Paragons. The first time I bedded them as soon as I put them on, second time I did it the day before I went to the track. I think the brake pads will be fine to not bed in for street use but you'd definitely want to do it on the day of or before your track day.

Thanks for the info.

I do plan on going to my first track day later this year. I bought P3's because I know I am an amateur and probably don't need more. But I want them to get installed soon because even just canyon driving glazed my pads considerably and I don't consider myself to be that reckless.

I'll try to do some bedding in at night like you recommended. But because I have a while before my first track day, am I good to not bed them in down to a T?

 

[RacingManiac]

The main goal is to heat up the pad enough to leave the pad transfer layer onto the rotor(also the repeats is so that you do it evenly). Do you have to do it to a T? Probably not, but the number of stops(to get enough temp and evenness ) and cool down really whats important. You are not likely going to get the kind of usage out of the brake in normal traffic. You could also potentially do it at the track day, just by running reduced pace lap and cool down in your earlier session or something. But the procedure is just a easier and consistent recipe to follow.

As to why not come to a complete stop(while on the brake) I think its to avoid have a stationary pad to rotor contact while its hot, that's when its easiest to leave local pad material on a spot on the rotor, and that's where you will likely get vibration in the pedal. Its the same reason why you don't want to use e-brake coming to a stop when it hot too. Rear rotor being a solid disc it is most likely to get warpage since you will have the contact spot that is hot while the rest of the rotor cools down and the uneven cooling causes the warpage....

 

[Rhorn]

Thanks for the info.

I do plan on going to my first track day later this year. I bought P3's because I know I am an amateur and probably don't need more. But I want them to get installed soon because even just canyon driving glazed my pads considerably and I don't consider myself to be that reckless.

I'll try to do some bedding in at night like you recommended. But because I have a while before my first track day, am I good to not bed them in down to a T?

What do you mean by bedding them down yo a T? I'd just follow the procedure and if you are worried you can just do it again before your first track day.

You can also re-bed in your pads. Its not like you get once chance to do it.

 

[shijima_ending]

What do you mean by bedding them down yo a T? I'd just follow the procedure and if you are worried you can just do it again before your first track day.

You can also re-bed in your pads. Its not like you get once chance to do it.

Got it. Was just thinking because I believe improper bed-in can result in rotor damage, but correct me if I'm wrong

 

[shijima_ending]

The main goal is to heat up the pad enough to leave the pad transfer layer onto the rotor(also the repeats is so that you do it evenly). Do you have to do it to a T? Probably not, but the number of stops(to get enough temp and evenness ) and cool down really whats important. You are not likely going to get the kind of usage out of the brake in normal traffic. You could also potentially do it at the track day, just by running reduced pace lap and cool down in your earlier session or something. But the procedure is just a easier and consistent recipe to follow.

As to why not come to a complete stop(while on the brake) I think its to avoid have a stationary pad to rotor contact while its hot, that's when its easiest to leave local pad material on a spot on the rotor, and that's where you will likely get vibration in the pedal. Its the same reason why you don't want to use e-brake coming to a stop when it hot too. Rear rotor being a solid disc it is most likely to get warpage since you will have the contact spot that is hot while the rest of the rotor cools down and the uneven cooling causes the warpage....

Thanks for the clarification. Regarding the second part, I guess I'll try to do some bed-in at night so I don't have to come to complete stops and can just do U-turns in the middle of our roads. But when can I use my e-brake? I park on an incline and I hate letting the car rest on the transmission.

 

[RacingManiac]

Once you finished the process if the brakes cooled completely you can use the e brake just fine

 

[shijima_ending]

Once you finished the process if the brakes cooled completely you can use the e brake just fine

Oh okay, makes sense. Thanks

 

[jpindustrie]

Eh the P3’s aren’t that aggressive, I think you’d be fine ‘breaking in’ with daily driving.
Typically that type of ’thermal break in’ is for more aggressive pads so as others have said ensure a layer of transfer. However IME you really only can do that effectively at the track because once you get through that whole process - the transfer layer will go away once you go back to the street and do normal driving again.

 

[shijima_ending]

Eh the P3’s aren’t that aggressive, I think you’d be fine ‘breaking in’ with daily driving.
Typically that type of ’thermal break in’ is for more aggressive pads so as others have said ensure a layer of transfer. However IME you really only can do that effectively at the track because once you get through that whole process - the transfer layer will go away once you go back to the street and do normal driving again.

I see, so it's not really a matter of breaking in the new pads the right way because the surface is brand new, but rather to get the pads and rotors to have an optimal layer in between for performance use?

 

[madbikes]

Correct. Bedding is to establish proper friction surface between your brake pads onto the rotor. More emphasized on sporty brake pads, but average street pads can benefit from this too.

People who swap between street and track pads for track days also do this for proper operation.

 

[Rhorn]

Got it. Was just thinking because I believe improper bed-in can result in rotor damage, but correct me if I'm wrong

It depends on what you do to cause the "improper bed-in" if you go to a complete stop or using the e-brake then yeah. I did the bed in procedure on my way to the track (it was early in the morning and I was on the backroads going through the boonies) and the brakes get HOT. Because it was dark out, on the last few stops I could see sparks coming from my brakes



If you dont brake hard enough and get scrubbing usually you could just try again or upgrade to a more aggressive pad to 'scrub' off the rotors.

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