GeoMet, GeoSpec, Element3, etc. Coated Rotors Break-In

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
16,838
Reaction score
1,165
Coming up on a brake job pretty soon, and I see there are these rotors with zinc platelet paint or something to keep them from rusting. Then I saw they have a crazy break-in procedure, the PowerStops say you need to do 30 decelerations from 30-5 mph, without fully stopping, and allowing 30 seconds for cooling between each deceleration. Then you park the car for 20 mins to let the brakes cool. How you could find someplace adjacent to where you are doing your brakes, where you could drive like that for something like a half hour, I don't know. If you have to stop, you are supposed to take your foot off the brakes (neutral/park) so you don't mark the rotor with the pads. I mean unless you have access to a giant empty parking lot right next to your house or brake shop, so you can drive 30mph, brake to 5mph, drive along at 5mph for 30 seconds, reaccelerate to 30 mph, and do it 30 times.

So I thought that was crazy so I looked at the DFC similar rotors, and their break-in was WORSE.

Anybody ever use these kind of rotors? The Raysbestos coating is Element3, they may all be the same coating, though.
 
Seems to me they could be pre-broken in from the factory, they could even sell them with the pads they were broken in with as a kit. Some automated machine could do it far more reliably than most customers.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk
 
I installed the Raybestos Element3's on my car. I just drove around on some quieter back roads that didn't have much traffic. First couple times braking would probably scrub the coating off the surface of the rotor.
 
Did you use the Element3 pads? I'm not sure I got far enough to look for the Raybestos break-in instructions. How do you like the rotors (and pads?)?
 
No. There were limited pad options for my car at the time so I went with OEM. Would have gone with Akebono if they were available.

The rotors are good. There's maybe some mild corrosion but not anything close to the OEM rotors, which were terrible.
 
The procedures you show are a little different from what I've seen in the past. I'm more used to seeing a smaller number of high-speed stops that get the pads red hot vs a large number of low speed stops. I could probably pull off a bunch of 30 to 5 mph stops pretty easily compared to some of the 60 to almost stopped stops some pad makers dictate.

Large parking lots are the best bet or quiet back road late at night is another. If you have to drive to the location it likely won't be the death of the pads and rotors.
 
Desertnate said:
The procedures you show are a little different from what I've seen in the past. I'm more used to seeing a smaller number of high-speed stops that get the pads red hot vs a large number of low speed stops.
Click to expand...

The DFC (GeoSpec) instructions were like that:

1. Engage hard braking at 40 mph. Do not come to a complete stop.
2. Go 50 mph and jam the brakes just to the point of engaging ABS all the way down to 10 mph. Do not come to a complete stop, repeat this process 4 times.
3. Then go 65 mph and slow the car down to 15 mph to finish it up.
4. Park the car and let the brakes cool down for 20 minutes.
 
For bedding in brakes really the name of the game is just getting some of the brake pad material embedded into the rotor.

What I do at work (we only use the rotors that come with the zinc paint coating) -
1: Back out of the shop and drag the pedal the length of the parking lot to scrape as much of the paint off using the trailing edge of the pad. Next, do the same forward (drag brakes with mild/moderate pressure to scuff the paint), and backwards one more time. Admittedly much of this is likely just a satisfying of OCD thing. The logic behind it is to avoid having as much paint in the face of the pad as it can lead to hot spots in the pad (which are now the hardest part of the pad, causing grooves and squeaking).
2: Test drive: Get out on the highway and perform several firm stops (not so hard as to engage ABS, not so soft as to just coast down), allowing some time at speed (probably 1/2 mile?) to allow things to cool off. I prefer to drive at highway speed to let things cool off as opposed to letting it sit in the parking lot where you could get pad kiss marks from prolonged contact.
3: And done.

To be honest I don't think I've looked in the package to see what the brake pad or brake rotor manufacturers ask for for a bedding procedure. This is what I've been doing for... a number of years now... and I've not had issues with brake squeak or shudder.
 
I installed Raybestos E3 rotors on my Explorer with Wagner OEx pads a few months back.
Basically all I did was take it around the block and used the brakes a few times, that was it.
My wife has been driving it and I've driven it a few times since (couple 1000 miles) and they feel good and smooth.

Now, for my Mustang, I do a significantly different process since I was going to use the car on a road coarse where the rotors get red hot.
I season the rotors (slowly heat to 'warm' and cool) and then bed the pads (slowly heat to 'scorching hot' and cool).

Most people don't really need to worry about seasoning and bedding because they don't heat the brakes up enough to cause issues. Daily driving, stop and go traffic really doesn't heat brakes up that much.

Watch this video if you want way too much info.

How to Bed-in / Burnish Brake Pads and Rotors - YouTube
 
Odrapnew said:
I installed Raybestos E3 rotors on my Explorer with Wagner OEx pads a few months back. Basically all I did was take it around the block and used the brakes a few times, that was it.
Click to expand...

I couldn't find a break-in procedure on the Raybestos website, so I messaged them and they told me they have no break-in procedure.

oneheadlite said:
What I do at work (we only use the rotors that come with the zinc paint coating) -
1: Back out of the shop and drag the pedal the length of the parking lot
Click to expand...

Since you have probably done more brake jobs just so far this year than I have in my entire life, I'm listening. When you say "drag the pedal", that's one foot on the brake and one on the gas?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top