S80 Brake pad break-in procedure?

asummers · Post by **asummers** » 12 Dec 2008, 07:59

I am going to replace the front rotors and pads soon. I have read an article in the IPD catalog about proper break-in of the pads and rotors.
Does anyone know what this proper break-in procedure is?
Thanks.
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1996 Volvo 850 Platinum - 177,000 miles
2000 Volvo S80 2.9 - 88,000 miles

Post by **billofdurham** » 12 Dec 2008, 12:27

There are several opinions about this ranging from gentle braking only for the first 300-500 miles to driving with the brake on for about 5 minutes then off and accelerate like crazy and brake hard to finally bed the pads in.

I have always used the gentle braking for 300-500 miles, which prevents overheating the brakes, and have never had any problems.

Bill.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 12 Dec 2008, 15:28

I think it depends on what kind of driving you typically will be doing. Because I drive pretty hard and brake hard anyway, I tend to use their method of breaking the pads and rotors in...drive it at about 60-75mph, brake hard until you get down to about 15-20 miles an hour (not a full stop), then drive normal for several minutes, allowing the pads and rotors to cool and then do the above again- repeat 8-10 times. When you drive it for the first day, try to avoid coming to a full stop even when pulling up to a stop sign or light...this will heat and temper the rotor as well as leach the resins out of the pads. When you drive hard later on, your brakes won't fade as fast and tend to last longer...however, the caveat is that if you're a gentle driver anyway, it really doesn't seem to matter and in fact, that Bill said about gentle usage the first several hundred miles will probably prolong the life of your pads and rotors in the long run.

Post by **billofdurham** » 13 Dec 2008, 11:29

I can drive hard if I have to but tend to use acceleration sense rather than brakes initially.

When I bought my 240 with just over 40,000 miles on it the dealer serviced it and told me he had put new pads back and front. After 4 years I sold the car back to him with 102,000 miles on it. He phoned me to ask how I had made the pads last so long as there was still 4mm on them.

It's how I was trained to drive.

Bill.