larrycr

For those of you who are using race pads on track days, what are you doing about bedding? Do you follow the advice mentioned in the "Avoiding Brake Judder" article and bed the race pads before each event, or do you do something else?<ul><li><a href="http://www.zeckhausen.com/avoiding_brake_judder.htm">Avoiding Brake Judder</a></li></ul>

S4gasbord

The problem was more pronounced going back to street pads from track pads. Some track pads leave very persistent deposits that only turning the rotors will eliminate. I decided that having dedicated track rotors and pads is the way to go. Either that or get brakes good enough for the track without having to use noisy all-out race pads and just run the same setup on the street.

I am running this year's track season on stock components just to see what the car is capable of before I start swapping parts out so I can't comment on race pads in an RS4 yet. If I'm going to get a dedicated set of rotors and pads, the euro ceramic brakes are looking likea better option all the time.

larrycr

I will be interested in hearing your conclusions at the end of the season. I've been to only one event in my RS4 - Road America last September. The front pads were down to 2mm after that event, with only light street duty on them up to that point (about 4500 miles on the odo). Taking larryV's advice I have a set of Pagid RS14s for this year (with a load of Motul 600 for brake fluid).

larrycr

Is it sufficient to do it on the track at an ACNA event? Maybe a hot lap or two then drive it easy for the rest of a session? Following the procedure literally on the street seems like an invitation for a local deputy to inquire into your sobriety/sanity (and force you to come to a stop with hot pads).

S4gasbord

of full disclosure. I consider the brake lines and fluid a "safety of flight" issue so I changed them. I don't think they significantly improve braking performance aside from ease of modulation.

As for the bedding procedure, I guess you could do it at the track if you plan to slowly work up to speed over several run sessions. Those who want to run like a bat out of hell from the very first session should probably bed them in before they get to the track.

I had RS14 Yellows on my B5 S4 at Road America and managed to get complete brake fade in turn 5. It wasn't boiling brake fluid, it was the pads outgassing so bad they turned into miniature hovercraft. This despite bedding them in before getting to the track. The RS4-2-1 Blacks are better in terms of fade but they don't make any for the B5 S4 caliper. I guess The larger caliper and rotor on an RS4 should help the RS14s resist fade. I have not really searched for RS4 track pads yet. There should be many more options since they are Brembo calipers though. I may try Ferodo DS2500 or DS3500 pads next year.

larrycr

Once the pedal started getting long I started backing off a bit at the end of the high speed sections, and braked earlier. That kept it from getting any worse. I was also using the stock brake fluid last year.

Are you going to the ACNA event at Road America this year?

S4gasbord

The funny thing about my brake loss on turn 5 was that the pedal never turned spongy. It wasn't brake fluid boiling. It was pads outgassing so bad they turned into miniature hovercraft on my rotor.

larrycr

That kind of brake failure into 5 isn't something I would care to experience. How did you save yourself?

sykotoy

and you dont nneed to keep changing

S4gasbord

I went straight off into the runoff area and stood on the brakes for all I was worth. I stopped just a few feet short of the barriers.