Brake bedding
Brake bedding is a break-in routine that heats new pads and rotors to lay an even layer of pad material onto the rotor faces.
Also called: bedding in, pad bedding, burnishing
New pads and rotors do not grip their best straight out of the box. Bedding is a sequence of firm stops that brings both up to temperature gradually, cures the resins in the pad, and transfers a thin, even film of pad material onto the rotor. Most of your braking grip then comes from pad material gripping that film.
A typical routine is a series of firm decelerations from moderate speed down to walking pace without coming to a full stop, followed by a long cool-down drive with minimal braking. Always follow the pad manufacturer's specific procedure, and do it at the track or another safe, legal place, never as a high-speed exercise on public roads.
Skipping bedding leads to uneven deposits that feel like a pulsing pedal, often blamed on warped rotors. The other classic mistake is holding the brakes on hard at a standstill when the pads are hot, which can imprint pad material onto the rotor in one spot. After the last stop, roll gently and let air do the cooling.
Properly bedded brakes give a consistent pedal and full stopping power from the first session, which is both faster and safer.