Finally getting my brakes done...

[RandomFact314]

Hey I went and got some brake pads, I got Duralast Cmax Gold ceramic pads, the reviews online are freaking great for them. Im going to take the car to a shop as soon as my gps fixes (its broken) and get them to resurface the rotors and put the pads on. The pads have a life time warranty if they ever wear down I get a new set free cant argue with that...

Anyways, question is... How should I break in the brakes? correctly?

[Daox]

You can bed in brakes a few different ways. Some say just press your brakes while traveling down the road. Some others say speed up and slam on the brakes a half dozen times. The main thing is just to get them hot so they deposit a layer of brake material on the disc. Once the brakes are heated up, make sure you don't come to a complete stop with the brakes applied. If you stop when everything is still hot, this layer is not even anymore. So, drive around a bit until they are cooled off.

[99LeCouch]

Just drive like normal. They'll bed themselves as you drive.

I have these same pads, and they stop quite well. I just slapped them onto my old, still-fine rotors without issue. I did have to file down the mounting tabs to get them to slide smoothly in the brackets since my car's quite rusty.

[stevet47]

Brake pads are meant to wear out. I am pretty sure the warranty if for if they are defective, not for when they wear out.
They are good pads though. I bed in mine by a series of successive stops, increasing in speed.

[99LeCouch]

steve, the warranty also covers normal wear. The counter guy explicitly mentioned to me that the wear warranty is good for up to 4 sets of new pads. They enter your phone number into the computer to keep track of the warranty.

Seeing how these are good, long-wearing (I hope!) and have the wear warranty, you effectively are buying pads for the rest of your ownership of the car. And if they're good daily-driving pads for hyper-aggressive Evo drivers, they are likely sufficient for my highway-cruiser Buick.

AutoZone is the only place still offering a warranty on normal wear. It's a holdover from the old days.

[QuickLTD]

It's marketing 101. Chances are you will need/buy something else while in the store so in the long run they make money from your return visits.

[stevet47]

Originally Posted by QuickLTD

It's marketing 101. Chances are you will need/buy something else while in the store so in the long run they make money from your return visits.

9 out of 10 people probably forget about the warranty too.
Pretty cool though.

[99LeCouch]

And you have to bring in the old pads to exchange. They make you work for it.

Fortunately my bike is set up to haul light loads, and I have no problem walking in with the bike in tow. Or getting a ride if the weather stinks.

As long as you are okay with making an extra trip there and aren't tempted to buy other stuff it's a decent deal.