Rotor glaze and ABS sensor

[APXD 30]

What's your take on this?

I have Pagid Yellow RS-29s on the front of my car.   I've used them for Pocono and SP last year.   Usually, I install them about a week or two before and event and remove them immediately after.

This time, I installed them much earlier while bleeding my brakes and drove the car about 500 miles.   I wound up not driving that car at VIR so the pads weren't used at high speed.  I did commute another 200 miles with them in the car (squeaking at every traffic light).

Before I could get them out, the ABS/ESP lights came on.  I scheduled a service appointment and quickly took the pads out myself.  

After driving the car for two days, the light went off and all is well.   Also the rotors seem much shinier now that the stock pads are back.

My question is, did driving the car at low speed contribute to glazing on my rotors and cause the ABS sensor temporarily malfunction?   I plan to install these pads at the track from now on.

[smankow]

must be a vee dub thing

seriously, I don't think that the pagid yellow would cause this.  maybe it was caused by the other work that been done recently.

as for the shiny rotors, did you bed the yellows and then the stock pads?  At a minimum, you should be ok to install the pads before you drive to the track.  Besides, most of the drive is highway to the tracks.

Steve

[APXD 30]

They were bedded properly and already used at the track.    Replacing the oil pan was the only other work and unrelated to this issue.

I think the problem was that I drove the car too long at commuter speeds.   The rotors were grayish black when I changed the pads and noticeably shiner two days later.

[ccm911]

Most likely, the Pagid pad is a bit harder than the factory pads.  As a result, you never got them up to temp while driving on the street at lower speeds.  Since they weren't really biting into the rotor, there was no polishing effect.  Once you put the factory pads back on, they heated up in no time, and bit into the rotors, giving you that nice shiny sheen.

I know when I ran my Hawk blues on the street, the same type of thing happened.  Plus they squealed like Ned Beatty in Deliverance.

[smankow]

Chris, I agree with you about the pads not getting up to temp.  However, I can't see why this would cause an ABS sensor light.  People don't always change back to street pads after an event.  The only issues that I'd heard was the noise and stopping distances.

 

Steve

[APXD 30]

Steve,

I think b/c I put them in early, kept them in late, and didn't track this car lead to some sort of build-up.     The sensor seems fine now.    I will probably keep the service appt I made even though the light is now off.

[Larry Herman]

Just saw this thread.  A point of accuracy, glazing is due to the outgassing of resins in the pad material which adhere to the rotor face and will only occur at very high temperatures.  You really cannot glaze quality brake pads on the street.  Also, the Pagid RS-19s & RS-29s are the some of the most glaze-proof pads I have found.

I think that your problem is that you had the stock pads in the back.  That is a nono!  The friction co-efficient of the front & rear pads will be totally off at cold temps, and it would be very possible to get into the ABS on the rear brakes while the fronts are cold and not really working.  Unless there are special circumstances, run the same pads in the car, front and rear.

[APXD 30]

Larry, you are absolutely correct in your assumption.

I have the yellows on the front (part #8001) and did order oranges for the rear (#1158).    What happened was that the 1158's were the wrong pads.   Although they fit the S4 and Euro MkV, they changed them on the rears of my car.

Pagid does have a part available yet.   I think your conclusion also explains why I had to replace my stock rear pads after 2 DEs running the yellows on the front.

So I shouldn't run the Pagids until the release a rear pad.   Even just at the track?

[smankow]

can you pick up a track pad for the rear other than the Pagid Orange?  Maybe black or one of their sport pads.  Hawk also makes very good pads as does performance friction.

 

Steve

[Larry Herman]

You should run matching pads, as your car's braking system was designed for the same "friction" of brake pad, front & rear.  If you can find a similar rear pad (i.e. Pagid Balcks or Oranges) to go with the RS-29s then it would be better, but not optimal.  You may want to see if Hawk has pads available in the HT-10 compound, as we have found these to work well in Scott's WRX and in Mike's 993.