How can I tell if my Miata brake pads are affecting lap times?

[Victoria_A]

I’ve been running my spec Miata on the same set of brake pads for the last two seasons and I’m starting to wonder if I’m leaving consistent lap time on the table by not changing them more often. The pedal feel is still firm, but I can’t tell if that gradual loss of initial bite I’m sensing is just in my head or a real performance drop.

[ScottNL]

I’ve run the brakes down to a thin layer a couple times and the bite really softened as they aged. The pedal still felt solid, but that first bite wasn’t as eager as it was when fresh. On track I didn’t see a dramatic swing in lap times until the friction material was clearly past its prime, and even then it was more about consistency than outright fade.

[SamuelPW]

I swapped the brake compound mid season and the bite came back; it felt more confident and the corner entry felt quicker, maybe a few tenths on a fast lap. Hard to prove without a controlled test, but the difference was noticeable in one or two sessions.

[Joshua12]

I wonder if that sense of creeping fade is really the issue or if something else is masking it like temp swings. It seems soft on some sessions and fine on others, which makes me doubt it’s just the friction property wearing.

[DavidL]

Do you bed in after a change? I’ve skipped the bedding a couple times and the initial bite felt off until I did a proper bed-in. Not sure if that’s the root, but it did change how the brakes behaved for a session or two.