ML63 AMG

Fellow ML63 owners,

Been busy making some changes to the car as of late. Long story short, my front & rear rotors were basically shot b/c of tracking the car heavily, I ate through both my brake pads & my rotors all the way down almost to the metal. The front rotors did not even have the cross-drilled looking dimples anymore .

Instead of just replacing them with the ridiculously heavy stock units, I started asking around to see if there were other possible options. Unfortunately there were no direct replacement 390mm 2-piece rotors on the market. I did not want to just replace with stock rotors b/c that is basically a massive waste of money, might as well upgrade at the time of replacement. I noticed of the few possible brand options around to see if they could help in custom application, Brembo said 100% absolutely not (they cannot do 'wide annul' rotors). Evosport at the time had alot of issues and major delays, which I could not afford. I noticed that Eurocharged is a distributor of RacingBrake rotors. At the time they did not have any available for my application, but I begged & pleaded them to get a set made. One reason I chose RacingBrake is their unique vented slots (air actually escapes out of the slots in the rotor itself), and also dual directional cooling (it pulls air from both front & behind the rotor to cool the disc so they typically run cooler on the track than other rotor designs).

Finally after 12 weeks of waiting time the first development set had officially been produced and I couldn't wait to do a writeup on them naturally.

The stock rotors are an insane 390mm @ 36lbs each. The rears are 365mm @ 26lbs each. The Racing Brake rotors are alittle under 28lbs each. By simply swapping the front rotors, the unsprung rotating mass was reduced by 16lbs on the front axle alone!

The RacingBrake rotors are also made from a VERY hard steel alloy (The hardest of any brake manufacturer, insanely hard). For that reason, you cannot even run ceramic pads with them so you have to really pick & choose your pads carefully. This has both pros/cons. You can run a much more aggressive pad if you want and it won't eat up the rotors as quickly. However, the con I quickly learned was they take a LONG time to fully bed in the pads. (more on this later) ...

Pads: I opted for the Stoptech Street Performance pads because I wanted zero noise and great cold bite but without any squeal or noise. They are better than stock pads on the track too (and the stock pads did great on the track).

Fluid: I did downgrade fluid from old used Superblue, to stock fluid (just to flush out all the "blue" dye, I won't be running Superblue anymore, I will run Castrol SRF from now on during race season. Because I downgraded at the same time, I won't know the full effectiveness of the setup until I upgrade again to a must higher temp fluid again.

Initial impressions:

The initial pedal feel when doing any new set of pads/rotors is always very poor because you need to bed in both the pads & the rotors at the same time so the first 50 miles do not expect them to brake well at all (completely normal). It is a bit scary at first but just give yourself a good 10-12 hard stops from 60-20 or 80-30mph and then let it cool off for an hour or two and repeat (you may have to repeat this entire procedure up to 10x over the following week, I'm not joking). The simple 6-8 stops will NOT do. A full pad break in took at LEAST 200 miles of heavy stopping (no joke). I have never seen a set of Steel Alloy rotors this hard in my entire life and I've been through quite a few different brakes. Brembos are like butter by comparison during the break in process. With that said, the these rotors will probably last 2-3x as long under normal & track driving conditions, so again its a double-edge sword. But for purposes of durability I doubt anything else on the market can compare.

Now that they are fully bedded in the braking power is pretty astonishing. I can't wait to put in the race fluid (which will help pedal feedback even moreso than stock). I do feel like the stoptech pads do like to get slightly warm before they really bite super hard, but even completely cold its stock if not better. The big difference appears to be fade. I am locking up all 4 tires at over 100mph+ lol, so they are definitely working to say the least.

Another unexpected improvement is the front axle now absorbs bumps much better before, I feel as if the front wheels now follow the contours of the road much better before and don't feel as "airborne" over big bumps or etc. The air suspension seems to really like reduction in unsprung rotating mass (even more so than a spring/strut setup).

The Rear rotors unfortunately are not yet developed so for the mean time I just put in new stock pads until I can get them to hopefully make new rear sets. If enough ML63 owners contact them and show demand they will make rears for a full matching set. The weight reduction on the rears probably won't be as much, but every little bit counts.

The fronts are already available on sale on their website for those interested. http://www.racingbrake.com/

Ordered from Eurocharged: www.eurocharged.com

Also, I would like to thank Motorwerks of Houston for the great install job, they did it and only charged 2 hours for rotors & pads! www.mwhouston.com

have attached pictures for your enjoyment

ML63 AMG


EDIT: Long Term Update, Post #86

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ML63 AMG

I take that back ... it appears the 2-piece rotors are now officially up on their website too. I am going to have to order a set here pretty soon once I get more accurate weight specs on the rears (they used the front weight specs by accident). I also noticed that we share identical rotors to the R63 AMG ... did not know that until I looked at their application chart on their website.

Front: http://www.racingbrake.com/Two-piece...ONT-p/2222.htm

Rear: http://www.racingbrake.com/Two-piece...EAR-p/2223.htm

ML63 AMG

It appears they have corrected the weight specs on the rear rotors and the mass reduction appears to be massive (over 10 lbs). I will be ordering a set of the rears too and doing a review of them as well once they arrive.

I will notice that replacement rotors costs are even cheaper than OEM in most cases so over time it should save money as you only have to replace the discs and not the entire hat assembly.

carnutC55

Great post! Glad to see alternative options out there now for the ML63. Although, $1695 for a front pair??? I just bought a pair of OEM front rotors from my local dealer for $400 (I got discount pricing, just asked). Doesn't seem the upgrade is cost efficient, as they would have to outlast 4 sets of OEM rotors...

Also, there are 2 MB rotor options... what the dealer now sells as OEM is the "dimpled" rotor now... however, prior to creating the dimpled rotor all ML63's and R63's were truly cross-drilled, not just dimpled. These did weigh less, and were not as thick. I don't know if they were 2-piece. Both my new 2007 and new 2009 ML63 came from the factory with these cross-drilled rotors. I understand you can still get the true "cross drilled" rotors, which save weight. Perhaps they are a European MB part?

Thanks for the informative post! I look forward to seeing more aftermarket products developed for these cars.

ML63 AMG

If you email them for a combo price I am sure they will accomodate you for front & rear. Remember, rotating unsprung is 4x more effective than regular body weight, so reducing your entire unsprung rotating mass by 70-80lbs (total from wheels, brakes & tires). Is like reducing body weight by 280-320lbs. It's makes a big difference in the way the car behaves. Dmpeld and non dimpled both weight 36 lbs, neither of them is 2-piece, they are single heavy 1-piece cast steel.

It's worth every penny if you understood just how big of a difference it makes, plus you are also not factoring replacement costs. When you replace them, you just by the disc, not the entire rotor assembly. So it's actually much less over time.

The rears are over 10 lbs lighter each, that will definitely help out for sure.

Will report my findings soon ...

Clk63blkseries

Why waste a great set up with stock fluid for any reason? Go to motul at least, Stock is a waste of time on the track and Blue is ok or light cars but a truck you have to be on Motul or SRF.

P.S slotted is much better then cross drilled on the track sorry to the street guys but slotted is for street guys that think they are fast. It all about moving gasses away from the pad while loosing as little surface as possible

xxGenericSNxx

Thanks for sharing this information.

I wanted to ask with the stock setup, did you ever run non OEM pads? I just find that the stock pads give off way too much brake dust. After <100 miles of driving I already have a nice layer of dust.

What's your brake dust like with the new pads?

cm60k

Very good find,, Thankss for sharing......

ZAYED,,

ML63 AMG

I don't run stock fluid on the track ... Who said I did. I ran super blue last race season, I just flushed it out with stock fluid temporarily to get all the dye out of the system until I put I Castrol SRF in (as I already mentioned). New fluid goes in a few weeks.

I am running slotted rotors as mentioned. Please read more carefully.

Xxgeneric - Its still to early to tell about brake dust yet, so far I would say its slightly less dust than stock, it's not a huge amount less, you need ceramics to drop brake dust that much, but ceramics are not compatible with RacingBrake rotors so that was not an option. If you want ceramic street pads, Carbotech 1521 pads are the best money can buy IMO, and they can custom make a set for any car.

xxGenericSNxx

Thanks for the reply. Have you used the Carbotech 1521 pads before on either this car or another application? I'm fairly new to learning about aftermarket brake components but have heard that ceramic pads are the best to reduce dust and their only drawback seems to be squeal when the brake temp is low.

Can you give me any more information about the ceramic pads and comparisons between other ceramic brands such as Carbotech vs. Akebono. Is the 1521 the one I want because it's for street use and has minimal dust- how would you say it compares to the other compound lines in Carbotech's lineup? (I'll only be driving my car on the street)

BTW how's the ML63 run on the track? Your track doesn't give you grief for running an SUV on there? Lots of tracks don't like trucks running on their due to the added liability.

I think I read before that slotted rotors wear down your brake pads faster. Is that a concern that you have with this set of rotors that you're putting on?

Thanks so much for the information!

ML63 AMG

Xxgeneric - yes I have run the Carbotech 1521 pads on my Aston Martin Vantage, and I was absolutely blown away at how good they were for the street. They are the best street pad money can buy as long as you don't plan on tracking the car. They have almost zero dust, they are completely silent, and they have minimal wear properties so your rotors will last much longer. I actually got them because my stock Aston pads were squealing, and the 1521 cured them. They have amazing initial bite when cold and exhibit no fade on the street. I would say 80% of the fade on our cars is actually caused by the fluid and not the pads, so if you upgrade fluid even on stock pads that will eliminate most of your fade problems.

The ML63 is a track monster haha, actually you would be surprised the level of respect you get when you are passing up alot of the other sports cars out there.

In theory slotted rotors can wear down pars faster, but that depends on various factors like rotors surface, slot design, pad compound, etc etc. but it's not that pad, certainly not for the street, you will still get plenty of life out of them.

xxGenericSNxx

Thank you, this is all really valuable information. And yes, those V8 Vantage brakes squeal like no other. My friend has one and when he got the brakes done we were getting so many bad looks at the stop lights because of how loud it was during the break in.

To be honest, haven't noticed any fade issues on my stock brakes.

Clk63blkseries

"I am running slotted rotors as mentioned. Please read more carefully."
I can read but you should read my post which was directed at someone else who brought up why not slotted rotors

"I just flushed it out with stock fluid temporarily to get all the dye out of the system " why do that to me its a waste of time just flush it with the fluid you want why bleed twice ? My point is for people who want to save time that there is no need to bleed twice.

ML63 AMG

The Brakes have really come into their own over the past 5000 miles. They are fully bedded in now and seen multiple track days. They have passed whatever I could throw at them with flying colors. The braking power is so greatly improved now that I actually now have more brakes than tires ... as a result even on track I never really need to go past 80% brake input otherwise it will lock up the tires so now my braking inputs have become much smoother (actually making me a better driver ironically enough). Threshold braking comes much sooner now but the overall braking performance has been fantastic. (Pictures attached below, you can see the wear goes al the way to the inner lip edge. Once this portion starts wearing you get full 100% braking force).


Good news: The REAR rotors are now finally available on RacingBrakes website... I will be buying the rear set of rotors very soon as well. The rear rotors alone save 10lbs EACH!

RacingBrake

Excellent feedback and I think this is most helpful to other ML63 owners who are considering the same upgrade, and since you own the very first set of light weight ML63 two piece rotors, so you have all the honor and prestige to witness how much improvement you can gain on track or even daily street driving and I just want to say a big "Thank You"

We have the discs but the front hats are yet to be made (about 6 weeks leadtime), so we like to know if we run a GB you guys are interested in pre-orders.

ML rotors are one of the largest rotors we ever made (comparable to Nissan GT-R and Corvette ZR1 @390mm), and we are proud to be able to produce these finest rotors with lasting performance for your 63ML.

ML63 AMG

Yes, Please run a Group Buy! I already know of one of my friends who wants a full set of 4 right as well. I need a set of rears, so that's 6 rotors right there. So it will take 6 weeks to have the rears ready from the time I order?

Anyone else like to join in? I promise you they are worth every penny and not that much more than the OEM rotors at the dealership.

Thanks again RacingBrake, I can't wait to try out the rears, then my project will be officially complete (they only have about 3-5k miles left before the holes are completely worn through.)

xxGenericSNxx

Thanks for the update. I'll look into these rotors when it's time to replace my existing s tock ones!

komp55

Did you consider going all the way and doing Brembo GT kits, front and rear? In addition to lighter discs, the calipers are lighter than the factory units as well.

ML63 AMG

No, its overkill, a ripoff, and the larger diameter discs actually increase the moment of inertia so they will actually slow the car down slightly.

For direct replacement, these are by far a better option as you get to retain the stock calipers. Buying a big brake kit for an SUV is borderline absurd, that makes no sense, especially when the stock rotors are an already massive 390mm. In addition, Brembos use very narrow "annuls" (the actual rotor surface is very narrow so the surface area is actually smaller than the factory design). RacingBrakes were a much better package for a tiny fraction of the cost.

The only thing with RacingBrake rotors is the steel alloy used is so insanely hard and durable, you cannot use ceramic pads on them. The benefit though is they will last twice as long as the stock rotors (well worth it). For that reason the break in process takes longer (about 200+ miles for them to really start biting like crazy)

RacingBrake

Agree, most of our track racing set up 14" (355mm) rotor is the most preferred.

Very good observation here. The stock brake pad has a lining approx 63mm in height, while Brembo's F40 caliper pad is only 53mm which is an one size fit all (330mm to 380mm rotors), smaller pad area means high temperature for the same amount of heat and faster wear.

Rotors (disc) is of cast iron in material, and we added alloys and properly heat-treated our discs to improve the strength and heat handling capacity, so they can deliver more consistent brake torque under higher temperature operation.

Each of our disc is individually tested to make sure they meet our hardness specification (Brinell Scale BHN 200-230) before assembly.

ML63 AMG

Thanks for the specs!

Let us know the group buy price, I have had a few ML owners already ask me about them so there appears to be some decent interest. What's the minimum price you can do and at what quantity?

RacingBrake

Thank you and we will organize a GB as soon as we have some figures and more interests expressed from other M63 (also fits R32) owners whether they like to include the front or not.

Here is the illustration of ML63 (Also fits R63) AMG rear light weight two piece rotor:



Note this ML63 Rear has a big drum E-brake at 210mm, which will be made by our composite material - Aluminum hat with iron sleeve, so you still can retain the full function of stock e-brake yet save a lot of weight.

The thickness is increased to 28mm (from stock's 26mm) for improving the thermal capacity and better match to front's 36mm, which should have no problem in fitting stock caliper with new pads.

We will run fitment test before production release. Despite the thicker rotor, you still save tons of weight; Estd 16.5 lbs vs. OE's 25.5 lbs, you will save 9 lbs per rotor.

Why such a big weight saving is possible?, thanks to the exclusive process that we developed - Our hat is a composite hat using aluminum shell with an iron liner to save weight, yet you still can retain the integrity of the e-brake, unlike other suppliers, who claim light weight without even disclosing that you must delete your e-brake.

ML63 AMG

Awesome!! Fantastic. I can't wait

ML63 AMG

Hey guys,

I have officially ordered my rear 2 pc rotors from RacingBrake. They should increase my weight savings from 70lbs total to nearly 90lbs of rotating unsprung mass reduction (that has to be a production car record haha).

I can't wait to see/feel the results. Hopefully racing brake can get them to me quickly!

Thanks

Rippin'AV

Very interested in this setup once my stock rotors are toast. Sub'd for updates and further info