kc1

Hi guys,

my dad has a 2009 s550 with barely 22,000 miles in 7 years. The brake pads are almost finished and therefore the rotors have lines on 'em. The car was serviced by the local MB dealership who told us that brakes are fine and we will replace the rotors and pads altogether and it will cost upwards of $2000. There is no way in hell that im going to pay them that much money. LOL

I already bought Akebono Euro pads but im not sure about the rotors. I dont want to put cheap centric rotors but since the car is not used that much, there is no point of putting very expensive ones like Zimmerman or Brembo.

So do you guys suggest that i can use the mid range rotors for around $55 on rockautos or should i get the OEM from MB dealership for $105 front each and $80 for rear each.

Any advise is much appriciated. :smile

Thanks,
Rc

T.H.Carrera

check out Pilenga rotors on carid.com. Made in Italy.

DaveW68

That price is crazy ridiculous. I had my front rotors and pads done for around $500 with OEM equipment at my indy. Rears are cheaper, so you should be able to get all 4 corners done with OEM for under $1k.

tx170754

I have done my CL600 front rotors and pads recently, it is extremely easy. If I remember right the OEM rotors/pads were around $350 from http://www.oemautopartsandaccessories.com/support/

YCHU

If it's without sport package, front rotor is $101.25 and the rear one is $74.25 at oediscountparts.com

T.H.Carrera

Keep in mind oem warp easily and cause lots of squeaking... many threads on this.

YCHU

What do you or other members recommend?

belarus27

Centric has different rotors , C tek ones are cheaper ones , but if you get the ones that are just Centric those are good quality. ( have those on mine 2010 e550)

check out R1concepts , or even original zimmerman

1bad540

Put good rotors on the car, why skimp out on a few bucks the car is huge and heavy.

new550

I have used both portfield r4s and akebono pads with OEM Mb rotors for my 2007 4matic...all is well on 2nd set front and back...oem pads suck, from a dust standpoint, but rotors have given me no issues...

kc1

First of all i want to thank everyone for offering useful advice.

Secondly i want to put good rotors and not to skimp on price but im still confused which one to buys. I did some research and no one offers warranties more than a year or two. If the rotors warp after that, then u have to replace them on ur own. MB dealership warranty only applies if i buy OEM rotors + OEM pads.

I want to Akebono pads mainly cause they have very little dust.

I was going to buy OEM rotors from MB but i've heard they warp easily.
Im confused cause there are so many choices. I looked at Brembo, Zimmerman and R1 concepts - all the top quality rotors say they are for high performance use - racing, drifting etc.

Can u guys please suggest any specific rotors.

Thank you for ur support

apsdop

I just came across this thread. My dealer wants $1900 for new brakes/rotors on my 2015 S -- looks like the same hustle.

DaveW68

Shop around to independent shops in your area. You can probably get all brakes and rotors replaced with OEM parts for half of that price.

1bad540

original mercedes rotors are the best ones you can put, they do not warp easily. Every other brand is not as good hence half the price. The better brands like brembo/zimmerman offer very similiar quality for less $$. personally I would go oem or zimmerman,or brembo. and make sure they have a rust coating.

That said brakes on the sclass are easy if you have done brakes before. I swapped on akebono pads when i 1st bought the car. I used hand tools and a floor jack it will take you all of 2 hrs. Especially if you use a jack.

Donnymac

My 2012 is Akebono with OEM rotors.

sfcparker09

For all factory Benz parts gontonthis website it is actually a Benz dealer in Illonis that's sells parts online really cheap and thy come with the Benz warranty.

Company Information

mboemparts.com,
1569 W. Ogden Av.
Naperville, Illinois, 60540
USA
888-289-6262
parts@mboemparts.com

I ran the akebono parts all the way around with factory rotors and the pads lasted a year in the front.

1bad540

I have oem rotors and akebonos. The car stops better than the oem pads.

T.H.Carrera

Do the rotors have to be changed with every pad change , even if they are not warped? How many sets of pads (generally on w221) can one go through before having to replace rotors as well ?

DaveW68

The rotors are supposed to be changed with the pads. Benz rotors are thin with not enough material to cut them. You could try doing a pad slap, but your brakes will likely start squealing. On my S600, brakes only last about 15k miles. I've never owned a car with such short brake life....and I don't beat on my car in the least. Based in my full set of service records, the previous owner, a man in his 70's, got the same brake life when he owned the car.

1bad540

I bought mine cpo and it had at least new pads, rotors looked fine not sure they were changed. I swapped out the pads for akes and has been fine for 2 years and 10k miles.

Welwynnick

NO!

Pads have typically 10mm to wear down before they're down to about 1mm, which is when they need changing.

Every rotors has a nominal thickness and a minimum thickness, and the difference is almost always 2mm, meaning that you're allowed 1mm wear on each face. That usually equate to 2 or 3 sets of pads worth of wear.

You do not have to change the rotors when you change the pads. If you want to, that's fine, but pads are cheap and rotors are expensive.

it doesn't matter if there's a lip on the edge of the rotor, as long as it's no more than 1mm (after rust is removed).

Nick

DaveW68

This is poor advice. Like I mentioned earlier, you may get away with 1 pad slap without cutting the rotors, but those brakes will start squealing....and may even start pulsating because of slight warping. The S-class is way too heavy to be driving around with thinned out rotors. These aren't Chevy's or Ford's with super thick rotors that can be cut once.

You can buy the entire brake kit....rotors, pads, and sensor for the front axle for $185. The entire rear kit can be purchased for around $160. Why skimp on an S-class? If you can handle doing the brake job yourself, it's very cheap.

Welwynnick

Obviously I disagree. Please point me to anyone, anything, anywhere that says rotors should be changed with pads (and who doesn't think the Holocaust was faked).

There's no need for opinions, reasoning or hand-waving arguments. Brake wear is quantifiable, and the criteria are specified. Every rotor has a minimum thickness, and all the parts and specs I've seen (and I've read a lot of brake manufacturer's catalogues) state the minimum thickness is 2mm less than nominal.

If the rotors are thicker than minimum, then they're probably OK. Of course, if they're cracked, warped or heavily corroded, then they need to go. On a car that's only done 22k miles, I think it's unlikely, though it depends on the individual circumstances - if the car has been standing a long time, the rotors may be heavily corroded, for example.

There's no need to fit new rotors just because you're car is heavy, powerful or posh. The brakes are specified to work at minimum thickness, and if that's not enough, then thicker ones are specified from new. This is taken into account by the manufacturer, and they will specify a minimum thickness, and that should be observed.

Nick

DaveW68

All Mercedes service departments I've spoken to, and even my indy have stated that the rotors should be changed every time the pads are changed. That's just the nature of the beast with German cars. BMW and Audi are the same way.

It's really up to the individual if they want to cheap out and risk loud brakes and pulsation from rotors that are almost certain to warp. The rotors on these cars cannot be resurfaced. For under $200 for all 4 corners of new rotors, is it really worth being that cheap on an S-class? I guess I know your answer.

Welwynnick

And that's why they're called stealers.

Nick