mleskovar

[QUOTE=johndddd;2283429]...however no company makes both front and rears that I have found.QUOTE]

Porterefield makes them for front and back. Very clean (little dust). Also expensive, but worth it.

johndddd

I have never heard of that brand before, I'll do a google search now, thanks for the info. I'm only after less dust.

mleskovar

I bought mine from formymercedes.com You want the R4S pads. They sent a kit of sandpaper, cleaner, ceramic paste, and a spray can with some kind of oily solution along with the pads. The kit prepares the rotors (get new ones, they're like $55 apiece) for proper bedding in so they won't vibrate and squeal. My first set of Porterfields in the front lasted 85K miles and they could have gone 100K. Bed them in properly!! The 'trick' is to heat them up following their instructions then stop and let them cool down without keeping the brakes applied. Use the parking brake to hold the car (uses brake shoes inside rear drums). If you put pressure on the pads during the bedding process while stopped it will transfer material from the pads on to the rotors and cause spots that grab and release while braking giving you what is incorrectly called the "warped rotors" syndrome. Good luck.

Oops..it's spelled Porterfield

johndddd

I can't believe you got 85K on a set of brakes, That should be in "RIPPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT" (smile)

I"ll go to the web site you mentioned.

johndddd

I went to there official web site, The "R4S pads" are not ceramic, so are you happy with their low dust level?

Buellwinkle

Porterfields are carbon kevlar and they will dust but nowhere near as much the factory pads but more than ceramic pads. They are also noisy so take all precautions to avoid squealing.

mleskovar

Yes, I put them on when my original pads weren't even 1/2 worn because I couldn't stand the filthy wheels. No problem now. Also, they are easier on the rotors. The stock pads built up a ridge after 5K miles.

XenonBenz

Since there have been quite a few posts and questions about Ceramic Brake Pad Options for 01-04, I thought I would share what I found in my research.

This will apply to all 2001-2004.0 C230's and C240's. The C230 and C240 use the exact same pads and rotors. I've been told the C320 also use the same pads and rotors, but I'm not 100% sure for the C320.

For the front, there are Hawk Ceramic pads which costs about $90 shipped. I just got these installed yesterday, and they are quiet and dust free. There is a Morse Ceramic pad sold by Autozone for $44.99, but I would not recommend these. Morse is known to have quality control issues with their pads.

For the rear, there are Akebono Ceramic Pads. This is the only ceramic pad I found for the rear. I just ordered a set from RockAuto.com for $62 shipped. Most websites and product guides only list this pad for a C240, but they will work for C230.

IMO, the Porterfield Carbon/Kevlar is not a good choice for people who just want to minimize brake dust. They cost more, are a little "rough", dust more, and are more squeel prone than a ceramic pad. The Porterfields are great for people who want a performance "race" brake pad.


Front- Hawk Ceramic Brake Pad- Part #HB504Z.740

http://www.prostreetonline.com/pnsku/hb504z.740.asp


Rear- Akebono Euro Ultra Premium Ceramic Pad- Part #EUR779

(The picture of the Akebono on the link below is not the picture of the actual part.)
http://www.car-stuff.com/performance...e=12&category=

(RockAuto has the lowest price on this part. To find the pad, look for rear brake pads for 2003 C240)
http://www.rockauto.com

Buellwinkle

I agree on the Porterfield. When I put them on my coupe (you may want to add that the coupe, 2002-2005 uses the same pad as 2001-2004 sedans), they were the only real low dust alternative but they do dust, the Porterfields front pads dust about equal to the MB rear pads and they can be noisy until they bed in after a month or two. I've put cermics on our SLK (akebono) and Wrangler (satisfied pro) and I'm amazed, literally zero dust, much less than Porterfield.

As for the 2004.5, these brakes do not dust like the 2001-2004 or even the 2005+. So another option is to install the 2004.5 (or AMG) 4 piston brakes (the older brakes are only single piston). They look great and stop better.

Saprissa

my double-whammy strategy against brake dust:

1) I run 4-piston brakes on my 2004.5 C320 SS and the same (AMG version) on my 2003 C320 SC. I love those 4-piston brake calipers.
2) Running PORTERFIELD #847 pads on those calipers.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

JimB

Do you do your brake job yourself? My front pads on my C320 need replacement soon. And I read that changing brakes on "C" need to disable something trough computer, or else it will prematurely braking itself....is that correct? I did on my ML no problem but not on "C" yet. Please advise. Thanks

JB

XenonBenz

There is nothing special about changing brake pads on a C Class. There is nothing that needs to be disabled. Remove old pads, install new ones. There is a brake wear sensor, on both front and rear brakes of the passenger side, which you should already be aware of from changing brakes on your ML.

I think what you are referring to with disabling something through the computer is on some of the higher line MB's, like the CLS, CL and S Classes. They have some special braking system which needs to be disabled before you can change the brakes.

JimB

thanks for your reply, now i feel confident that i can do it...like my ML

thanks again

Saprissa

yeah, what he said ^

sorry for not responding earlier JimB... I have seen a shop work on my brakes, but I haven't done it myself. I really should learn how, as it didn't seem that difficult, but I'm a slow learner.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com
________________
1979 230 G-Wagen (Forest Green)
2003 C320 Sports Coupé (Brilliant Silver)
2004 A210 EVO AMG (Obsidian Black)
2004.5 C320 Sports Sedan (Metallic Pewter)
2005 ML350 Special Edition (Alabaster White)

JimB

[QUOTE=Saprissa;2294546]yeah, what he said ^

sorry for not responding earlier JimB... I have seen a shop work on my brakes, but I haven't done it myself. I really should learn how, as it didn't seem that difficult, but I'm a slow learner.


hey Carlos, since you want to learn how to change the brake, maybe I can invite you when I do mine. We can do it together. Is it a good plan? And hey the beer is on me also. I'll let you know.

Jim

Saprissa

sounds like a plan

i do travel a whole lot, so i'm not always around...

for example, I'm writing this post from about 200 miles out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right now !

BlackLiquorish8

looks like i'll be gettin a set of hawks for the fronts soon and when i do that i'm thinkin bout paintin my calipers what color do you guys think??? I have a black car with black tints and chrome Brabus IV 18's

jes_bad

Mine are painted black. But if you wanted yours to stand out a bit more, RED would do the job (but that's just my opinion). Just make sure you use the Hi-temp paint.

swiftbmx

Guys,

I'm looking for pads with absolutely no squeak or any sound at all as the most important thing and brake dust being cut down being of second most importance. What's my best bet without spending a fortune?

Blake P

Let's see if I've got this right... no sound, no dust, AND dirt cheap. You sure you don't have any other silly requests?

MJ50

de-brake it...

swiftbmx

I don't remember saying dirt cheap, I just need the quietest brakes with less dust than OEM that are not a fortune. By that I mean, as long as they fit the bill, I don't care for the best brands. I do get it though, low post count guy is gonna get a tough time here. I do the same too on message boards I frequent daily. Awesome.

Blake P

At least you understand how it works!

Seriously, there's so darn much information in this thread alone that you should be able to do the research without even having to search around, yet you still resorted to the newbie method of just posting a general question that has been asked and answered a million (or more) times.

swiftbmx

I've been lurking this place for the past 3 weeks(since I got my car) and have searched and used tons of information to already help my car(thanks for that). This is the only thing I'm stuck on and the true newbie thing for me to do would be start an entire new thread and be vague as possible by saying I need new brakes and thats it.

This thread has almost 400 replies and I've gone through every single one multiple times researching every brake mentioned. By reading the first page of this thread alone, I thought I knew what brakes I'd want, but by reply 380, I can't be too sure. Just because I asked a question doesn't mean I haven't already been doing the work of searching myself.

Blake P

This is hilarous! You read over 400 replies and can't figure out which pads to get, yet you're hoping for 1 reply that will show you the light?