razorfish228

Has anyone tried the EBC Brand of Brakes?

jlee-

So I had placed an order thinking everything would be ok for some brakes at
http://www.formymercedes.com/porterfield.asp
Only to get a call this morning and be told something about a brake sensor etc etc etc so I just cancelled the order cause it sounded iffy.

dmatre

I got my Porterfield R4-S pads through Jerry also - nothing iffy about the deal. In fact, Mercedes seems to have built my C230Sport without the Sport rear brakes. Jerry arranged for the correct pads to be sent, and arranged pickup of the wrong pads, with no additional charges to me. I have to say that dealing with people who treat their customers properly is a pleasure - and Jerry certainly did his best to make certain that I was satisfied.

The pads are great - much less dust (about 10% of the original pads), better stopping torque, no squeal (when installed/burnished using the materials and instructions provided with the pads).

You will need to pick up a pad wear sensor at the dealer - if your has already been activated - otherwise you can reinstall the one presently in your factory pads (the Porterfields are even pre-drilled to accept the sensor).

I installed AutoZone's Duralast Semi-Mets on the wife's Passat, and now I regret doing so. They are rather greasy, requiring a lot more pedal pressure to stop at the same rate. If we weren't planning to trade the Passat in January, I'd be switching it to Porterfields as well.

There's really nothing squirrely about the deal. I'd go ahead and get the Porterfields, and get the pad sensor from the dealer (only about $4 if I remember correctly). Installation of the fronts takes about 20' each (if you need to remove/replace the rotors), and installation of the rears takes about 5' each (no bolts - only a tension clip and a pin to remove).

For me, ForMyMercedes and Porterfield get:

jlee-

I have a 2005 c230k he said something about my car was different and hed have to go get something custom cut and sounded like a big hassle and made it sound iffy. I had already placed the order for them but he gave me a call this morning and told me all of this and didnt make the product sound very good so I cancelled.

Sauceboy01

Have you guys looked into EBC at all? it looks like they make rotors and pads for the 05+ C230SS's.

let me know

nlpamg

Thanks! Hopefully these will work on an 05 (I doubt the rears on the 05 and up are any different).

I just picked my car up from the dealer and I have around 5000 miles left in the rear brakes (they've never been changed). So, I might as well change the rotors as well too. I think I may just stick to the factory rear pads if they've lasted this long...

MBenzNL

C32 brakes suck

My C270CDI wore out 1 set of (C32) front brake pads in 14k kilometer (8.750 miles) and warped the rotors within 20k kilometer (12.500 miles)...I just renewed the rotors and pads due to a lack of SLK55 callipers (I already have the freaking expensive SLK55 rotors) and due to the fact that whenever I used the brakes my fillings tended to leave my teeth (which got really anoying on my last 1000km drive with lots of slowing down from 220+kmh to 100kmh)...

I truelly do not understand how people can be satisfied with these brakes...these heat up so extremely fast and easy AND I DRIVE A DIESEL!

the C36 brakes under my C250D are soo much better...I can only imagine what a poss it must be to drive a C55 with these same sissy brakes...

greetingz,

pshek

white_w203

there's always stoptech bbk, which is cheaper than brembo. if you have the patience someone on the forum is eventually selling a bbk kit either brembo or stoptech eventually.

drho2004

i posted this on another thread, i hope i dont get in trouble by the moderators...

but..here it goes....
My breake light came on, but its only been 12k miles since my last brake job was done! and it was done at the dealership...from reading various post it seems that OEM brakes are lasting about 25k. could it be a bad sensor? or 'dumb' car computer? weird thing is that the light would come on like once every other day, not constanly like when i got my first brake job done at the dealership. It came on today while driving, not even hitting the brakes but not yesterday. Reason i came to this thread is because i wanna do my own brakes, i think the dealership charges WAAAy too much. But i was looking at the autozone brakes and I did a search for the 2005 c230, but the results say:
Application:
Except Sports model

uhm...arent ALL 2005 c230's in america Sports Models?? Just wanna know if anyone actually INSTALLED or is using the autozone brakes on their 2005+ w203. Or any other brakes...but i still dont think my brake light should be on at 12k miles....

BIGjohnny

To my understanding, 2005 C230's are considered sport model i.e. equipped with 2 pistons front brake, while very few lucky individuals will have 4 pistons. Your profile picture tells me you have a 2 piston. I usually ignore a warning lamp on the dash board unless it's constantly on. 12k to replace brake pads seem awkward to me unless you're braking really hard on a daily basis.

I went to a local shop that focuses on Mercedes, Lexus and BMW. Charged me under 500 for new rotors, brake pads, brake fluid and labor.

Buellwinkle

My brakes, 4 piston, are already half worn and I have over 30K miles. Each person drives differently and my wife goes through brakes on any car in 12-15K miles but my daughter that lives in the most congested part of LA gets brake life similar to me. The sensor is a very simple device. It's a wire that you press into a hole about 1/16" away from the backing plate. When that wire is exposed and grounds to the rotor the light goes off. If it were to fall out of it's hole, it would never trip. You can visually see how much pad that is left by looking at the pads through the wheel but you will only see the outside pad and if the caliper piston was sticking it maybe more worn on the inside. If you take the wheel off, calipers have a viewing opening on top of them that lets you see both pads.

Many dealers insist on new rotors when redoing brakes, specially with cross drilled rotors. So figure a complete pads and rotor brake job would cost you about $200 for parts and another $200 labor. Some dealers don't do rotors if they are not warped or worn beyond specs and then it's about $80 for pads. It takes an experience mechanic with a lift and air tools about 20 minutes to do pads and rotors but the mechanic gets to bill more hours the more he can charge you, just a way of life. Why even post hourly rates is beyond me, it's all a scam anyway. Best way out of it, do it yourself. I put ceramic pads in my kid's SLK and they are fantastic, zero dust.

rwhcrwhc

hey guys.. I was wondering when purchasing them oem brake pads and rotors from online.. what else do I need to pick up.... a sensor? does the c230 coupe have rear sensors? Thanks

drho2004

I judt drive regular from redondo beach to lax like 16 miles a day. so nothing crazy. I don't trust them sensors

drho2004

were is this 'local' shop? sounds like a good deal!!

drho2004

Yes i was looking into the ceramic ones, and so far i've only found the autozone ones for my 2-piston set up. i dont know if anyone has used these yet. yeah i hate the dust from the OEM ones. were would i buy the sensors? MB themselves or can i get them from third party?>

BIGjohnny

I'll post the shop's address when i get home. Currently at work.

Buellwinkle

Dealer sells sensors, they are cheap, $5 or so. I have aftermarket sensors on my Akebono but they came with the pad.

drho2004

thanks for the info! ill see what up with my crazy sensor....12k is too little i think...

Zillarpillow23

Plenty of great info in this thread. I took my car in for some fixable things on Tuesday (armrest, broken door handle, weather stripping ect.) and received a call today with the whole brake pads and rotors story. I'm at 38k miles and mb quoted me at almost $750. What a rip off. I'm going to trade in my 05 c230 for the new 300 sport in about two months so is it even worth dropping the dough? Should I buy just cheap OEM products and take it to a mech or do the Pep Boys route as mentioned before?