cntlaw

I recall someone has done that...Need part no. of E55 AMG rotors, discs..etc...photos / links / experience to share if any

vraa

Why not see if you can go ahead and move towards Evosport rotors and what not?

FrankW

you can, but the caliper mount has to be customized otherwise it would not fit. Dave with the widebody W203 with the C43 engine has done it before. all custom.

rubensans

I think you are wrong, the C55 uses the same as the SLK 55 and the CLK 55, but it's not the same of the E55 and would not fit without heavy modifications.

So in my opinion you can chose:

C/SLK/CLK 55 AMG
or
SLK/CLK 55 PERFORMANCE PACKAGE

Best Regards.

cntlaw

I saw E55 AMG rotors (at least look like they are) on a W210, so I thought a C55 can also use them.
thanks

pshek

Dave has the Brabus/Alcon 6 piston BBK on the front now. I think 8 piston E55 brakes on a W203 is overkill. The Alcon's are a big improvement over the C32 brakes I had.

AWDman

the stock brake setup with better pads and hi temp fluid is capable of handling braking needs even on a road race track. the limiting point is the coefficient of friction twix tire and road. increasing rotor diameter and unsprung mass is unnecessary and detrimental to handling.

bottom line is- if you want to decrease braking distances- invest in sticky tires.

comments?

pshek

Sounds like techno babble to me... if the stock C32 brakes are good enough, why did AMG decide to upgrade the brake setup on the '05 and newer SLK/CLK 55 AMG to 6 piston front/14.1" rotors and 4 piston rears/13.1" rotors? The braking system is one of the most important parts to a sports car, and investing in a good set is still beneficial. How many people are driving on a race track everyday and care enough about handling. I care more about braking and stop and go traffic on the freeway. If you want to drive with slicks on, then go ahead, and be ready to change to new tires fast.

Bottom line is- if you like to drive fast or increase the HP of your car, then invest in a good brake system. But if you drive like a grandma, then stock brakes are good enough for you.

RawAMGpower

I've actually been looking into getting the Brembo 8 piston caliber with 15 inch rotors for my C55. Apparently since Brembo makes a 8 piston kit for the CLK55 it will translate to the C55 all you need is 19inch wheels. Also the Brembo 8 piston kit will perform better then the stock E55 8 piston kit.

rubensans

Alcon is one of the best things that money can buy, but they are very expensive.

I think the SLK55 are very good considering the price.

Best Regards.

AWDman

so.....you're riding along on your expensive blinging rims with cheapass tires and invoke a max retard stop. say you stop in 150ft. you're unhappy with distance. you go buy BIG BRAKES and test your stopping distance after install- guess what? you're probably gonna take longer to stop.

apply a bit of due diligence to verify what i'm say before replying.

Reeves Callaway once said (on a speed channel program yrs back) that the car and driver were there to make the tires work. 100% true.

pshek

I'll just keep my expensive blinging rims and cheapass tires then. Your argument still sounds like because there is no proof. You are saying that upgrading to big brakes is just a waste of money. Due diligence? Haha, you sound like a lawyer or realtor.

It's not just about braking distance but brake pedal feel. The C32 brakes do not cut it.

MBenzNL

I second that and I wonder what idiot at MB decided to use those inferior brakes for the C55s as well?!?!?!

greetingz,

e1000

sorry, gotta agree with AWDman on this one.

BBK's on these cars are all for show. Even the stock brakes are VERY large for the car's size/weight. Bigger brakes are not needed if you are able to lockup the tires under braking. At this point ABS kicks in and more stopping power is moot. Larger rotors/calipers won't stop your car any better.

psk145

I have to agree also. Even stoptech recognizes that the brakes are only as good as the tires:

There are a few basic facts that must always be kept in mind when discussing brake systems:
1) The brakes don't stop the vehicle - the tires do. The brakes slow the rotation of the wheels and tires. This means that braking distance measured on a single stop from a highway legal speed or higher is almost totally dependent upon the stopping ability of the tires in use - which, in the case of aftermarket advertising, may or may not be the ones originally fitted to the car by the OE manufacturer.

2) The brakes function by converting the kinetic energy of the car into thermal energy during deceleration - producing heat, lots of heat - which must then be transferred into the surroundings and into the air stream.

etc.


the only real advantage to a BBK is heat dissipation from a larger caliper/rotor, and also upgraded rotors which will dissipate heat better. Usually all unnecessary for a street driven car. I've never driven any of my cars to the point where the brakes are fading on the street. i would think only someone really irresponsible would be driving that hard on the street

FrankW

Brembo 8piston caliper is the same one used on the E55/SL600, SL65 etc etc. The only difference is in the rotor they use. The Brembo kit comes with the multi piece rotor which reduces the unsprung weight at each corner. The clamping power is pretty much the same if you can get some goodridge steel braided lines. When I changed mine to the 355mm Brembo up front the only difference I noticed is the reduced weight which helps the steering response a lot, but like psk said the stock AMG never faded on me when I was running Angeles Crest or Azuza...

If there were multi-piece rotors available for the stock AMG caliper I would've just bought those.

REAR BBK are 90% for show unless you are one of the 10% of people who stripped down the car and built it for track only. Otherwise on the street cars are front biased. Standard C32/55 rear vented disc is good enough. 05 CLK didn't really have a better braking distance than the 03-04 btw.

AWDman

i shake my head when the auto mags are splitting hairs over braking distances when doing comparisons. in fact , the variance in time to invoking max decel is an inconsistency than renders results essentially meaningless; at least for closely matched cars.

ditto for acceleration. cars are so powerful that traction is the issue for the age old 0-60.

what we need is braking 150 to 0. and yes accel 0-150. for braking this will define the ability to soak up/dissapate heat and expose handling when under decel. for acceleration the 0-150 will delineate and define power, it's delivery, gearing, and all important effect of aerodynamics.

wish the rags would start publishing torque curves as well..they were common 20 yrs ago.

Harry Madan

I think the E55 uses electronic braking not the regular piston brakes. So I don’t think that they are interchangeable with C55 to E55 AMG

e1000

I believe SBC system uses normal calipers, pads, and rotors. The electronics are elsewhere.

FrankW

The electronics controls the pedal input/force. it still uses normal calipers, pads, and rotors

CynCarvin32

I have C32 brakes on my C230k daily driver go to work car and I have made the pads glaze over many times. The bloody car stops better than when it was stock but its not that great.

10 minutes of hard driving = smoking pads, glazed rotors serious fade and likely a new set of pads in the mail for the pads are done.

Anyone who thinks the brakes on a C32 are good enough does not drive hard enough. A C230k has 189 hp and cant get out of its own way half the time. A C32 with 350 hp + kills the brakes. My C32 used to have brake fade when I went driving hard on a HILL CLIMB. Fading brakes up hill??? Can you imagine down hill??

Fifth Ring

Sounds like you have a problem with bad pads, not the brakes.

I've had my C32 at a racetrack (VIR - 3.5 mi. road course) with serious braking zones (two LONG straights -- 130+ -- into 50 mph turns) and I ran stock brakes and EBC ceramic pads for two days. Worked every time, no fade, no glaze, no smoke. Just stopping. I'm still driving on those same rotors and pads, and will be taking them to another racetrack in October. A buddy had a StopTech BBK setup which worked fine, but no better, and then his "race" pads gummed up.

C32 brakes are fantastic. Big brake kits might cool better, but if I could not overwork my brakes at VIR, then there's zero chance that anybody could be unhappy with C32 brakes for street use.

BBKs are for show, unless you are running hard under road course conditions.
Nothing wrong with that, just reality. If you want to stop, get good pads. If you want to look good stopping, go for the BBK.

dsC32

I've run a C32 two years ago and C55 last year at VIR. I agree that the stock rotors and pads are good on the track, for a time, but the pads will crack with hard use, and the rotors develop cracks eminating from the cross drilled holes. I used Performance Products (I think is the name) Spec VRs, Hawk H10s, and currently Pagid Yellows (endurance pads). The Hawks required grinding the ends of the backing plates to fit the calipers. The others just fall in perfectly. However, the Spec VR is no longer being manufactured for our cars. They are coming out with a ceramic pad soon. I am pleased with the Pagids, but are more costly. Used them for 3 days hard use last month and they are still good for more track time.

AWDman

yep. my new rotors developed spider cracking across entire surface from very hard braking last sundays track day. so hot a marble got tossed up onto caliper and it burst into flame. i had major stress for a moment but it flamed out quickly.

what to do now. 5th ring suggested brake ducting in an attempt at cooling. any other options for rotors? the pads were ok some chipping at edges and cracking. ate blue worked ok minor softness in paddock but fine on track.

anyone have feedback on zimmerman rotors? can they handle the heat? is there a way i can prevent the cracking? (which is probably due to sudden increase /decrease of surface temps am i correct)?

as an aside there was a kleemann stg 2 e55 at the track he did 1:05+ on street tires I did 1:06 on my rentech spring, H & R rear bars, advan a048s and pump gas. Had I used 100 octane I prob could have picked up a second. car is better balanced but still suffers from lack of front end grip...anyway.......i have hoosier r 6s in 245/40 ready to go all round on oem 8.5" rims. apparently that's the hot ticket if you can excuse the pun. going to lime rock 2x in october.

any feedback welcome.

Fifth Ring

Probably the best thing you could do to prevent cracking is to switch to a non-cross-drilled rotor. But as far as I know, there aren't any available.

Another thought is to get the rotors cryogenically treated. You can buy cryo-rotors, but there are also places that will freeze them for you.

I have a set of brand new Zimmermans in my garage (for future use). Maybe I will get them frozen. Then again, I've got 40K miles and not cracking on my original rotors using EBC Red Stuff ceramic pads the last 10K miles.

I'm totally speculating, but is it possible that pad-switching could stress the rotors? All rotor/pad interfaces develop a set of subtle grooves as a result of miniscule pad material variances, and because the pad/rotor surfaces match, the pressure is evenly distributed. But if you slap on a set of new pads, the new pad surface is flat, and until it gets worn in, the stresses on the rotor are going to be uneven. Could that cause cracking? If so, the only solution would be replacing rotors and pads, or grinding rotors flat.