Ultraman

Wow, this place is even cheaper than autopartsway.com.

By the way, are there any differences between the Pilengas and Zimmerman?

Where did you go for the installation?

e1000

I had EBC Redstuff on my car and hated them. C350 SS has the same front calipers/rotors as the C32/C55.

Quicktwinturbo

Could you please explain why you hated them?

Thanks

MRAMG1

As I have stating now for almost two years, I LOVE the EBC redstuff for ALL of my cars. I NOW have them on my SRT, Fusion, Freestyle, and soon the S. Of course they were on my C32 as well, but ist gone

They ARE track worthy, low dust, and NO squeal. Pretty much EVERYTHING that I require in a pad.

Oh well, suit yourself, but I know what I will be buying

03MBC32

I believe that the Zimmermans and Pilengas should be similar in material and quality. I did a light track day (20 minute sessions) last month at the Mosport DDC north track. No issues with the Pilengas with stock compound Pagid pads.

Install was a DIY. You can consult this link: http://www.petefagerlin.com/ML/brakes.htm . Not specific to our car but the procedure is similar. To spread the caliper pistons back , I used a 4 piston tool. The rear requires a 2 piston tool.

e1000

I've seen varying opionion on them, just stating I didn't like them. To be exact, they made my brakes feel mushy, had bad initial bite and I generally lost confidence in my braking ability. I'll admit they do not dust very much and contrary to some reports I didn't have a problem with noise. Point being, I felt that the purpose of brakes are to stop a car and I felt that the stopping performance of the EBC redstuff pads were inferior to OEM.

Ultraman

Thanks buddy

The replacement seems difficult to me because I don't want to screw up anything for the braking system. Maybe, I go to RMP for the installation.

One last question, is the size of the new rotors same as the OEMs? I assume both of them are direct replacement w/o modification!

Dingleberry

+1 for akebono pro-act ceramic pads. they are fantastic.

W203Ramos

+1 Great pads...just installed them a week ago on all 4 corners

e1000

Another +1's for Akebono Euro Ceramics. I just got them put on and so far, I'm very pleased with them. Zero squeal, good bite and very very linear pedal feel with confident braking. Rotors look clean without any glazing or discoloration.

03MBC32

All dimensions identical.

Ultraman

Just called the STEALERSHIP, they told me it took them at least 3 to 4 hours for the rotors installation (front and rear). They also recommended to replace all the brake pads as well to facilatate the rotors wear.

My brake pads have lots of meat, do I really need to change my pads at the same time?

In case, the pads are not needed for replacement, the total costs of the bill for the stealership would be around $1000.

03MBC32

Without seeing your pads one cannot say if you still have a lot of pad left. MB pads hold a wear sensor that triggers the brake service warning in the instrument panel. The pads are warn down to the sensor at about an 1/8"

Ultraman

Yes, my descriptions are meaningless. I should take some photos and get some feedback here!

e1000

actually, depending on what type of wheels you have, sometimes you can see the pad and tell about how much you have left. It's not precise by any means, but you can definitely tell if you have plenty or if you really do need to replace your pads.

Ultraman

I "think" the rotors need to be replaced. The grooves on the outer side of the rotors are approximately 3mm deep.

Anyway, I take some photos this weekend instead of guessing.

PC Valkyrie

I thought that you mentioned previously you would have your rotors replaced at RMP. Did that fall through? I'm curious because I'm thinking of going to RMP to get my front rotors and pads replaced.

Ultraman

No no no, not yet! See thread #32.

But, I will go to RMP for the rotors installation. My rear brake pads were replaced by them about a month ago. I may go to RMP next month and ask Rocco to inspect my brake system whether they should be replaced.

BTW, where did you buy the rotors? What brand are you using?

PC Valkyrie

After weighing the options, I decided to buy OEM Mercedes front rotors/front pads/brake sensor from this online site:

http://www.genuinemercedesparts.com/

With the high Cdn dollar, it was still cheaper than buying the parts from the dealership, even when you add in the shipping, customs, and taxes!

Ultraman

WOW, they are cheap BUT they use UPS for shipping. I believe if you received the brokerage fees, that would almost the same price as the OEM in Canada here.

Did you order them from them before?

You know what, I think I am going to bring the car to RMP and let Rocco to take a look before I order. I don't know whether he can get the zimmerman or whatever to supply and install. Maybe, he can give us a good price too.

willc55

All C55's have brake pad sensors? Is there any way that you could install new pads without the sensor or would it give an error code? I don't have the maintenance records for my car before I bought it, so if its possible that I could be driving around without the pad sensors I would very much like to know about it, as a few months ago I was told that my pads and rotors would need to be replaced "soon".

Thanks

03MBC32

Car had a track day again at Mosport today with my son driving. Track configuration required a lot more braking. After 10 minutes on the fourth run, my son reported that the brakes developed a slight judder, so slowed down for the balance of the run. On the final run after a 1 1/2 hour cool down, brakes were smooth. No evidence of fading the whole day. It seems that my Pilenga front rotors are prone to distorting as they heat up.

Ultraman

How were they doing during winter compared to OEM?

03MBC32

Rotors were installed in January. No issues until Friday. Wheels lugs are always torqued to spec. I noticed some banding discolouration at the outer and inner edges of both rotors. The brakes are smooth right now and appear to be working fine.

03MBC32

Imho, if the rotors do need to be replaced, why not drive the car until the pads wear down to trigger the sensor. Last fall I was told by the dealer that my front rotors needed replacing since they were worn below the minimum thickness. Since my pads were also getting close to the sensors, the service advisor said I could wait until the pads wore down before replacing the pads and rotors together. My original front rotors lasted 70,000 Km with 2 sets of pads.