C36 AMG, C43 AMG (W202) 1995 - 2000

brakes

Old Jul 21, 2010 | 02:26 AM
  #1  
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From: San Diego/Escondido, CA
1996 Mercedes C36 AMG
brakes

alright so the brake pad light came on
i have a few questions:
1. what pads should i get? i am not sure what is on there now as the previous owner put them on.
2. can i get performance pads like stoptech or something or will that eat up my rotors?
3. should i go ahead and invest in a whole new brake system? calipers, rotors, pads, etc
id really like to get a newer model amg brakes put on. are there any that fit my 96 c36?
any other suggestion or comments gladly welcomed

thanks!
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 03:16 AM
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12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
Check around and do a search. I believe the brakes of the C32 are a straight bolt on modification.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 04:35 AM
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It is difficult to implement brake system of new models, bekause the have calipers on the opposite site of the wheel. If you simply turn caliper from behind wheel to infront of wheel, the air vent is at bottom.
If you additionaly exchange right/left, you have air vent on top, but rotation is reverse. This is bad because rotation amplifies load on first brake piston. To absorb this load, pistons are of different size (first piston smallest, last piston biggest size). If you mount caliper in reverse, instead of absorbing you amplify that load. With C32 brakes, you will have 75% of brake load on first piston.
If you want to install new models brake systems, you need to drill a new hole for air vent.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 05:33 AM
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12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
Originally Posted by Jasssc
alright so the brake pad light came on
i have a few questions:
1. what pads should i get? i am not sure what is on there now as the previous owner put them on.
2. can i get performance pads like stoptech or something or will that eat up my rotors?
3. should i go ahead and invest in a whole new brake system? calipers, rotors, pads, etc
id really like to get a newer model amg brakes put on. are there any that fit my 96 c36?
any other suggestion or comments gladly welcomed

thanks!
You can try this solution (a bit overboard IMO) but its not going to be cheap...

https://mbworld.org/forums/c36-amg-c...small-car.html
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by popey24
It is difficult to implement brake system of new models, bekause the have calipers on the opposite site of the wheel. If you simply turn caliper from behind wheel to infront of wheel, the air vent is at bottom.
If you additionaly exchange right/left, you have air vent on top, but rotation is reverse. This is bad because rotation amplifies load on first brake piston. To absorb this load, pistons are of different size (first piston smallest, last piston biggest size). If you mount caliper in reverse, instead of absorbing you amplify that load. With C32 brakes, you will have 75% of brake load on first piston.
If you want to install new models brake systems, you need to drill a new hole for air vent.
Hey bro.
Do you have great experiance in automotive braking systems?
I was going to change my stock C43 calipers to the newer C32 calipers!
Now when I red your info here, I'm getting 2nd thoughts about doing this modification!

I am able to get brand new c32 calipers from my friend, but now I dunno know if it's worth doing this mod?
It's only for looks I'm changing them to newer calipers!
But if the braking performance will be worse with the newer calips than using stock calipers maybe this mod isn't worth doing?

On C43 the calipers are mounted on top front side on rotors.
On C32 the calipers are mounted on back of the rotors.
So fidling with this isn't so good???
What do you think?


I don't want to waste my last dollar on crap if the braking performance is going to be inferior to what I already have!
Thanx
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 01:02 PM
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Ummm, I don't get the whole brake mounting dilemma. If the caliper is at 2 o'clock instead of 10 o'clock, the rotor is still spinning in the same direction and the caliper is still facing the same direction, it is just mounted in a slightly different position. Your only issue comes up if the bigger caliper is hitting something like the inside of your wheel or some suspension component.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by ECTurboGSX
Ummm, I don't get the whole brake mounting dilemma. If the caliper is at 2 o'clock instead of 10 o'clock, the rotor is still spinning in the same direction and the caliper is still facing the same direction, it is just mounted in a slightly different position. Your only issue comes up if the bigger caliper is hitting something like the inside of your wheel or some suspension component.
is there any chance of overheating/fading symptoms to the calipers when mounting them on the
c43 coz of the 2 o'clock position?

I want to put them on my car coz they look nicer than stock c43 caliper.
On an open wheel they look gorgeous with the AMG logo.

There must be people who's dunne this swap and they have the experiance of knowledge if it was a good upgrade or not, not just for looks maybe some smoother braking too?
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 04:23 PM
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From: San Diego/Escondido, CA
1996 Mercedes C36 AMG
can someone just answer this
if i have the stock C36 rotors and calipers on the car now and i get performance pads like stoptech or something will it eat up my rotors because they arent designed for each other?

can someone give me an example of what to get if i wanted to replace the whole brake system, pads, rotors, calipers, etc??
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 05:58 PM
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Here's some photos of a Swedish C43 estate running C43 rotors and calipers:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c36-amg-c...ml#post3285323

Re: the immediately previous question - uprated pads will not chew up your rotors, but it does depend on what compound you get. I knew a guy way back in the day who thought he was so tough and cool with his E30 that he would run race pads on his street car. Two daily driven weeks later, the rotors were toast. That's an extreme example of stupidity. If you get a half decent OE replacement type pad, or something that's geared towards the occasional track day or some spirited driving, you should be fine.

If you want to upgrade, have you looked at what Stoptech has to offer? And I believe Brembo probably makes a big brake kit too. But that's expensive stuff, and then you will most likely need larger wheels (or at least wheels with different spoke design) too, to clear the larger calipers.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Jasssc
can someone just answer this
if i have the stock C36 rotors and calipers on the car now and i get performance pads like stoptech or something will it eat up my rotors because they arent designed for each other?

can someone give me an example of what to get if i wanted to replace the whole brake system, pads, rotors, calipers, etc??
I'm using Porterfields R4s on stock rotors and calipers.
No squeeling or x-cessive rotorwear yet, car has 95,000km = 59375miles
If you use good quality stuff they will last longer.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 08:19 PM
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anything other then stock or slightly higher then stock pads isnt necessary if you are only driving street.

that said, I had ordered Powerslot cryo rotors and EBC yellowstuff pads for my C36 that sees occaisional track duty. My car has been sitting a month and a half waiting on the damned pads to arrive and finally I now hear EBC doesnt know when they will ship, so I cancelled the order and went with Porterfield R-4's instead. They should arrive tomorrow just in time for the track this weekend.
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 03:10 AM
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12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
Originally Posted by Saaboteur
Here's some photos of a Swedish C43 estate running C43 rotors and calipers:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c36-amg-c...ml#post3285323
Looks very nice, but the C32 rotors are 303mm compared to the 334mm of stock C43. Apart from the price issue (C32's cheaper?) I would stick to the C43 rotors. Larger sweep and brake surface = better overall braking IMO. Going to a 4 piston Brembo setup or overboard 6 pistons with 355mm rotors will be expensive. If used only for the road, dodn't think the cost is justified, but then that's just my opinion.
EBC make some good pads and getting them from the UK has never been a problem here and are over 50% cheaper (shipping and customs) than buying them from a local company who think they can make a quick buck.

Last edited by DRBC43AMG; Jul 22, 2010 at 03:13 AM.
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 04:47 AM
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front rotors on c32 should be bigger than c43 =345mm IIRC.
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 06:09 AM
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Grrr I can go and hang myself for giving the wrong info. Thanks to MarcusF excellent references in Signal to noise, I found that the C32 discs are as follows
C32:
13.6inch or 345.44mm front
11.8inch or 299.72mm rear
C43:
13.1inch or 332.74mm front
11.8inch or 299.72mm rear

Soooooooo, they are a tad larger diameter

Last edited by DRBC43AMG; Jul 22, 2010 at 06:15 AM.
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 04:35 PM
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is it called FRONT WISHBONE where the calipers are bolted on the so called leg?

The holes on the leg where bolting calipers in place are they the same size for c43and c32?
And the distance holebracket on this leg where you bolt the calipers on is the same on both cars?
Sorry I can't explain it better!

So basically I can use c32 calipers on stock c43 rotors?
If this works then who wants to put inferior rotors on their car when crossdrilled rotors are known to crack over time?
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 05:04 PM
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I think you mean to refer to it as the 'hub' or 'upright'. The 'wishbone' would be the two pieces that are horizontal (roughly) and connect to the chassis, with the wishbone between them, vertically.
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Old Jul 22, 2010 | 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Saaboteur
I think you mean to refer to it as the 'hub' or 'upright'. The 'wishbone' would be the two pieces that are horizontal (roughly) and connect to the chassis, with the wishbone between them, vertically.
sorry my technical inglish isn't that good!
It's the standing leg where the shock is and the spring is.
maybe it was called STRUT?

yes it's the wheelhub I was thinking about.
It's on the hub-armbracket where the calipers are bolted on, right?
are these the same specs for c43 and the c32 to bolt the calipers on?
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Old Jul 23, 2010 | 02:12 PM
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This is how it looks on a S-classe 2003 similar calipers to c32

I have also seen the 4 pistons looks to have the same size inner and outer side inside caliper.

Last edited by KJI3jflarryfe93; Aug 27, 2010 at 04:26 PM.
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Old Jul 23, 2010 | 03:37 PM
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A 'strut' refers to a McPherson strut setup, ie. coil over spring mounted around the shock, integrated into one unit. Typically mounted on the lower side to a control arm, upper side into towers in the body. The difference too with McPherson strut is that it has the capability of moving...how do you say....in yaw, so that it can be steered. That is, when used on the front of a car, the entire assembly will move with the front wheels. The 202 does not have such a set up, but later cars do. McPherson struts are easier to package and I think may be cheaper for volume production. Definitely easier to package and remove - a well drilled WRC service crew can swap out the entire suspension in about 5 minutes.

Unfortunately, I don't know much else about the caliper mounting ears on the uprights or the bolt diameters. However, I seem to recall seeing classified ads on here or benzworld for the factory 4-piston calipers, non-AMG. One post was complaining about how the guy was sold what was supposedly a matched set, but they actually were not matched. So what I'm saying is that I think there were subtle variations in the details of the calipers, despite their very similar outward appearance. Have to be careful in selection.
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