Would like to upgrade the front calipers on my c43 with the newer c32/55 brembo type.Can this be done with minimal fabrication? Is it close to a bolt on or is this extensive? Can the cl5oo/55 calipers work? Are there other choices? My main concern is im going with a 5 spoke wheel and the apperance of the stock caliper is to blah.Dont want to paint them as they dont look that great IMO.

 

can you get all the dimensions on the calipers

 

yea i dont believe the bolt pattern is the same, you see that black adapter, that is difference between the c32 and c43 to put brembos on so there has to be a different bolt pattern

 

I'm told the C32/C55 calipers are a bolt on. Others have done it. I also understand that early 00s S500/CL500 calipers will bolt on too, but will need a 330mm rotor (from an SLK32). I do wonder if the S500/CL500 calipers will clear the stock 334mm C43 disc. I have a pair of the S500 calipers and will have a look at it, but I think I will be grabbing a pair of the C32/55 calipers anyway. If anyone is interested in the S500 calipers, PM me.

 

Those adaptors are for the six piston Brembo calipers. The two pistons calipers are bolt on. Try the SLK55 brakes. Those are pure **** looking

 

Ok... but will they work??

 

No, but they will look super fast as you go screaming by traffic with a total brake failure (I keed I keed)

 

So basically we have not many resonable choices but the expensive brembos?

 

Well, here are a couple things to think about:

1) In the w201 world, there have been a couple folks to do the C32 FR caliper swap, and the general consensus is that swapping between OEM trailing and OEM leading orientation is bad juju based upon the way the pistons sit.....ie could lead to serious braking problems, etc. Not saying the same issues will be present with this swap, but you may or may not get a straightforward swap just because you are using brakes from the MB parts bin. Some of the things you may need to do could be expensive, making the savings of not going custom Brembo/Stoptech/Wilwood nil. Some of the things you may need to do may also compromise safety.

2) The vast majority of C43 drivers are never going to need any more braking capability than was provided from the factory. I drove mine for 4+ years, and not once did I notice brake fade or lack of stopping power which would have required a brake upgrade. I never tracked it, so I'm guessing this is a realm where a mod like this *could* be useful, but short of that, even with spirited driving, you really don't need such a conversion. Not saying this is you, but a lot of folks who do big brake swaps are pretty much purely doing it for the aesthetics of having big fat brake calipers sticking out behind the wheels. I agree that it looks cool, but if that is the goal, just realize that it isn't a cheap mod to do properly. My guess is that getting C32/55 brakes properly installed, and doing it right including freshening up or rebuilding the calipers and seals, will cost you just about the same thing as going Brembo.....last I checked they were in the $1200-1500 range, which isn't too outrageous all things considered IMHO

 

4 piston brembo still needs the adapter

 

All the new merc: 4, 6 and 8 potters for the fronts are rebadged Brembo. on the rear they r ATE unless its a 4 potter AMG then its Brembo as well. u can see the Brembo badge on the backside of the calip.

 

is it the black thingie adapters you're reffering too?
I bought new 4 pot c32 calipers, do I need to buy the black brackets too as seen in the picture above?
Does MB sell them separately?
I didn't get any in my box, I only got the bolts and brakepad mounting parts

 

if your patient when my brake upgrade is done ill have a full set of slk32 calipers and 4 drilled and slotted rotrs and pads for sale. 10k on the pads and rotors

 

Patient is my middle name. How much are you asking?

 

That black adapter bracket is for the 'generic' calipers. Most aftermarket big brake kits need a bracket to bolt up their 4-piston caliper to the stock upright. The reason for this is that most likely the caliper mounting ears will not mate up to the stock upright, for spacing or bolt size reasons, not to mention rotor offset. Both my old Saab and my S2000's big brakes were like as I just described. The aftermarket manufacturer - W ilwood and Stoptech respectively for those two cars - makes a variety of calipers but for sure they make a larger variety of brackets to adapt to certain cars. Brembo's GT series big brake kits would be similar.

On the other hand, Brembo also makes a large assortment of calipers for OE applications. All of my research indicates that the C32/55 AMG calipers - made by Brembo as an OE application - will bolt up to the C43. I'm also told that the S500/CL500 calipers will bolt up, but will require the use of a 330mm disc. Anyone who's interested, I have a set of these calipers for sale, as I've now acquired a pair of C32 calipers.

Oh yeah, the only other modification is likely the trimming or removal of the stock backing plate. The larger aftermarket calipers more than likely require this modification.

 

Sabbotuer im assuming that this will ENHANCE braking performance as well as not cause any issues with the abs,etc.This car brakes awesome stock..

 

My friends C43 has C32 front brakes on it. From what I can see, it was a easy bolt on. The former owner (a MB tech) only upgraded because it was actually cheaper to upgrade the fronts to the C32/C55 setup then to replace the C43 multi piece rotors I have to assume he got the C32/C55 setup used and was comparing this price to his price of new multi piece rotors.

Anyway, at this point I have been told that the 18x8 31mm AMG monoblock will not clear the C32/C55 brake setup. Were going to test this, as it seems strange that the 17x7.5" factory AMG monoblock clears but the 18x8 won't.

 

I've never heard of issues with ABS when mounting larger calipers, and have never experienced any either on my S2000. That was going from the typical single piston caliper to a four piston set up as well. Granted the C43 is already an excellent performer in braking, but as 2Phast mentioned, the cost of the braking components is nuts. You can buy a pair of C32/55 front discs for the cost of a single C43/E55/CLK55 disc. I imagine the single stopping distance performance is likely not going to be improved, but repeated stopping performance will be. Also, the pedal feel of a four piston caliper cannot be compared to a single piston setup.

 

it's good to know I don't have to get any extra mounting brackets for my c32 front calipers, I can use my factory bolts delivered in the C32 box.

The other question is about the brakepad wear sensors.
C43 and C32 doesn't share the same parts number I know for sure.
They are 2 different sensors.
I hope I can use my stock warning sensor loom to connect the new wear sensors for my new calipers, or is there an adapter or maybe a new loom I have to buy designed for c32 front calipers?


The c32 stopping power can't be worse than C43 stopping power?
Is it?
Maybe they stop at similar lenght distance?
C32 is smoother.
C43 is more brutal when it comes to stopping power.
C32 must stop in shorter distance than c43?

 

let me get my upgrade finished and see what i have in the priject. ill let you know first

 

Did you ever find the hats you were looking for? Also, the bracket... gonna have to be custom? I'll swing by this weekend

 

got feelers everywere. if i cant find any by the dragon i may have to pony up for the retail price.
brackets are fine. ill need to drill the mount ears on the steering spindle 2 mm bigger. need dust plates from rudy but i think it will work!

 

Do we have enough metal on the mount ears to allow drilling? I've never looked at mine that closely...

 

Ok Guys,
For all who is thinking of a brake upgrade.
I am in the middle of doing such a task. I am installing the SLK55 6 and 4 pistons no messing around with the car it is a task I decided to take on but the right way. So here it goes, Lets start with the rear 330 mm oem cross drilled and the 4 piston all had to be done here is the backing plate had to be cut to fir the larger calipers and slightly bend them in so that it does not hit the wider and larger rotor other than that it is plug and play.
Now for the nightmare. I figured that if BREMBO the largest company makes a 6 piston upgrade for our cars it had to be possible and it should be able to be done and DONE RIGHT so, I offered up the calipers and saw that to clear the front sway bar the caliper had to be pushed up and back, long and short I called Brembo but they will not sell the bracket even thou AMG calipers are made by BREMBO so, I ordered a 360mm oem rotor form the wreckers I got the rotor from the car the calipers came off lucky me, I offered up everything and had a machinist make two brackets I figured that was easy all I need was the rotors
HOLY sh%%%!t 1035.00 for 1 oem rotor and it weighs more than my factory rotor ? this makes no sense
next beat thing called BREMBO ordered 2 355mm 2 piece rotors 1600.00 and again I figured it was all done
But NOOOOO DAMMMM!!!! GRRRRR. Back to the machine shop no luck I have to look for 360mm rotors, I also bought 2 Evosport rotors but they were too wide 36mm I need 32mm.
The 355 mm rotors pad surface is approx 4 mm less than the 360mm only because BREMBO saves weight by making a larger hat than the oem so the weight difference is 6 lbs I pretty much made all the calculations and I am off again to the machine shop to remove the 5mm off the bracket. I will do the install this week.
Now for the wheels.
For the calipers to clear top and side I have to use wheels with an off set no less than 34 et rim and it must have a flat inside not step meaning there are some wheel that collect water in the middle that is one example of a step lip. I got the wheels got the everything I just need 2mm off the bracket and it will be done.
For all who wants to do this and do not care about oem then look at Brembo I originally bought a complete bbk from Brembo
but it was 4 piston the only reason I went through all this was I can go to any Mb dealer and order parts and even my brake pad sensors are used but if I had a 99 or a 98 I would have just use the 32 or clk 4 piston . I drive this car 3000 km a year and it does not see rain. Just need to know who to post pics.

 

winks911, Good luck with the install. Post some pics..
*upload pics in the gallery