docmfg

I own a E46 M3 and its brakes seem a hell of alot more responsive than the 6/4piston brakes on my 09 C63. The M feels like it stops on a dime, not so with my C63. It seems that I have to really press down hard to stop the car quickly. I wouldn't feel confident on a track with these brakes. Is this normal? The car only has 720 miles on it. I'm sure the dealer would tell me there is nothing wrong if I had them check the brakes.

RM-6302

BMWs have very quick brakes. I have owned a '97 M3 sedan and more recently a '07 335i. Each responded quickly to the slightest push on the pedal. I think the C63 has at least two things that do not work in it's favor: 1 . It's 4,000 LBS. 2. The brembo calipers and pads are less aggressive than those on your BMW. Just my opinion. What do you think?

e1000

IMO, the difference is pedal feel, not stopping power. Since the brake pedal travels a bit more and is boosted less, you get the sense that they aren't gripping. The brakes on the C63 are MUCH larger and much more capable than those found on the E46 M3.

RM-6302

I agree with everything you are saying. My point was to describe the aggressive "bite" of the BMW's brakes. There are dozens if not hundreds of brake pad compositions each with their own qualities and properties. The C63's must be less aggressive than those on his M3.

bigbodybeeenz

I would have to agree. The brakes on my C63 seem to have less stopping power than the ones I had on my 330Ci. Seems strange since the brakes are almost twice as big

passcheco

Imo Mercedes Benz should have gone with ceramic type pads, if was not for the warranty issue I would change my in hard beat and save the wheels at the same time.

RM-6302

That was my point as well. Brake pads are about compromises. The BMW typical grabby brakes are notorious for their dust getting all over the wheels very quickly at that. I would think that the less aggressive pads on the C63 will produce less brake dust. Do you know of anyone offering alternative brake pads for the C63?

Ron Scarboro

It has to be feel. The empirical numbers don't support any additional stopping power differences. In fact the (non-M3) 3series BMW generally stops a bit longer in magazine tests.

I owned both a E36 and an E46 M3. Different feel, but I don't think either of those cars would come to a halt quicker than my C63.

Glock Guru

For a 4000 plus pound car (C63), I think the brakes are great.

e1000

I'm not sure if they make ceramic pads for the C63 yet, but it may be a good alternative when they become available. This shouldn't affect your warranty one bit.

bizguy4u

Has anyone used the C63 brakes in earnest when wet?

Pretty amazing stopping power. Instant compared to my old 2006 M3!

Its all easy in aperfect day and conditions! It's when you are in the crappola that these things matter!

sick430

the problem is not stopping distance at all but rather the fell you get from the brakes. ie. the distance you have to push the pedal. these cars when looking at all factors have a great stopping distance.

bigbodybeeenz

It never rains in Southern California

peet

Umm.. you guys do know that ceramic brakes actually are WORSE for stopping in normal usage right? You need to cook them up to temp before they really function.

I agree though, it's about "feel" not function. The car stops like mad, but what you're feeling is the inertia of 4000 pounds coming to a stop which shoves you forward and makes you feel like it didn't work as well as it should. Also the brake pedal feel is so so - i attribute that to rubber brake lines... anyone swap to braided lines and did the feel improve?

e1000

I think you're talking about ceramic composite rotors and we're talking about just ceramic pads.

paulGT3

The reason your M brakes "feel" better is because they are over boosted to make up for the cheap one piston design. My 08 335i brakes are the same way. You should feel the oposite about the brakes. The M brakes arent track worthy, the AMG brakes are more than worthy. A couple laps on the track with the M brakes and they would be cooked. The AMG brakes are plenty big enough and with the massive 6 piston design is superior to the BMW design. Even BMW knows this. They are switching to Brembo next year and the brembos are already on the 135i.
I have had 3 911s two with Ceramics and I have driven the new M3 hard and the AMG is better than the M brakes.

docmfg

I agree with you guys. It is the subjective feel that I guess is the difference. Objectively I couldn't tell which one was better but given the 6 piston brakes I would tend to think they would stop better than the E46 M3. It was just the feel I was referring to and am glad to hear it is just not my car. 300 miles to go before I can open her up! Can't wait.
Thanks for the replies.

e1000

There are many factors that go into stopping a car. Almost all modern brakes, even the small puny ones on cheaper cars, are more than adequate to stop a car. This simply means that they are able to lockup the tires, or if equipped, trip the ABS system. In a one stop scenario, tires have more to do with stopping distances than brakes do. So why do we need gigantic brake rotors and 6-piston fixed calipers as apposed to a single piston floating caliper? The larger rotor size, weight, and larger, fixed calipers help to reduce brake fade, uneven wear, and greatly improve performance when pushed to the limit with repeated high speed stops.

MB Fanatic

The brakes on the 030 do not have ceramic composite material within the rotor. However, it is the pads that are ceramic. The rotor itself is a floating rotor.

MHP

C63 P30 rotors are aluminum hubbed.

I agree with Peet on the SS line/feel theory.

MHP

Stock v P30:

peet

PRETTY! SHINY!

No I meant any sort of CF in fact. Mostly yes, carbon ceramic, but the same is true - albeit requiring less warmup - with CF pads. I would suspect that is why the 030 rotors have slots - the slots create more scraping and friction. The cost is faster pad wear, but better pad surfuce and warmup time.

(flame suit on)

Hans Delbruck

I agree about the feel of BMW brakes. Too much grab on initial bite, followed by a bit of pedal travel, then they firm up. You end up having to use a light touch, then increase pressure, just to get a smooth stop. The brakes on my Z4 M Coupe were difficult to modulate because of this. I think it was the result of aggressive pads and too much brake boost. Brembos are much easier to modulate but do not give that artificial feel of "grab" at initial pedal pressure.... they just provide steady, predictable braking power. It takes getting used to but it's great. The C63 is somewhere in between BMW and Brembo feel, IMO. Fwiw, my .01

scarbrtj

what am i lookin' at there MHP? Stock vs PP brakes?

paulGT3

The ones with the silver hub are iron and the ones with the black hub are the ceramics. I have the PP but no ceramics or alcantara. I wonder what happened with that and if MB would retro the ceramic rotors. My rear rotors are slotted
unlike the front rotors.