Need help in determining what brake rotors to use
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 23
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From: CA
2000 CLK430
Need help in determining what brake rotors to use
Hi, My CLK430 is due for replacement of front and rear rotors and pads. Do you folks recommend using the cross drilled rotors at all? Any experience from those who used them? good or bad? and if you are happy with it, please let me know the brand and if possible where to get them. Thanks in advance.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 462
Likes: 3
From: By the City by the Bay, CA
2001 E320 (210.065), Brilliant Silver; 2002 Ducati ST-2, Arrest-me Red
Hi, Tony.
Basic rule: MBZ did a great job with brakes, so if you've been happy with your brake performance, just replace the rotors with stock.
Generally speaking drilled rotors are more susceptible to cracks and breakage than are plain rotors, while slotted rotors will accelerate the wear of your pads. If you really want drilled rotors and are hard on your brakes, then get ones that are designed and drilled by the manufacturer, such as Brembos. There are lots of people who drill the blanks, but the rotors were not designed for that even if the places do a good job drilling. If you're not particularly hard on your brakes (and don't do mountains, track days, etc.) you might get by with the drilled blanks for cosmetic reasons. (Since I'm not hard on brakes, I did go with drilled blanks for the look.)
Plain OEM rotors are all over the web, lots of sites have them, I personally like autohausaz.com, autopartswarehouse.com and parts.mbz.org in that order. For example, your stock front rotors are under $60 each at Autohausaz and that's brembo/zimmerman.
I replaced my stock pads with the Axxis Ultimates, got them from EvoBreed (he sells on ebay primarily). Very, very good pads, excellent braking both cold and hot, reduced brake dust. If you're a track man you might look at some others but for all around use I can recommend the Axxis Ultimates without reservation.
If you're thinking of a DIY I did a picture-post for E-class over in the 210 forum, virtually identical to your brakes: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/107227-okay-brake-job.html
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
Basic rule: MBZ did a great job with brakes, so if you've been happy with your brake performance, just replace the rotors with stock.
Generally speaking drilled rotors are more susceptible to cracks and breakage than are plain rotors, while slotted rotors will accelerate the wear of your pads. If you really want drilled rotors and are hard on your brakes, then get ones that are designed and drilled by the manufacturer, such as Brembos. There are lots of people who drill the blanks, but the rotors were not designed for that even if the places do a good job drilling. If you're not particularly hard on your brakes (and don't do mountains, track days, etc.) you might get by with the drilled blanks for cosmetic reasons. (Since I'm not hard on brakes, I did go with drilled blanks for the look.)
Plain OEM rotors are all over the web, lots of sites have them, I personally like autohausaz.com, autopartswarehouse.com and parts.mbz.org in that order. For example, your stock front rotors are under $60 each at Autohausaz and that's brembo/zimmerman.
I replaced my stock pads with the Axxis Ultimates, got them from EvoBreed (he sells on ebay primarily). Very, very good pads, excellent braking both cold and hot, reduced brake dust. If you're a track man you might look at some others but for all around use I can recommend the Axxis Ultimates without reservation.
If you're thinking of a DIY I did a picture-post for E-class over in the 210 forum, virtually identical to your brakes: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/107227-okay-brake-job.html
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,330
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1967 Morris Cooper "S", 1983 911SC, 1997 Toyota Tacoma, 1999 HD FXSTB, 1998 C43
Brakes
Greg's got great advice...I have used nightsauto on ebay before with great results. He simply did not have drilled rotors or OEM from my C43. He has nice Brembos that may work for your vehicle though.
