jsrcdr

Hey guys, I am new to this forum having recently purchased a silver '01 430 with 36k miles. I absolutely love the car but coming off a 911 the brakes have something to be desired. I am interested in the upgrading to SS brake lines and possibly new calipers/rotors. I've run the forum search and really didn't find the answers to my questions (at least recently dated). So, where do you recommend I purchase the new brake lines from and what are my options for caliper/rotor upgrades? I did read somewhere folks were using C32 calipers but there are issues due to the mounting orientation. Is this still an acceptable setup and if so, what year C32 brakes should I look for. I plan to keep the stock 17" wheels.

Thanks for the help. John

wnycec

I believe tirerack.com has SS brake lines... you could also go onto ebay and find many vendors.

As far as braking power... you could upgrade to brembo but stock 17's prob wont cut it with any of their kits... the forum will chime in if i am wrong here...

An cheaper solution might be to upgrade your pads to ceramic pads along with slotted and or drilled rotors... also available on ebay or tire rack.

bbearden

I bought a set of stock sized drilled Brembo rotors and picked up Porterfield (carbon kevlar) brake pads from for my mercedes dot com. They are very low dust and the stopping power is great. C32 calipers are the cheapest upgrade if you want upgraded calipers. As mentioned above, stainless steel lines are a good upgrades and give you better pedal feel. Lastly, if you stay with factory sized rotors, you can get them cryo-treated, although I have never used rotors with this procedure done. Best of luck....

chem1441

I would try to do the cheapest stuff first. MB brakes may feel mushy, but they still are pretty strong and work very well. I think the standard CLK430 setup stops from 60mph in 121 feet....thats Porsche territory.

Cheap stuff would be new pads, new rotors, SS brake lines and a good brake fluid flush. If that still doesnt feel good enough, then Id consider swapping calipers... just my 2 cents...

DropTop208

DO NOT get the ebay SS brake lines. I bought 2 sets. Works fine the first few weeks, then gets mushy. After the second month, the lines blew out on me. Get stoptech lnes. Thats what I got on mine along with ceramic pads with cross drilled and slotted rotors all the way around.

MarcusF

Exactly what CHEM1221 said. A 2002 CLK430 takes two feet further to stop from 60MPH than a 2004 911 GT3. If your pedal feel mushy, check your records to see when the fluid was flushed last. Then flush it again anyway. I alternate between ATE Superblue and Typ200, but any quality DOT4 fluid will firm that pedal right up.

The OEM pads may regularly dust the wheels, and the rotors may need replacing every other brake job, but the stock brakes on a CLK430 are fantastic.