Bouncer

Can anyone educate me about brake upgrades?

The stock brakes look like rusty crap, but I don't want to spend 4K on some ultra brembo racing kit. Is there a middle path? Something that looks better than the stock stuff and provides a decent performance upgrade without looking over the top or costing a mint?

My thanks for any thoughts you can share.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

ViKTORiOUS

AMG Big Brake kit for about 600 bucks, they are awesome and look great, I am installing the C32 Brake kit on the CLK500 because i was so pleased with them on my previous CLK430. They look sick as well, do a search, and you'll see plently of the people with them. Very popular mod amongst the C-Class people, and gaining hype on the W208 crowd. The stopping power is awesome!

Josh K

I agree with VIK. I have the c32 brakes on my car and have driven around on them for about 20k miles with absolutely no complaints.

ViKTORiOUS

Josh, any problems with the brakes after long miliage? Meaning brake dust compared to stock, warped rotors? etc.. I only had mine for 500 miles before I sold off my CLK430, so I'm curious how the brakes are long term.

Bouncer

Okay this sounds reasonable! Soooo.. where do I find these things?

You can PM me if you'd rather keep it private!

Thanks,
-Bouncer-

Josh K

No brake problems whatsoever. Rotors are in great shape, brake dust is still a problem, but not worse than stock. I might try some Porterfields when it comes time to change pads.

CLKBSVegas

When I did some research on "big brakes" the stats that I found did not impress me.

It seemed like the braking performance from Stop Tech and Brembos vs. stock was simply a few feet. Now, I know that one foot could make a difference, but $1k a foot seem high to me.

Now for an aesthetic upgrade....

Is the AMG package front and back at $600?

blackbenzz

I'm pretty sure that price is just for the front. Does anyone know the diameter of the front C32 rotors? Is it 4 piston calipers?

ViKTORiOUS

600 bucks is just for the front brakes, they do not have rear applications. You can get them from www.evosport.com, however order the C32 brakes, not the CLK55 because they are not the big brake types. Also you can get them for fairly cheaper from Steve, his name on the forums is SteveNL i believe. Also www.reswest.com has them as well. Good luck, but make sure you ORDER THE C32 BRAKES FOR C32'S!

mmgrad

Hey Josh,

Sup buddy... hey, I've noticed a lot of reduced brake dust on my AMG brembo kit... is your kit really giving your that much dust?

I would say, after 2 weeks of driving, my front wheels are only marginally dirtier than the rears (about 5-10%)... with my initial stock setup, my rims would be black after a few days of braking... not so with this set

Bagher

How much does steve sell them for and how do i contact him? I'm in the same boat I dont want giant 3,000$ brembos but my stock calipers look crappy

viguera

Talk to Steve, I suppose... but I think he's still making the rounds installing stuff in the US. His nick is MBenzNL, so send him a PM or email. Either that, or just wait a while... somebody will put you in touch with him or answer your questions soon enough.

blackbenzz

Steve told me he doesnt sell the C32 brakes because they cost too much to ship.

mmgrad

no need to buy from an overseas seller... there are plenty of retailers in the states that have these for sale....

evosport is one that sells it, but, they will only sell it to a buyer who is using it for the correct application, as they are partially liable for selling you brakes if you intend to use it on the wrong car (ie., W208)

Josh K

Danny, give it some time. Mine weren't very dusty during the first 10k miles or so. They've only become as dusty as stock recently...

mmgrad

is it just that he drilled rotors get clogged up? hmm... i will have to find a way to keep them clean, else, there will be no benefit of the x-drilled rotors

varainstructor

Before you invest in top of the line performance kits, you may want to look into a good detailed clean up of what you already have on the car and a set of Porterfield pads. Josh mentioned these in his post. The stopping characteristics for street use, compared to a full kit upgrade, are closer than you might think and it will save you some serious cash. They are about the best stopping compound in pads money can buy, street or track. You won't be disappointed. Between our race team and our street cars we are one of Porterfields better customers and I wouldn't look anywhere else.

If you what the sweet look of the AMG over the whimpy stock caliper, then you'll just have to pony up the cash since there's no substitute for the real deal.

varainstructor

Actually, the purpose of a drilled rotor is to dissapate heat not to create more friction, as many think. Overheated rotors are dangerous rotors as they tend to warp or in extreme cases, grenade into pieces. This why you see so much design go into brake cooling ducts for race applications. Even to the extent of sacrificing aerodynamics.

If the drilled or slotted rotors are loaded up, they are still serving their purpose since the brake dust does not act as a heat sink. Consequently, the heat dissapation still occurs.

mmgrad

haha... yeah, i knew that... somehow, my answer came out different from what I wanted to say...

ericktu

er hehe would the c32 big brake kit fit an S class w220?