Hey guys--lease just ended on my C250 and right when I needed it someone sold a 2005 CLK500 black/black with 56k miles to our store. I swooped it up and I'm pumped, feels like I'm driving a proper Benz now.

If I had to guess, I would say this car was driven by probably an older person and (probably) a lady. How do I know? Well the front bumper was WORKED by curbs and alllll the wheels had major curbage. Sorry for the generalization but I've worked around cars my whole life (valet, lot porter, now sales) and so these are just my suspicions based on observation

At any rate, the whole point to that is my thinking this car was perhaps driven very softly (except when being parked, lol) and clearly fairly little. The brakes are at 8mm front and back, but is it possible they weren't ever really bed in? If someone drove very slow and was easy on the brakes they might not be as sharp as they could be, right? With exception to the damage (which is already all fixed ) the car is very, very clean. My C250 had great brakes, and I know the CLK is heavier but it's certainly not an underbraked car, right?

The suspension on the other hand...well it's nice and works very well, but need H&R coils STAT!

Thanks!

 

You may need some better pads/rotors but I can tell you that there is a huge difference between the way my CLK brakes and my sister's C class brakes. I find her car to be very "grabby" requiring VERY light pedal pressure. Usually that might be a good thing but in this case they are just to light IMHO. I like a little more room for modulation. It just takes a little getting used to but I prefer my CLK.

 

I've only had her a week now so in reality I'm probably just getting used to everything. Yesterday was the first time I got the tires to complain around a sweeping on ramp.

So nice to have torque on demand again!

 

I have Porterfield pads with R1 slotted and drilled rotors on my clk350 and it stop at the drop of a dime. My clk550 is stock and it stops but not as fast or hard as the clk350. Also not sure if you have the sports calipers or not.

 

They seem a bit better over the last couple days. Dunno if it's just me, or actually the car.

 

+1 for the comparison between C class.

My wife has a 2014 C250 base, which is a fun car to drive, but completely different driving experience. Brakes are definitely grabby and the throttle is really, really touchy - that turbo charged 4 can feel like a bucking bronco.

I prefer how my 09 CLK350 drives. Nice smooth acceleration, drilled rotors bring it to a quick, confident stop with just enough feedback in the pedal to know what you're doing. It's not the quickest car out there, but it's got great handling even on 17s and a smooth ride on the right tires.

Congrats on the purchase of the 500! You'll definitely enjoy it.

 

Does anyone know what other variables might make my 07 E63 "touchy" on the brake pedal (soft initially but grabby) on the first inch vs. my 06 CLK55 which has AWESOME consistency/firmness all the way down on brake pedal pressure?
i've heard of people putting in new stainless steel lines as well as flushing the brake fluid, but i'm wondering what other variables it could be...i'd like it to be like my CLK55's, and the E63 and CLK55 both appear to have large drilled rotors w/ amg stock pads.
Thx.
Patrick

 

Gentle driving might have glazed the pads/rotors. A bit of hard driving might change this.

If not sand the rotors to break the glaze & fit new genuine pads.

The genuine (Pagid) pads are very hard to beat when it comes to feel & progression. Unfortunately they make a mess. Even the Luxury/Elegance versions of the CLK have very substantial brakes.

 

Doesn't the 07-09 E63 still come with SBC? That would explain the "feel" since it's an electronic braking system (brake by wire). If that's the case SS brake lines won't make a difference from what I've heard on the forums. I had the same system on my 04 E320 and never got used to (it was removed for the 07-09 e350 & e550 I believe).