5-Salt

Hello,


New to the board but impressed with the support and advise.

I just purchase a 2000 E320 Seden w/ 27,000 miles. Car is very clean and nice change of pace from my F350 diesel truck. Bose Sound and GPS system are nice options.

Car is based in Texas after a nice 2,400 mile relocation from Seattle - not sure what I was thinking buying a black car now that I am in the heat of the south. She is such a beauty and it pretty easy to keep a car clean in down here so I do not think I will regret the color selection.


Planning a few upgrades before too long to improve the general handling of the car:

Rims 18" BBS RIMS
Brakes?? (Advice?)
Shocks (Bilstein HD or ???)
Window Tint (Advice?)

Wish list items:

1. Get the phone to work some how....? If anyone can offer some input beyond the $2000.00 dealer replacement, I would be very appreciative.

2. Resolve the squeeky steering issue - saw the post for this one but have yet to see a solution did not involve replacing the Rack.

Thanks for having me and I look forward to contributing.


Cheers - 5-Salt

E-Klasse

I went with Brembo brakes. A set of crossdrilled rotors would be good but if you want to sink a lot of money in to it, then get the whole larger brake kit. If you get the bigger brakes them you will have to get bigger wheels too.

The type of shocks will depend on if you plan on lowering the car an inch or so. Bilsteins are a good choise.

For tint, 3M makes a great product that in non metalic and has no dyes to fade or change color. It is pure carbon. It looks great on a black car too.

5-Salt

E-Klasse,

Regarding drilled rotors for a stock rim application, will I notice a fair improvement in everyday driving or mostly when doing a lot of heavy braking.

Like the idea of bigger brakes as the stock setup is a bit on weak side but would like to avoid laying out cash for brakes, wheels and tires on the same day.

Thanks - 5-Salt

zam2000

Welcome

Just put in a nice set of 18" wheels (BBS or E55 AMG), upgrade the shock to Bilstein HD, tint the window, and you're set

Why bother with the phone, just get a 20$ headset.

Peteski

Zam: $20 headset - what do you mean?

michakaveli

An earpiece for your cell phone....

Hop, Skip to your nearest Radio Shack some cell phone accesories.

d2Benz

guys, I'm thinkin' of upgrading to a drilled rotors,
1. is this a good one? Brembo Rotors

2. do I need to start using brembo pads after changin' to the brembo rotors?

michakaveli

I just bought a pair of Zimmerman cross-drilled for the rear and TexTar pads. Very happy after 2 days of driving.

sbarsap

Before you buy the drilled Brembo's make sure the sizes are correct. For 01's and up on a W210 here are the sizes:

Front 316mm
Rear 290mm

All the Brembo's I have seen are 300mm fronts and 290mm rears. I have an 01 E430 and haven't found Brembo's in 316mm for the fronts.

If you want to drop your car then you would need lowering springs/shocks. I have a used set of Bilstein SP/Eibach's for sale. They only have 300 miles on them.

https://mbworld.org/forums/classifieds/102596-fs-bilstein-sp-eibach-pro-kit-w210.html

d2Benz

sbarsap,
thanks for the update. Mine is a '96. I didn't know about the spec.
are '96s 300mm????

I haven't thought about lowering my car right now. Maybe later...

Gregs210

Welcome to the club and the forum.

I'll assume you're out of warranty, but there is a tsb on the steering noise issue. You don't have to replace the rack, but if I remember correctly they had to R&R it to replace a seal on my 2001. Thus, the labor involved was substantial, but I got it in just before the warranty expired. I can dig through my paperwork if you want the tsb number.

Since it's a known issue I'd argue it with your dealer to have them at least pay for the labor, particularly if you're not too far past your warranty days.

On the brakes, there's a long thread on the 210 chassis over at benzworld with lots of good input on different rotors and pads, it's benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1199363&posts=18&fid=17 (you'll need to put the www in front of it as you cut/paste it). Not that there aren't also good ones here, but that's the first one I found of that detail.

Good luck and enjoy the ride,
Greg

Top Jimmy

Nice looking ride you got yourself there! Like most others here I too have a W210, '96 vintage with 67K one owner miles, and I love it -- well, most of the time.

I had to learn about the car myself and this, along with some other forums have been a great help. In particular, E-Klasse. (Thanks again "E"). Of all of the forums, I believe you will find this one the most helpful and quickest responding of all. Glad you are here.

With respect to your phone question, I have to wonder why? In this age cell phones I think the car version would be difficult to justify. Nevertheless, I did make sure mine worked when I bought it, so maybe you are going after the additional power, or perhaps an emergency situation. I just powered mine up and heard "Welcome to the Verision Network, If you would like to make a call, please have a credit card ready" ‘Nugh said. I can us it in an emergency, otherwise I am sticking with my cell.

The Rotor / Pad / Spring / Lowering / Wheel question is a good one. That sounds exactly like what I would love to do with mine. The thread referenced above is a good place to start. I think I am going with the Brembo cross-drilled rotors and Mintex or Axxis pads.

I do have an open question for the group. There are many (like the one posted above) placed that sell these for around $100 - $110 a pair for the front only. My question is, are these places drilling them themselves, or do they come from Brembo that way , and how do you find out? (Brings to mind the time my friend thought he could mill the head of his ZY 250 with emory cloth... but I digress.)

So there you have it… a lengthy welcome/question and fine how-do-you-do.

Gregs210

Hi, Jimmy.

Brembo makes factory cross-drilled rotors. And they are stunning to look at and to afford. Brakeworld.com is pricey: $290 for the fronts, $210 for the rears, but Tire Rack has them for a more reasonable price ($187 for the front, $170 for the back). The rotors themselves are slightly different as well (directional venting is common for Brembo drilled rotors), but still...OUCH! (And Tire Rack notes right on their site that there is no warranty against cracking or warping with drilled rotors--see below.)

There are lots of shops that buy the blanks and drill them and the question is what blanks do they use and how do they drill them. After looking at a few places I ended up going with a place I found on E-Bay; it takes them about a month but you do save some dough. Mine are true Brembo rotors -- stamped right on them -- but he used a CAD setup to drill them; the holes are also chamfered. I inspected them pretty closely as soon as I received them and didn't see any evidence of overheating (dull bits or poor cooling overheats the drilling points) and their jig misses all of the support structure in the vents (the cheap shops just drill through some of the venting structure), so their shop is paying attention to the details. Nevertheless, drilled rotors are more prone to cracking, so that's something to watch out for if you go that route. I'm not particularly hard on brakes and for the cost difference I decided to try the shop-drilled variety. They were under $250 with shipping, both front and rear and the seller was Nights Auto Parts.

I have yet to find the time to install them -- as well as trying to decide whether to paint the calipers -- but at this point don't anticipate any issues. I'll do a post once the brakes are on (with some pics) so if you're not in a rush it shouldn't be too long before I can provide a little more useful feedback. I also decided to go with the Axxis Ultimate pads; they're supposed to cut down on brake dust considerably and work well when wet (metallics often fall down here), cold or hot.

Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg

Top Jimmy

Greg,

I will look forward to seeing the pix of your blood-sweat-and (hopefully not) tears on this project. I have looked at the Rotors you mentioned on E-bay from Nights and one other vendor. I figured they were doing their own drilling, which if done correctly, should not be a problem. I would welcome others to weigh-in on this issue.

Your post brings up another matter I was considering, i.e., painting the calipers. I think some nicely painted calipers are the finishing touch with cross-drilled rotors. I was curious if others are painting their own, or replacing them with the fancy-smancy aftermarket ones. (Not that that is a bad thing).

If others have painted their own, I am curious
1) What paint they used? (epoxy, spray, etc.)
2) Were the calipers completely removed to paint?
3) How did you clean them before painting?
and
4) How do you keep them clean after the fact?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
Until then, take a look at this fine example from pocholin from the E55 forum.

Gregs210

Hi, Jimmy.

I just started a new thread on the caliper painting question soliciting input from our forum members. Briefly, though, there is special caliper paint which is supposed to be flexible and high-heat. Unfortunately you can only put it on with a brush and it's fairly expensive. It is available at most generic auto parts stores (Checker/Kragen Pep Boys etc.). The colors on the caliper kits are very limited.

I've also used high-heat spray paint with a separate high-heat primer base. It dries more quickly and seems to hold up just as well.

Prep is the key. Aerosol brake cleaners are so easy, but they have a tendency to swell seals and the like, so the best thing is strong detergents and cleaners once the tire is off. As always, be sure to support the car properly, don't work with just a jack. A rag with a strong solvent will work on tougher areas and if you protect the rubber areas (the piston seals primarily) you can spray bad areas, too. Fine grade steel wool to follow a thorough cleaning, and then compressed air to spray off any particles left behind. You don't need to remove existing paint so long as it's clean and roughed up (by the steel wool).

If you're using the brush-on paint it's actually easier if they're on the vehicle, since you don't usually paint the backside. The kits I've used you don't need a primer coat, but if you're using conventional high-heat aerosol you do want a primer, 2 or 3 coats. Obviously, if you're using spray paint and you don't remove the calipers, you have to cover EVERYTHING other than the caliper and around the wheel well; you don't want the paint particles drifting and sticking to your car's finish. Let the coats dry between applications per the paint manufacturer's recommendations.

If you remove the calipers, remember that you need to seal the open lines and if you're going to open the braking system, you might want to consider stainless braided lines to replace the rubber hoses. It is a noticeable improvement. Of course you'll have to bleed the system afterwards if you remove the calipers.

Once the finish is complete, let it dry 24 hours before you drive the car. Some folks have used wheel wax to try and keep them easier to clean. I haven't tried that since it seems the heat would bake it right off. Wash them as best you can when you wash the car, when they're cool is best.

Well, it's not as brief as I'd intended, but there you have it.

Enjoy the ride, painted calipers or otherwise.
Greg

d2Benz

I need to change my rotors on a '96 e320...stock wheels...
Those of you that are using Brembo or other rotors please recommend a place and price. I found one on ebay brembo
cheers!

Gregs210

Hi, d2.

Unless you have a reason to go with performance rotors, everything I've heard and read says that the stock ones are fine. You can find them at autohausaz.com and autopartswarehouse.com and you'll get free shipping to boot since you'll pass the $50 point. They both sell OEM and aftermarket, any of which are fine. Lots of folks like the Zimmermans as well as the Brembos, but the oem is fine.

That said, I had to change rear rotors due to warping (don't know how the car was driven before I owned it) and since I replaced my wheels and the brakes are now visible, I decided to pay the extra to get drilled rotors all 'round as I had to do the pads, too. I'm perfectly happy with the braking performance, so it was primarily a cosmetic decision on the rotors.

I will say that Night's Auto is where I picked up my drilled Brembos and they are genuine Brembos that he drills out; looks like good work. Two big caveats: If you're in a hurry he takes about a month to get them to you. Second, drilled rotors are more prone to cracking; even the ones Brembo drills from the factory are not warranted against cracks.

To sum it up, unless you have a reason to go premium, then all you need is stock, so hit one of the other places, you'll get them quickly and for a great price.

Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg

d2Benz

Gregg,

thanks for the info. I'll go OEM.

cheers!

sbarsap

Yes I believe 96-00 are 300mm for the fronts. check MikeyE430's thread on his brake job.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/84712-brake-job.html