That's exactly right. This sounds like something that the NTSB & DOT should have regulations for, to insure that domestic & import cars meet stringent safety requirements

 

Is a major issue IMO. If the SBC is so good, i'm curious if it shows in braking figures of cars of similar size (weight).

Sam - any data?

Acemanb

 

Straight line braking on dry pavement doesn't prove much. SBC won't look any better than Mercedes w/o it or other vehicles with good brakes. It's reaction time, braking in curves, braking on bad surfaces, etc. where SBC will be better.

 

Bud,

Outside of those of us who were fed the marketing hype from MB on the sbc, is there any independent data out there you're aware of?

Not trying to bust chops here i'm just really curious as to what hte risk/reward was for MB when they decided to go with the SBC - obviously the risk wasn't worth it!

aceman

 

I haven't any data but brake-by-wire isn't going away. Consider how you would accomplish braking on a vehicle fueled by fuel cells. What would produce the vacuum?

Mercedes have always been in the lead with safety features such as disk brakes, ABS, ESP, etc. In this case, they got too far ahead of the curve.

If people think SBC is dangerous, they should take a look at the history of the Ford Motor Company. Everyone is aware of the fiasco with the Explorer but what about the history of fires dating all the way back to the Pinto and continuing on with the Crown Vic, Mercury Marquis and Lincoln Town Car.

Has anyone EVER heard of a German car that caught fire in an accident much less prevented escape because the doors jammed?

I haven't had to use the SBC features such as braking in a curve or it's ability to perform on bad road surfaces but I have had to get on them hard on several occasions and they are terrific brakes.

I still think Mercedes are dropping them (for a while) because of cost and liability concerns. Meanwhile, I let my wife drive the E320 and don't worry about it. I've had all the TSB's installed including the ones dealing with voltage control so I'm not sure what I need to worry about.

 

alas, with only 3 cars in the world (one a super car 'SLR') with it, there isn't much of anything on it. The fact is that it's not going to improve the straight line braking, as that's all in the ABS and the disc/rotor/cliper.. the advantage comes from the braking in a curve.. there aren't any real world tests that I can find with google, but there are a few websites that discuss the advantage that SBC provides while braking during a turn or on a high speed curve..

This is all due to the fact that the system can modulate brake pressure 100% variably to each wheel... where as the vacuum system relies on ABS to apply variable brake.. this system does it right at the source... the pressure to the caliper.

 

I read this thread about 24 hours ago, and amazingly, my mother's 2003 E500 which was about to go in for the second SBC recall had a near catastrophic brake failure. She missed her turn as the car didn't stop in time and with greater pedal effort she coasted to a stop further down the road.

When the car was restarted, the brakes worked fine and the red warning sign was replaced by a lesser brake malfunction suggesting we "visit workshop".

The service manager said he didn't think this is recall related, but these guys are all alike. As great as SBC sounds from its description, it's been a huge failure by DC in its execution on the w211.

 

Not just the E-Class. SBC has been an expensive experiment in making something more complex than it needs to be. In the future, cars with it will be scrapped because of the cost of fixing it will exceed the residual value of the car.

 

by the time it costs more to replace SBC parts on you SL55, your SL55 is going to be a classic collectable!

Me personally, I like to have the same brake system in my E as is in the Maybach.

 

Hi Jay,
Could you possibly clear your pm box please?

Happy New Year,
John

 

oops , will do John! Yes, Happy New Year.