220S

I totally agree that one shouldn't skimp at all on parts (or maintenance.) But if you buy quality rotors from another source like EvoSport or Heyvon Motors, you won't void your warranty but only be in a position where anything related to that non-OEM part may not be covered. In other words, if your tranny fails and you have Evopsort rotors installed, the tranny is still covered under warranty. But yes, using all OEM parts installed by the dealer will give you 100% peace of mind.

My dealer is mod-friendly and actually likes the quality parts that come from Kleemann and Renntech. They know about the Evosport rotors and also the Brembo rotors (and Brembo is the OEM supplier for AMG rotors anyway.)

The EvoSport rotors aren't cheap either, they sell for $1500 for just the front axle. They also weigh less. The only thing that might concern me is that part of that weight is in the rotor itself and I wonder if they are a bit thinner than the Brembos (the aluminum hats are what really reduces weight in both the OEM and the Evosport.)

One thing that's "wrong" about the OEM rotors is that the vents are the same on the L and R. There is no parts differentiation between the L and R rotors. So you end up with the vents going the wrong way on one side. This is a 'cheap' way for MB for sell rotors. The Evosport rotors have different L and R designations and so the vents are going the right direction on both sides.

If you do use high quality aftermarket stuff, just be wise about it and be careful about any potential warranty issues.

hyperion667

more excellent words..........rock on 220S

Quadcammer

thats not exactly true. The vanes in the oem rotors are simply straight, so they can be used on either side, and there won't be a "wrong" side. The eurosport vanes are curved like a fan so they are more effective, but as you noted must be directional.

You realize, i hope, that the ceramic rotors you're quoting prices on are basically designed to last almost the entire life of the car (i.e. 100k plus miles, at least). Thats one of the benefits of the ceramic brake upgrade.

220S

Actually the vanes on the OEM AMG rotors are not straight. They are curved forward and therefore are facing up on the opposite side. This was brought up about a year ago on the AMG PL forum and when asked, AMG dodged the question. Apparently before 2003, there were L and R PNs for the rotors. After 2003 the L and R are the same PN. "I own a 2003 CLK55 AMG. I noticed that both, still original MB brake rotors have LEFT Directional Vanes and Drilled Holes, which is correct for the LEFT side. But, completely wrong for the RIGHT side." Then this response by another owner: "The front rotors on my 2002 E55 are directional, are marked "L" & "R" and have two different part numbers."


Here's the question directly asked to the AMG product managers by a CLK63 BS owner (and who tracks the car a lot) on the PL forum:

"There is only one part number for the rotor, and one of the other benefits is cooling, the cooling vanes inside the disc are directional but with only one orientation, one side gets proper cooling and the other does not. That results in a difference in the color of the calipers after track use. So, what about providing left and right oriented discs for the two piece rotor system?"

There was then a non-answer (just a mention about the hat and the rotor as one part.) So it was asked again:

"Based on what I see, the cooling vanes inside the disc are directional, but since the rotors are the same unit for either side, only one side gets proper cooling and the other does not. So on the left side the vanes in the disc are scooping air into the disc providing the necessary cooling, while on the right side the vanes are facing the wrong way and they're pushing the air out and not cooling as well.
That creates a difference in the color of the calipers after track use because the heat build up on the right caliper is greater than on the left, therefore the right caliper is darker. It also results in tiny little rotor cracks that are worse on the hot side (right) than on the cool side. So, to rephrase my earlier question, can you please look into providing properly oriented rotors for these high performance monsters?"

Then AMG finally said:

"Thank you for the clarification - yes, we can look into the orientation of the rotors."

It has been brought up before here on the AMG boards, too. Here's a post from a thread back in 2003 when it was discovered: http://m.www.mbworld.org/forums/show...10&postcount=6 "With the introduction of cross drilling on recent Mercedes, and the move to lower-cost rotor sources, there is now only a LEFT HAND application for all cars, and this application is used incorrectly on the right side of the car."

Evosport mentions this as part of their claim over the OEMs (Brad has said here before that their vanes are directional and there is a R and L unlike the OEM AMG rotors.)

It's kind of perplexing that MB sells them this way.

If you look at the rotors the vanes definitely appear to be directional.

mbz4810

Can someone verify that ceramic lasts up to 100k... seems very strange??? Thought ceramic was design to produces less heat, less dust...

hyperion667

and even if they do last that long.....does that exceed the cost of having it done (twice or three times?) in that time frame? regular brakes? no, it doesn't...

from what I can tell, unles you're racing, those carbon ceramic brakes are not for everyday people.....

ImInPA

I did not intend to compare a Veyron to an E63. My point was and is that, as the price of the toys goes up, so does the care and feeding. As always, the difference between the men and the boys is the price of their toys.

Quadcammer

I stand corrected, although that is incredibly half assed if true

brad @ evosport

It is very true. The AMG are curved and only one directional, yet used on both sides.

Thanks
brad