alan_e550

Hi everyone, I'm doing a change on the brake pads on my 2011 e550 4matic. As expected, the OEM brakes are rather pricey coming at $165. I did find that the low-met performance brake pads are significantly cheaper from Brembo coming at $135. Is it worth saving the $30 and going with Brembo or am I safer choosing OEM? Thanks for any help!

S. Madman

Brembos have been good to me. I did change the rotors and pad though.

alan_e550

Ive been looking into changing the rotors as well. Have brembos been good to you?

DFWdude

You can skip the dealer OEM-branded Akebonos and buy the Autozone OEMs (Akebonos). Last set I bought were $95 (fronts only).

S. Madman

I had issues with OEM Brembo (black pads), and Zimmerman OEM rotors. They pulsed, and vibrated like crazy in less than 3-4 months.

Switched to Brembo pads NAO (red pads) with Brembo rotors, and not problems 8 months now. Some 2014's come with NAO pads, and they have no problems.

alan_e550

Thats actually exactly what I was thinking of doing. The previous owner of my car put on zimmermans and they’re starting to vibrate enough for me to be annoyed. I’ll end up doing what you did, thank you!

cetialpha5

Just get the Zimmermans and Akebono pads from Fcpeuro. Lifetime warranty on all parts they sell so any bad rotors you can just return. That's what I did and no problems with them. The Akebono are ceramic pads so you don't get any brake dust, but they're not quite as good as oem pads, less grabby, but it bascially makes the car feel less sensitive to the brakes but it still stops fine. Once you're used to them, it's pretty normal. And of course the Akebono pads normally just come with a 30 day warranty so it's nice to get a lifetime warranty.

VegasE

You'll get as many opinions as posters. I have been very pleased with EBC red pads and EBC rotors. The pads have better initial bite than OEM, very low dust, and no noise. For best prices, check Amazon and then call EBC and they will match any Amazon price. That way you are sure of not getting fakes.
I've also been pleased with Zimmerman rotors which is the OEM supplier for several German manufacturers.

cm60k

^^+1^^,

"Zimmerman" Rotors with "EBC" Redstuff, are the best combination indeed..

-;-ZAYED-;-

happyeds

www.Porterfield-brakes.com - Went through more pads than I care to list until I put Porterfield R4-S's my 2014 E550. Front AP 1634, Rear AP 986. You'll never look back. From city driving to high speed highway stopping, they will stop better than any other pad on the market.

DFWdude

Since all these cars run with antilock braking systems, I think it's very difficult to tell the performance of one brake pad from another. IMO, ABS modulates brakes better than any human short of F1 Champion driver Lewis Hamilton.

Alandf

Sorry , I may have mentioned this before......
When I purchased OEM pads at the dealer, the parts clerk was an former mechanic. He said he only uses Brembos on his MB. I bought the OEM anyway. I didn't want to have any issues if I later on had an extended warranty claim.Did not want MB to have the excuse of 'not factory parts'

kp1

OEM pads/rotors lasted 17K miles on my wife's 2014 E350 with AMG Sport Appearance Package before they started juttering. There was a TSB on the very issue but my dealer service manager refused to ask MB to replace them. He said they had too many miles. I think he wanted to charge me something like $1500-$1800 to replace them. I bought OEM parts and installed them myself for about $650 +/-. Brakes started juttering again at about 33K miles, almost all city driving. Put up with it until now at 39K miles and I pulled the wheels and checked them out. Front cross drilled rotors had all of the holes filled with a combination of rust and brake dust. The cooling veins were clogged with rust. Rear rotors are seriously corroded also and while the pads have plenty of thickness left, the rotors have grooves in them and the pads have conformed to the grooves. So I bought Akebono Euro ceramic pads and Pagid coated rotors all the way around. The Akebono pads are made in the USA, they are very low dust, and they don't require any burnishing or bedding in. All in, with new hardware, pads, and rotors, I'm at $425 w/tax and shipping. Will this be as good as or better than OEM? We shall see.

Fliplegend

FYI, Pelican Parts has the OEM MB pads for $118...
I just did the front brakes on my 2016 E350 and was able to source OEM MB pads for $90. Deals can be had if you look hard enough.

cetialpha5

Should have gotten them at FCPeuro for the lifetime warranty. Akebono's warranty is only 30 days. I have the Zimmerman rotors on both cars. After a few years, they're both fine, no issue with rotors or pads.

S. Madman

550's use a completely different style of brake system on the front's for both the m278's and M273's. 350' use a different kind as well.

Fliplegend

Correct. FCP Euro currently has OE MB front pads for $100 for the E350 which is a damn good deal considering they are lifetime warranty.