donny79

I want to order performance rotors and brakes and option is sport package or without sport package? How do I know the difference? It does have a c s button to change to sport at high speeds but idk if that means sport package is there any other way to tell?

Left Coast Geek

if you have an E350, the sport package rides lower, has 18" wheels, drilled brake rotors, and if its a 2014+ it has the AMG front and rear trim. the luxury package on 2014-2016 has the classic grill, rides at a sane height, has 17" wheels.

the drilled rotors are actually NOT good for street use, the undrilled ones will brake better and last longer, unless you're doing repeated 150 mile/hour laps on a race track.

on the E350, you can use either style rotor. AFAIK, Mercedes uses the same pads on both rotors on the E350 cars, but there's a whole bunch of aftermarket rotors that are probably better for various reasons (less brake dust, harder braking at the expense of more rotor wear, etc).

The AMG E63 and so forth models use a different 6-pot brake, with bigger rotors, and completely different pads, thats a whole different story, and not easily interchanged unless you want to do a bunch of work, there's a thread here where someone retrofits those on a car entirely for the looks (wtf?!?)

Left Coast Geek

p.s. that E/S button just changes your gear shift ratios. S mode shifts at higher RPMs. I actually prefer S mode at low speeds in town if I'm driving a bit aggressively, but switch back to E mode when at highway speeds. I have a 2016 E350 4matic wagon, luxury package.

donny79

I have the drilled rotors and the 18 inch rims but I bought it off some dude in Brooklyn so I think he put the rims on probably rotors to

DFWdude

To determine your car's equipment, enter your car's VIN number at www.lastvin.com

Quint22

Curious, my E250 2014 came with sport package (AMG trim, drilled front rotors...) however it has 17" wheels that I believe are stock if I remember from looking up the vin. Are the 18s a E350 thing or did my used car have the rims changed at some point in its life before I found it?

Left Coast Geek

I didn't think the E250 was even sold in the USA ?!?

european E250s often have 16" wheels.


edit: oh, 2014 E250 diesel. and yes, looks like those came with 17" in both sport and luxury, and runflats, no spare

2014 E series options detailed here, https://www.auto-brochures.com/makes...Class_2014.pdf

Quint22

Yeah think its only for a couple/few years then the diesel gate thing happened which Im pretty sure ended that. Thanks VW and California

pierrejoliat

Also in the pre-facelifts at least, both my cars start in second when in economy and first gear in sport mode.

brentif

Was actually some folks from West Virginia that got the grant and started the testing. We don't all hate diesel in CA.

Quint22

They were probably from cali, coukdnt afford student loans and housing at same time ...... just kiddin. Yeah originally from top end of cali but that is different place (or was), unfortunately the government and big cities ruin everything there.

Senecat

Brembo blanks only for me.

Left Coast Geek

Fwiw, 2016 facelift e350 4matic wagon starts in 1st in E mode or S.

pierrejoliat

Yes, I wonder why they did that? My '13 sport is in first for like 15- 20 feet when in "S", it's annoying

Left Coast Geek

I dunno. the W124's, the earlier 300E and 260E did the start in 2nd thing too, and they were just a 4 speed. the later 3.2L DOHC version (93-95) started in 1st, with the same basic transmission.

KlausPA

This is absolutely not true mate... Care to expand?

Drilled rotors are totally fine for street use as many cars come standard with drilled rotors and they perform as expected. The point of drilled rotors is to allow moisture and heat to dissipate faster thus giving you better bite. There's no difference in wear either.

pierrejoliat

Yes, I'm pretty sure my '92 190E 2.6 and my '93 S500 started in second, but it's been 18 years since I've owned them now, I don't remember if my '03 S500 or my '07 S550 did!

Left Coast Geek

they are prone to uneven wear, the holes do nothing functional at anything short of race track conditions, they reduce the actual braking surface area.

pierrejoliat

I have had drilled rotors on two cars without issue, my current rotors on my '13 are original and I've had zero issues so far in 85k miles and two sets of new pads. Others have however, particularly warping complaints I believe.

KlausPA

I advise you to read on the subject.

KlausPA

I've been driving Porsches for almost two decades, I've gone to racing events, etc... The preferred rotor is slotted or drilled, even the carbon ceramic guys switch to steel.

Left Coast Geek

the majority of what is out there to 'read' is manufacturer's hype, little more than advertising copy.

I drive a lot on windy twisty roads in the mountains here on the mid-left coast, and I like to drive moderately aggressively, not racing conditions, but not little old lady, either. I use my brakes quite a bit on a mountain road. I haven't had the E350 long enough to know what its brake life is going to be like, but in previous cars, I'd go through front pads AND rotors every 20K miles, often annually or even twice a year when I was commuting long distances over mountain roads. I've had my share of 'pulsing' brakes (often miscalled 'warped') due to heavy use without first heat cycling them to properly break them in, but since I learned about heat cycling during initial break-in around 25 years ago, that hasn't been a problem on anything I own.

but if having holy rotors makes you happy, go for it. I see no point in reducing the surface area of the pad+rotor contact.

CaliBenzDriver

I side with @Left Coast Geek as I share his experience on windy Hwy#17 hills.
Cross-drilled rotors are designed for sport braking. No question, they are fun but higher maintenance than regular ventilated rotors.


When I was growing up my best friend's dad had a trucking company. One day he laughed at me saying I did not know how to "use my brakes".

I thought I knew how to stop... I had learned to ride bicycle and a handful of motorcycles...


Normal braking is long and light vs. sport car braking is hard and short. The difference is the heat threshold that gets generated. It's up to everyone to adopt a happy medium preference.

I've learned to service and respect strong proportional brakes! My 50kMi rotors look pretty happy considering Cali driving involves going up down hills all the time. Around here braking power is more important than engine power.

Left Coast Geek

fwiw, I go up and over 17 without touching my brakes unless its due to other traffic. when I said windy twisty roads, I was thinking of roads like 9, Alba Rd, Felton Empire Rd, Hecker Pass, etc. these make 17 look like a cake walk.