This 6-piston caliper will be available in Red and Black. It's being approved for final production with about 6-10 weeks leadtime.

390mm rotor kit (front) would be priced around $3.5K.

 

$35,000? Or did you mean $3,500?

 

The kit price is estimated around $3,500 for:

2 ea of 390x36 two piece light weight rotors(Save 18 lbs)

2 ea 6-piston heavy duty yet light weight aluminum calipers and adapters (Save ~18-22 lbs)

1 set of high performance low dust RB ET series brake pad (Save you dusty wheel cleaning)

1 pair of caliper mounting adapter (made of 7075-T6 Al alloy)

1 pair of stainless steel brake line to improve overall brake performance.

 

Warren,

I want the first set as usual!!!

Please provide me pricing and weight reduction specs. The one thing left about my stock braking system I do not like is the stock calipers which are very ugly and old looking. A nice set of calipers would look amazing behind my forgedstar wheels!

I wish you had told me about the stainless lines and brake pads earlier, I would have waited to put on the rear rotors, just wasted $200on pads and fluid

Edit: I see weight reduction specs of calipers, I want them with the stainless lines for both front and rears, I will keep existing pads since they are brand new.

 

Amg studio screwed up my order its a sign...
So i would like to buy the red calipers and all included above!

Can you please pm me i Am very interested for sure

 

This caliper kits offer is part of our progressive brake upgrade program for ML in keeping up with the braking performance with the comparable SRT8 and Cayenne which we both offer two piece light weight rotors upgrade but both come with light weight Brembo aluminum calipers.

The stock pads are not interchangeable for our calipers, while the kits are still a few months away, so at least for now you can evaluate the improvement just on the two piece rotors.

 

How much is the shipping to Switzerland?

Will these fit the w166 ml63?

Thanks

 

Not sure although we presume the spindles are the same for 163, 164. Anyone know?

 

They’re different....

ZAYED,,

 

Initial Impressions:

Although I have only driven on the rotors for a good 250 miles, they are starting to finally bed-in. The bedding-in procedure on these rotors take so unbelievably long b/c the iron in the rotors is so ridiculously strong (read: long lasting), that it takes a few weeks for the brake pads to full "bite" into the rotors. At first it can be a bit unnerving as you only have like 50% braking, but after that it goes to like 120% braking compared to stock.

I have noticed that the necessary throttle required to accelerate and maintain cruising speeds has decreased. Now to maintain steady velocity you literally only need about 1mm of throttle input lol. Just barely put your big toe on the gas pedal and that's enough.

As it is still way too early to give MPG estimates I will hold off until I have had a chance to drive the car more. I will be doing a long road trip next weekend so that will be perfect to test the long distance hwy cruising fuel efficiency. The highest I have ever been able to achieve (hypermiling the hell out of the car) is 19.2 MPG. If I can significantly best that number on this next trip then that should be sufficient proof of the efficiency gains. The key with the ECU tune is to stay at 75mph, once you get to 78+ you get into the tune ignition timing increases and the mileage drops significantly (but give you amazing mid range torque). For that reason I will cruise a steady 75mph the whole way and see what I can achieve. (FYI, your right foot is much more efficient than cruise control on our cars so if you are able to keep a steady foot then Mother Nature is much better. If you have a lead foot, use cruise control)

I will provide pictures once I do the final impressions and MPG testing.....


More Updates coming soon!

 

19.2MPG!!!! WOW..... I range from 9.9 - 16.4 best.

Watching your results, then I'll install my 2pc racing brake rotor kit on my 11 ML63.

Jeff

 

So if i understand correctly i can buy the Discs but not the calipers...

Am i correct?
Thanks

 

Can’t 100% confirm that,, it depends to your brakes spec.,,

Are your calipers painted in Red...?, Did you have a chance to measure your Rotors...??,

are your brakes with code: (Z04/05) or (-Z04/-Z05)....???

ZAYED,,

 

The spindle will determine whether the same brake kit (rotor + caliper) can be used or not. Even W166 spindle is different from 164 we still can design the caliper adapter to fit.

So the answer is the complete brake kit will also be made available for W166.

 

Proof that Modifications DO improve efficiency, IF you do the right ones. If it weren't for the ECU tune, I would probably already be over 20MPG with all the mass reduction mods I have done. 90 lbs of rotating unsprung mass reduction has completely transformed the car. With the new calipers being developed (18-22lbs of reduction), that should get me close to 110 lbs of non-rotating unsprung mass reduction (rotating would still be 90 lbs wi calipers). 110lbs has to be a world record, haha. I cannot think of any other car where you can remove that much unsprung mass without actually taking all 4 wheels off haha.

 

Acceleration update:

Having driven the car a bit more in sport mode around town, I have noticed that the acceleration (especially in gears 1-3) has improved. I was not expecting much from the rear rotors as far as acceleration, but it appears at the front rotors have a much greater impact on braking and ride quality, where as the rears have much more profound impact on acceleration. This makes logical sense as the bias of the front brakes is much higher and typically does 70% of the braking.

The primitive 4matic on our ML63s is basically an on off switch sending 50% of the power to the front wheels if slippage is detected at the rear wheels. However, if slip is not detected then the car will send all the power to the rear wheels under most driving conditions. For this reason, the rear rotors (shaving 20lbs of unsprung mass), actually have a much greater impact on acceleration than the fronts would. The difference is actually more than I expected and the mid range pull is even harder now than before in both part throttle and full throttle acceleration from about 2500-5000rpm. I am sure that all this mass reduction has greatly improved the power delivery by lowering the drivetrain losses significantly. For that reason, as less power is being robbed by all these heavy rotating components, more power is now hitting the ground through the wheels. Not sure if such gains can be measured on a typical dyno but I will try to do a dyno test in the next month or so once the weather cools down to the level my baseline was done at (roughly 70*F). I have done no other modifications since then other than rotating mass reduction so it should be an accurate indication of the improvement is drivetrain losses. I believe in stock form the drivetrain loss was a massive 30% (on a mustang dyno). Even if that drops to 25%, that's still a very impressive gain. A 5% improvement in drivetrain losses equals roughly 25hp at the wheels, so again, serious potential gains. In theory the mid range torque is where you would see the most gains, typically peak torque is where you would see the most gains on rotating mass reduction. Should be interesting to see the difference

More to come!

 

I am truly impressed with the efforts you have put into this project and enlighten and share the benefit of the light weight rotors in handling and fuel economy with other ML/GL members.

Conventional wisdom (including car companies) tends to believe a heavier rotor is better in dealing with heavy vehicles. In theory it's not incorrect however there are many aspects that a braking efficiency can be substantially improved yet with lighter weight rotors; From a better rotor design (for cooling efficiency) and metallurgy (better iron with alloy and heat treatment).

RacingBrake can offer a complete brake solution to improve your braking efficiency w/o breaking your bank.

 

Update:

Thanks for the kind words RacingBrake. Glad I can help out the ML63 community.

I have finally had a chance to push e ML63 really hard over the last few days and start doing some drag style launches from a standing start. WOW ... What an improvement. The way the car launches out of the hole I first gear in sport mode has never been better. First gear now passes by in a flash, second gear is also greatly improved in the mid range pull. I do feel like the G forces are definitely higher than before. This further supported my theory that the largest improvements would be in gears 1-3 as these are the gears where rolling inertia are the greatest. In higher gears over comng inertia becomes less of an issue hence the perceived gains are much less. It helps 0-60 more so than probably the 1/4 mile.

One thing I never expected was the ferocity of the acceleration in 1st gear. For the first time ever I am getting Torque Steer in first gear. It appears so much power is now getting to the rear wheels that its now trying to send the maximum amount of power to the front wheels (which are also desperately fighting for grip). The tires were on their last leg so that may have been part of it. I cannot recommend the Forgestar wheels and the racing brake combo (with continental DWS tires). It is a truly phenomenal package and has completely transformed the car. 90 lbs of rotating unsprung mass reduction really does feel like 360lbs of weight removed (as the 4x rule of thumb would suggest)

I officially changed the tires today to new tires today for my long road trip this weekend to the ALMS race this weekend at COTA !

I should have MPG updates plus picture proof of the trip one early next week

Thanks

 

Any update?

 

Hey guys,

Totally forgot I had not uploaded my most recent update (my bad thought I did). I drove over 6 hours last weekend to the ALMS races and I had some very interesting results. Here is the gist of it....

I broke my personal best as predicted and hit peak of 19.6 MPG. After I hit this number I ran into hwy construction and dropped down to an avg of 19.0, however, from there I then gain 0.2 back up to 19.2. If I had never had back luck of construction I would have hit 19.8-19.9 most likely. That's roughly a gain of 0.6MPG just from rear rotors alone. This is proof that the rotors did in fact improve the drivetrain losses and efficiency because no matter how hard I tried before hand, I could never break 19.2MPG. At peak efficiency after I filled up, the on board computer said the max range was over 480 miles if you can believe that. Pretty astonishing from a car with a Power plant this robust (modded at that).

On top of the efficiency gains, the car accelerates so much more effortlessly now under part throttle and the ride quality has also improved significantly.

Overall, I could not be happier with the brakes. Are they for everyone? probably not, but in my eyes were they worth it? ABSOLUTELY. I have fallen in love with the car all over again with all this mass reduction and the car feels so much more lively than it did before. It honestly feels 500-600lbs lighter. If your brakes are wearing down, don't waste money by replacing with the stock heavy units, spend a little bit more on brakes & forgestar wheels & tires. Is worth every damn penny!

Thanks again to Warren and the whole RacingBrake team for taking a chance on a new project, I really appreciate all their efforts for transforming my ML63 from a clumsy tank to an agile SPORTS untilty vehicle!

 

Hi Guys,

Just want to keep you posted on our development of 6-pot calipers. Note this was a discussion based on comparison with CTS-V Brembo 6-piston caliper which is very similar to C63 (same brake pads also)

http://forums.racingbrake.com/showthread.php?t=1337

Here are some pictures on RB6S caliper comparing to CTS-V Brembo 6 piston caliper:

Fully Assembled:



Hydro Test:



CTS-V's Side Mount vs. RB's Top Mount:




RB 6-piston Caliper Construction Details:



RB 6-piston Caliper Weight (fully assembled and loaded):



CTS-V 6 Caliper weight:



Note the difference in body construction, RB calipers are machined from "Forged" blank and assembled together with 6 each 12.9 alloyed high strength bolts which is much stronger and stiffer vs. CTS-V's one piece casting.

 

Long Term Update:

Hey Guys,

I have put almost 12k miles on my rotors since I have bought them and I can say they have only gotten better with age. Their braking performance is even better as the pads deposits have embedded into the rotors surface and created an excellent friction surface for the brakes to performance at their optimum level.

For some reason (not sure why), as the rotors have worn in they have developed a mirror like finish. I am not sure if its the combination of stoptech pads & the special hard alloy used for the RacingBrake rotors or what... but you can almost see your self in the rotors they are so reflective. I thought this was a pretty cool unexpected bonus.

In conjunction with Castrol SRF racing brake fluid the stopping power is momumental and I can still lock up all 4 wheels at any mph, even 100+ (a sign that I need even grippier rubber to take full advantage of what the brakes have to offer). I am probably really only using a good 60% of the maximum potential braking power simply because the Continental DWS (although very good) still do not have enough grip to cope with the insane braking forces of trying to stop a 5300lbs car with such ferocity.

Overall, I have been extremely happy with the brakes. Whether or not I get the monoblock calipers I have not yet decided. The additional weight savings would be great to improve ride quality, but it won't do much in terms of rotating mass for acceleration & etc.

Will keep everyone updated as future developments come.

 

FWIW, I bought an 08 ML63 July 3rd. Came with the RB compound rotors all around and Forgestar CF-10 rims in gunmetal. My ride is silver/black.

One thing that may not have been mentioned is the slots themselves are CROSS-DRILLED. Meaning they can really vent. As for stopping power... Make sure your fillings are in your teeth are in good shape. Otherwise, I've already popped out one eyeball and lost one crown. The ML can stop!

And with the 503hp, she has some serious giddy up.

Totaled my X5 three weeks ago. I-45 fast lane. Blew out left rear. Left front threw me into the barrier and then sideways across four lanes of interstate, then the soft shoulder, off a curb across a two-lane service road, hit the curb on the other side, then sheared off my right rims and came to a stop in an overgrown field MISSED EVERYONE! So, i have been looking for a replacement a lot. Found this one for $29k with 72k on the odometer. Bought
an extended warranty. All work was performed over it's life at MB Greenway here in Houston. Talked to the Service Manager and got a good bill of health.

I'm happy.....for now.

The wife still drives her 09 C63AMG, black metallic on cream leather. She's more in lust with the car than me. Go figure.

 

Hey Bruce,

I know your car, it was my best friends... Your car is no where near stock haha. It is running the Eurocharged V5 tune with Blip downshift (put it in sport mode and downshift if you don't believe me haha). It also has charcoal delete with AFE prodry filters and resonator bypass as well

Your car is running closer to 540-550hp, it's the same exact identical setup as my car so I am very familiar with it. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it

 

FYI, the rotors are not typically (cross drilled). They are actually Cast vented, the different is the holes you see are cast into place during the casting process and are only done in the slots for added cooling. Racing brake is the only company to have this feature because it is their patented design (why I chose them in the first place). This does not sacrifice strength like cross drilling so it should not be confused with each other.

Needless to say as you have already experienced, the racingbrake setup plus extreme mass reduction has made the brakes so overwhelmingly powerful that there is no reason to ever get an aftermarket big brake kit.

Your car also has the 90lb mass reduction mod done as well on all 4 corners so it handles WAY better than a standard ML63... You can thank me later for have him set it up that way lol