ML63 AMG

Hey Guys,

I know its been a while since I last did a writeup/review but it was once again time to mod the old beast with some much needed preventative maintenance. As insanely amazing as my brake performance has been from a stopping standpoint, I always wanted just a bit more feel. The Castrol SRF definitely helped in this regard, but after 2 years its starting to get soft a bit (its been raining like crazy here so that probably did not help at all as brake fluid loves to find water any way it can). In essence, I want much more linear pedal feedback that's even more responsive and experiences zero fade when doing multiple high speed stops in a row (or track time).

My Castrol SRF fluid is almost 2 years old and is slowly on its last legs, so I figured it would be best to go ahead and flush the entire system. Since all the fluid has to come out anyways I thought this would be the perfect time to upgrade the stainless steel brake lines. After looking at what options were out there I was largely unsatisfied with what I saw. Having heard many negative reviews of Goodrich SS brake lines off tirerack (and even having a few actual brake line failures), I wanted to find a better solution.

RacingBrake had recently come out with a new set of SS lines, but they offered them only in the aftermarket style "Bandjo" connectors. I wanted to retain the 100% OEM connector design from both a design and aesthetic standpoint. I also did not want super shiny bright silver SS brake lines so I opted for them to make me a custom set more understated less flashy "smoke black" color. This ultimately became a development set for all W164 ML63 and non AMG ML W164s.

As this is technically the first set to be produced with OEM connectors and smoked black, I am really excited to give them a try. I have not yet installed them, but I wanted to do an initial write up on build quality and provide high resolution pictures for all of you to enjoy .

As evident by the attached pictures, the RacingBrake SS lines have to be the highest quality stainless steel lines I have ever seen personally. The quality and fit & finish is second to none. Not only are the OEM connectors extremely robust and sturdy, but the smoke black protective coating on the SS lines themselves is both thick and appears to be extremely durable. I have zero doubt these will last the life of the car and you can tell these are made right here in the USA. Worth every penny in my opinion just based on handling them. I cannot wait to test them out!

I have provided pics below and will have the SS lines installed sometime this week and do a followup writeup once I have had a chance to drive on them for about a week.

Enjoy the pics


EDIT: FULL REVIEW POSTED BELOW

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ML63 AMG

more pics ...

xxGenericSNxx

That's awesome! I wonder if they'll fit the W251 R63 as the platform is very similar and we've got the same brake hardware. I just did my brake service earlier this year (new pads, rotors, flush all around) so maybe for the next service.

justthebest

Interested to see how they perform

ML63 AMG

Hey guys,

SS lines going in Thursday. Should have writeup and impressions done either this weekend or early next week (once I drive it enough).

Thx

ML63 AMG

Hey guys,

Lines have been installed. I took some photos of the install and will be posting the full review soon.

ML63 AMG

ML63 Owners,

Finally had a chance to really push the brakes to the limits after installing the lines early last month. Pardon the delay, but the car had to go into the shop for of all things a malfunctioning/exploding ash tray lol. Now that I have had the proper amount of time to get used to the new brakes I will provide my review now:

Installation:

Any decent Mercedes independent should be able to install these. Just make sure they have a proper brake pressure bleeder. This will make the job much easier and will do a better job of getting any potential bubbles out since you will be introducing air into the system by completely taking all of the old lines off. budget 1-2 hours of labor depending on the shop. Also, I highly recommend getting two full quarts of Castrol SRF (2 bottles) or Motul 600/660 (4 bottles, they coming in pint size). When installing these, its best to take the brake line off the caliper and twist it onto the caliper with it off the car then once its fully installed onto the caliper then you can install the caliper and install the opposite end (this prevents the lines from getting too twisted as there are a lot of rotations necessary to screw on both ends snugly.

Fit & Finish:

Excellent fit & finish. Although slightly taught at the suspensions most extended travel (aka on a lift), under normal conditions with the car on the ground it is the perfect length. The Rubber grommets installed on the lines are excellent and sturdy and should last the life of the car. I especially love the smoked finish on the lines. It makes them less apparent when on the car as to attract less attention. They are darker in the pictures as the flash on the camera tends to make them look brighter. In person they are much better.

The OEM fittings worked perfectly and have the added rubber supports on each end to reduce any load or angle on the fittings at the tips. Very strong sturdy lines. I am glad to have the first set with the OEM fittings and I am glad I waited and did not use the conventional aftermarket style Banjo fittings. If you are going to get the lines, definitely get the OEM fitted ends, they are the best approach IMO.

Brakes & Brake-line Background:

The stock brake pedal/system (even with the upgrades) has progressive feedback. What I mean by this is the initial inch of travel would have less of an impact in braking than the next inch and so on. At 50% pedal you may get only 35-40% of brake application, etc. This is common on all OEM systems, especially when the brake fluid & lines get hot. Once the brakes get hot it only gets worse from there (even with the best hardware, pads, rotors, fluid). They may reduce the effect of heat, but without replacing the rubber in the lines you will never truly cure it. Ultimately, the only thing actually connecting your foot to the actual brakes is the brake fluid & brake lines (weakest link). Similarly, the only thing connecting your car to the actual road are the tires. Often time, individuals will neglect this most key component when upgrading their vehicles and "cheap out" by trying to save a few bucks, while spending an exorbitant amount of money on all the other components without addressing the weakest link first.

When dealing with both brakes and tires, these two areas should be where people spend the maximum, when in reality they usually end up trying to spend the minimum. The good news is, these two areas are also the most cost effective and cheapest ways to improve the overall performance, and they are both interconnected too. Tires & Brakes should be look at as one cohesive system, not two completely separate mutually exclusive components.

Performance Improvement:

Numerous improvements resulted from this upgrade, some I totally expected, others I never even thought about. First the obvious, pedal feedback is significantly improved. I have installed SS lines on various sports cars before so this is no new territory for me, but for some reason on the ML63s the improvement is more pronounced, perhaps b/c the rotors are so large and I already have the upgraded 2-piece rotors and Castrol SRF fluid.

The pedal feedback immediately became much more linear. Now, when you put 10% pedal, you actually get 10% braking, 40% = 40%, 80% = 80%. It is far easier to precisely apply the exact amount of braking you want thereby making braking under performance situations are more intuitive. Also, you feel everything going on as you apply the brakes. They grab as soon as you touch the brake pedal, not after 10-20% application. It does so in a precise immediate fashion, but without ever feeling too grabby or excessive. Simply put, less pedal effort input is required for each additional increase in brake output.

Under absolute maximum braking pressure, the car feels like you threw two boat anchors out the window! It is astonishing the level of braking such a massively heavy SUV can posses with these few simply upgrades. I am genuinely not exaggerating when I say the car now feels like it has Carbon Ceramic brakes on the car (with all the inclusive upgrades mentioned). So much so that I realize the only weak link in the entire chain now are the tires (previously mentioned). Although the Continental DWS tires are a massive improvement over the stock junk tires. I now realize as my braking performance has nearly doubled over stock that, and as a result, what was once a great grippy set of tires has now been surpassed by the new found braking performance. Going back to what I mentioned earlier, both of these components work hand in hand so as you upgrade one, so you will eventually have to upgrade the over time.

Biggest Surprise Improvement:

With that said, the single greatest change was actually totally unexpected: the ABS system. This is probably the one area where the braking has been improved by far the most. At first I never would have thought about it, but as I began to think about it more and more it makes perfect sense. As I stated earlier, the only thing actually connecting the actual braking hardware to the rest of the car (and ultimately your foot) are the brake lines & fluid. I had previously upgraded the fluid to Castrol SRF which did make a marked improvement in high heat continuous braking action, however it is ultimately bound by the next weakest link in the system: the brake lines.

As your Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) activates, it pulses the brakes at roughly 20x every single second. In doing so it allows your car to slow down in wet & dry conditions without completely locking up (thereby allowing you to steer by sharing the tires load between braking & steering evenly). However, as it pulses... those pulses are constantly being absorbed by brake lines which are inherently designed to absorb those very pulses (counteracting its effects). Ironically enough, rubber is the worst for this type of application b/c it is cancelling out (albeit partially) the very pulses your ABS computer is trying to transfer to the calipers/pads/rotors (especially when hot). Manufactures use synthetic rubber for this applications b/c it is flexible, cheap, and strong enough to do the job, but not ideal. By replacing these rubber lines with SS lines, the lines no longer expand /contract the way the stock rubber ones do. This allows the computer to more accurately pulse each individual corner independently of one another with extreme precision.

The single greatest improvement I have seen is under extreme ABS braking applications from 100mph+. Before with the rubber lines, under extremely high braking forces at high speeds, the tires would lock up at speed momentarily causing the car to get unsettled as the tail end of the car would wag from side to side as the computer desperately tried to get the car under control (both ABS and ASR kicking in). This would only get worse as the fluid and lines get hotter.

Now with the SS lines, when I mashed on the brakes (almost intentionally trying to unsettle the car), the car is far more composed under braking as the ABS computer is far more accurately able to apply the correct braking pressure to each wheel (as the wheel speed sensors monitor the entire process accordingly). The car brakes much straighter than before allowing you to focus more on braking, than making constant minor corrections to the steering wheel desperately trying to keep the car going in a straight line.

The most impressive part about this transformation is you can actually literally feel & hear the difference. Now under full ABS braking, you hear the ABS computer firing 20x per second and it feels/sounds like a machine gun going off at each corner of the car bringing you to a stop. A perfectly smooth 20hz vibration as all 4 corners bring the car to a stop in unison. Its actually quite impressive and initially unsettling at first as I had never heard the braking be that pronounced ever before. After I realized what it was I began to understand just how much of an impact the rubber lines had on braking. The SS lines have allowed the ABS to do its job far better than it ever could have before.

If anything, the single greatest attribute I can give to these great lines is they increase/improve the braking safety probably better than any other modification under extreme emergency braking maneuvers/situations!

Conclusion:

There is no better way to improve the safety of your braking system by improving your brake fluid & brake lines. If you do nothing else to your braking system, Brake fluid & SS brake lines from RacingBrake will be the best investment you can make to your brake system (and coincidentally enough, they are also the cheapest improvement too). I would recommend these whole heartedly to anyone looking for the best "bang per buck" brake upgrade you can do. If you cannot afford (or simply do not wish to upgrade to 2-piece rotors), this combination of SS lines & upgraded brake fluid is the best way to improve the braking safety & performance of your vehicle. Who knows... down the road it could literally save your life.

Well done RacingBrake... you made me a believer!

PDX-S

Hello and a very big thank you. I've been doing some research on performance improvements for my 2007 ML63. This forum, and ML63 AMG in particular, have been a great source of information. I am trying to research the forum rather than re-asking questions that have been asked and answered multiple time before.
These RB SS Brake lines, and fluid replacement, do seem like good bang for the buck as my rotors are not yet in need of replacement, but when I go to the RB website, the ML63 brake lines they advertise do not seem to be what you have here. Is there a particular part number I should ask for, or would it be best to simply open a dialogue with them?

RacingBrake

See brake lines below
http://www.racingbrake.com/Brake-Lin...11-p/bl958.htm

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
service@racingbrake.com

ML63 AMG

Thanks PDX for the kind words. Try to provide as much info as possible as products for our cars are limited.

I got the OEM fittings in smoked black finish. I prefer them to the Banjo style connectors and I believe they are superior for the OEM applications