Goon

My 2005 SL500 has 70K miles. The front brake rotors have some uneven ridges, almost the opposite of being scored, which is kinda weird to me. Definitely not nice and smooth. No vibration on braking but I assume this isn't right and I should replace. The rear rotors seem fine. I had one outer pad worn more than the others, which makes me wonder if the 4 piston caliper was a little sticky. At 70K, i assume these are OEM rotors.

1) A big part of me believes that in today's global economy, auto manufacturers build cars to make money and outsource to get best prices they can. They claim it is manufactured off-shore to their "high quality standards" (insert snicker here ) OEM doesn't quite mean what it used to. In fact, my OEM rotors are shot at 70K. Below link is for a set of cheap(er) front brake rotors, slotted and cross-drilled. According to the seller their rotors are thicker and heavier = more steel, better quality. They are zinc plated and use G3000 metallurgy, built to meet or exceed OEM. Yep, they say all the right things. I can spend an extra $120 to get Brembo rotors... a decent brand name. So, what experiences have you all had with rotors? Is it all upsale/fear-mongering that we feel compelled to spend more on brand name or OEM? I am leaning heavily to giving these a try, unless someone gives me solid info to convince me otherwise. I will listen!

2) When replacing pads there are 2 pad retainer pins you punch out. They seem to have some spring tension to them. Do these always get replaced, or re-used?

thanks for your feedback and help.

The link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Front-Dri...Nae182&vxp=mtr

Rudeney

First of all, regarding the pins, they don't need to be replaced unless they are bent or broken. They do have a section on the end that snaps into the caliper. There is also a spring clip that sits behind them and presses against the pads. That also can be reused as long as it's in good condition. However, you need to thoroughly clean these parts, and ideally apply a bit of high-temp lubricant ( I think a copper-based lube is the preferred type). I have even gone as far as to use metal polish on them to really get them clean.

As for rotors and pads, I generally prefer OE. MBZ does make very good brakes. I tried Akebono pads on the CLK550 and they were crap - noisy and poor (almost dangerous) stops. I also tried Frozen Rotors and Porterfield Kevlar pads. The Porterfield pads were better than the Akebono pads, but still not as good as OE. The Frozen Rotors were OK, but developed a slight vibration over time. I never had that with OE rotors. Now, having said all that, I got a wild hair and decided to try cheap Chinese brakes on the C240. I bought D+S Centric rotors and Posi-Quiet ceramic pads on eBay, for under $300 (all four wheels). I was very pleasantly surprised at how well those worked. They stopped better than OE, were dust-free, and lasted over 90K miles with no issues. Of course this was a C240 and not a V8 CLK,

Blazeracer

There is nothing to gain with cross drilled rotors. In fact, due to rapid heating and cooling causing warpage, most race teams use vented rotors now. Here's a quote from Wilwood brakes... "Outgassing of heated brake pads is not an issue in any conceivable street application. Therefore, drilling the rotors may cause a very small loss of braking power, rather than an increase." That's from a company who's business is brakes.

With that said, O'Reilly's sells EO vented rotors for like $57 each. The OE pads are $45. I ordered everything yesterday and am picking them up tomorrow. That's for the rears, not the fronts. I'm at 94k and due to the previous owner going way too long with bad pads, my rotors are shot. If the brakes are maintained properly, the rotors should last damn near forever.