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Bought my first SL about 5 months ago now. This car's in great shape overall with only 20,000 miles; no major complaints so far other then the brakes. The previous owner took the cheap route and placed some squeaky aftermarket brakes (full pad and cross-drilled rotors). They are wearing thin and I'm getting more squeak then ever before. Any recommendations for a higher end replacement? I'm inclined to replace with factory original, I mean, it's an SL right? Why mess with it. Also, because they're BRAKES I'm not going cheap. This should be common sense but apparently that's not too common in today's used car market.
Anyway, not sure where to start searching. Any advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance!!
I used Pagid pads with Zimmerman rotors, they started squealing after a month. Not sure what pads to get that wont' squeal, most SL's i've seen had some sort of brake noise.
Bought my first SL about 5 months ago now. This car's in great shape overall with only 20,000 miles; no major complaints so far other then the brakes. The previous owner took the cheap route and placed some squeaky aftermarket brakes (full pad and cross-drilled rotors). They are wearing thin and I'm getting more squeak then ever before.!!
Hard to believe that you are on your second set of brakes at only 20K! What makes you think that the PO replaced the originals with aftermarket cheapies? I have used Akebono pads with great success, they are low to no dust and are quiet. I would just change out pads and be done as long as the rotors are not too badly scored.
I prefer OE brakes and pads. They seem to offer the best performance and longevity. You will get some dust from them, but it's washes off easily.
Note that when working on the brakes, you MUST disable SBC!!!!! If not, you could have major problems (damage to parts and to you!!!) if it activates the system during the work. The best way is to use SDS (or another tool?) to disable it and the re-enable it when done. There are a few ways to "manually" disable the system, but without SDS to re-enable it, it will not properly re-sync the pad position so the rain dry and pre-braking features may not work as well.
I prefer OE brakes and pads. They seem to offer the best performance and longevity. You will get some dust from them, but it's washes off easily.
Note that when working on the brakes, you MUST disable SBC!!!!! If not, you could have major problems (damage to parts and to you!!!) if it activates the system during the work. The best way is to use SDS (or another tool?) to disable it and the re-enable it when done. There are a few ways to "manually" disable the system, but without SDS to re-enable it, it will not properly re-sync the pad position so the rain dry and pre-braking features may not work as well.
Thanks for all the info! I agree with the OEM brake/pad approach. Besides the Stealership, where's the best place to buy original equipment?
RM European, Pelican Parts, Autohaus AZ, plus, there are some MBZ dealers that have online discount parts stores. Here are some that I have discovered:
Not starting a flame war, but I'm with mercy-me...I used the Akebono pads on all replacements as they really are (almost) dust free, and the dust they have is a light gray, not black. great for silver wheels.
Of course with black wheels, you may not have that worry.
Thanks for all the info! I agree with the OEM brake/pad approach. Besides the Stealership, where's the best place to buy original equipment?
Hands Down, check out FCP Euro to purchase parts. They have a Lifetime Guarantee on every part they sell, and it's not a gimmick lifetime guarantee, but rather an actual lifetime guarantee, even on wear items like brake pads. I've been a very happy customer for years!
Bought my first SL about 5 months ago now. This car's in great shape overall with only 20,000 miles; no major complaints so far other then the brakes. The previous owner took the cheap route and placed some squeaky aftermarket brakes (full pad and cross-drilled rotors). They are wearing thin and I'm getting more squeak then ever before. Any recommendations for a higher end replacement? I'm inclined to replace with factory original, I mean, it's an SL right? Why mess with it. Also, because they're BRAKES I'm not going cheap. This should be common sense but apparently that's not too common in today's used car market.
Anyway, not sure where to start searching. Any advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance!!
Congrat's....Nice find! Beautiful car.
I prefer ceramic pads on all of my other vehicles but not too sure about my Mercedes.
I just had them change all brake pads on my new to me 2009 SL65 and they used OEM ones.
Hopefully the brake dust issue won't be too bad but it won't be a daily driver, more like a weekend warrior.
Yes I have had great experiences with BenzPartsHQ.com. They have great prices and cheap shipping. No extra fees etc. I have noticed the other dealership type sites lure you with cheap prices and then nail you on shipping and/or fees. All my orders have been $15. flat rate FedEx. It's actually Mercedes of Tampa and you can call in advance and they will email you a schematic to verify you are ordering the right part. Great customer service. No prepaid label when returning cores however. (No I am not affiliated with them lol. It's just that great service on a wholesale site is unheard of imo))
I've recently ordered OEM parts from Suburban Auto Parts. Very good prices on OEM parts. And quite fair shipping, unlike a lot of other MB parts sources.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
