SL-Class (R231) 2013 on: Discussion on the SL550

SL/R231: Brake pad wear

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Old 05-23-2022, 09:16 PM
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Brake pad wear

Is this system indicator reliable?
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Old 05-24-2022, 06:38 AM
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Probably. I replaced my MB pads with Dynamic Friction 5000 Euro Ceramic pads mostly because the MB pads are so dirty. I get virtually no dust from these pads and they perform as well as the genuine MB pads.




https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...=1684&jsn=1440



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Last edited by JettaRed; 05-24-2022 at 06:53 AM.
Old 05-24-2022, 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by JettaRed
the MB pads are so dirty
My driveway gets trashed with black dust every time I wash the car. I'm lucky the wheels I have do a great job of hiding it.
Thanks for the tip on the pads. You say they are ceramic, what are the original ones? I believe I am still running the original. (35k)
Old 05-24-2022, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by octony9717
My driveway gets trashed with black dust every time I wash the car. I'm lucky the wheels I have do a great job of hiding it.
Thanks for the tip on the pads. You say they are ceramic, what are the original ones? I believe I am still running the original. (35k)
Not sure of the composition of the original pads, but they were certainly dirty. I could wash my wheels and drive to the end of my driveway and need to wash them again (well, almost).
Old 06-07-2022, 12:53 PM
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I also have dustless pads that I had installed nearly two years ago. They appear to work as well as the originals, but I do not have any test data to support this. I am somewhat OCD about my cars appearance and he black dust drove me nuts
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Old 06-07-2022, 02:08 PM
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I'd put up with the dust, as it's the pads that are wearing down not the disc's / rotors. The harder the pads are the more wear you will have on the rotors and they are a lot more expensive to replace.
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Old 06-07-2022, 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Bay Leaf
I'd put up with the dust, as it's the pads that are wearing down not the disc's / rotors. The harder the pads are the more wear you will have on the rotors and they are a lot more expensive to replace.
Perhaps the dustless pads, which might better be called "less dust" pads since they are hardly dustless, do indeed wear out rotors faster. But this is just conjecture since I have not been presented with any data to support that this is so. But if these pads do, in fact, wear out the discs faster, it might still be worth having the cleaner pads installed. How many extra hours per week am I going to have to spend to keep my wheels clean with the stock pads? What is my time worth vs the cost of discs every five years or so? What about the filth and discomfort to my body? At 75 I do not relish cleaning wheels, it is a pain in the butt and the less time I spend doing them the better.
Old 06-07-2022, 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Bay Leaf
I'd put up with the dust, as it's the pads that are wearing down not the disc's / rotors. The harder the pads are the more wear you will have on the rotors and they are a lot more expensive to replace.
Not if you buy your rotors from FCP Euro. Lifetime replacement. You buy once and then every time you replace them, you pay shipping to return the old rotors to FCP and they reimburse for the new rotors.

So, your only cost for new Mercedes genuine rotors (or any brand) going forward is the cost to ship the worn rotors to Connecticut.

Last edited by JettaRed; 06-07-2022 at 07:16 PM.
Old 06-07-2022, 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted by RonNSoCal
...At 75 I do not relish cleaning wheels, it is a pain in the butt and the less time I spend doing them the better.
Jeez! We have some old farts here!
Old 06-07-2022, 10:06 PM
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Originally Posted by JettaRed
Jeez! We have some old farts here!
Worse part is that next month I will be 76, so we definitely have some old farts on this forum.
Old 06-08-2022, 12:34 AM
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Old 06-08-2022, 10:33 AM
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Car wash !
Old 06-08-2022, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Bay Leaf
Car wash !
I do not trust them with my beauty.

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