Porterfield pads... Are they worth the money?
05-04-2017, 01:47 AM
#1
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Richmond, CA
Posts: 3,249
Received 255 Likes
on
233 Posts
2001 E320 Wagon, 2006 LBZ Silverado, 2007 E63 (sold), 2001 E55 (sold)
Porterfield pads... Are they worth the money?
I want to get some new pads on the front of my E63 because the ones currently on it produce a metric **** ton of brake dust. It's damn near impossible to keep my wheels clean looking. I have no idea if they're OEM or after market pads on it currently.
Since options are a bit limited and Akebono doesn't make pads for these cars I was thinking about going with the Porterfields. They claim less dust and better performance.
For those that have ran them, are they worth spending $300 on?
What about EBC pads? Any of you ran them and liked them? I've read mixed reviews when it comes to them on Mercedes. I ran them a long, long time ago on a Fox Body 5.0 and don't remember having anything bad to say about them.
My E63 is just a weekend car and sees mostly freeway driving and around town ****. Maybe a bit of spirited driving if I'm on a curvy back road.
Since options are a bit limited and Akebono doesn't make pads for these cars I was thinking about going with the Porterfields. They claim less dust and better performance.
For those that have ran them, are they worth spending $300 on?
What about EBC pads? Any of you ran them and liked them? I've read mixed reviews when it comes to them on Mercedes. I ran them a long, long time ago on a Fox Body 5.0 and don't remember having anything bad to say about them.
My E63 is just a weekend car and sees mostly freeway driving and around town ****. Maybe a bit of spirited driving if I'm on a curvy back road.
05-04-2017, 04:59 PM
#2
Super Member
My '63 is my weekend car also. I went with Porterfields. If you have a ton of brake dust currently, likely OEM. I pretty much had the same concerns as you, and settled on the r4s'. From what I read, the EBC's MAY cause some rotor issues (refer to posts on this forum for more info) depending on red, yellow or otherwise, but I personally have no experience with them. They may be just fine.
The Porterfield's feel very much like OEM to me, which is a good thing. The OEM's aren't bad at all, imho. They do dust less than OEM, but make no mistake, they are not dust free. They also have similar bite to OEM's. I've used Akebono before on other cars that they fit and found them to be decent pads with very little dust. The r4s' will dust more than them.
I'll use them again when it's time.
The Porterfield's feel very much like OEM to me, which is a good thing. The OEM's aren't bad at all, imho. They do dust less than OEM, but make no mistake, they are not dust free. They also have similar bite to OEM's. I've used Akebono before on other cars that they fit and found them to be decent pads with very little dust. The r4s' will dust more than them.
I'll use them again when it's time.
05-04-2017, 11:35 PM
#4
Member
When these pads that came to me with this car wear out, I will call Porterfield to replace them with more of the same. I've used their pads on 3 other cars including my rallycar and they just work, and they are nice to rotors. I'd stick with the street compound for this application.
05-05-2017, 01:36 AM
#5
SPONSOR
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 3,628
Received 798 Likes
on
570 Posts
2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
Porterfield and Hawk street pads use formulations that are old and quite honestly not very good these days. I currently am running Racing Brake XT910. They're similar to OEM, dust less than OEM but still dust, and really affordable.
I did purchase a front set of Ferodo DS2500 for my E63 but haven't yet installed them. There really isn't anything out on the market for the E63 for the rear brakes that would match up with the Ferodo DS2500. Maybe the Endless MX72's. Project Mu HC+ would be awesome as well, but they're not available for the E63.
Here is my review of the Racing Brake XT910
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/431209-e63-front-rotor-replacement-diy-racingbrake-3.html#post7023108
Side note, Porterfield R4S, Hawk HPS, and Racing Brake XT910 performance wise are pretty close. Close but no comparison not even close to the other mentioned street/track pads. I haven't driven them all on the same car but have used them all on my personal cars. But as far as ranking I'd go XT910 > HPS > R4S if I were to rank them.
I did purchase a front set of Ferodo DS2500 for my E63 but haven't yet installed them. There really isn't anything out on the market for the E63 for the rear brakes that would match up with the Ferodo DS2500. Maybe the Endless MX72's. Project Mu HC+ would be awesome as well, but they're not available for the E63.
Here is my review of the Racing Brake XT910
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/431209-e63-front-rotor-replacement-diy-racingbrake-3.html#post7023108
I can share my 2cents in regards to the XT910 in street driving on my E63 and factory rotors.
Street Driving:
Initial bite is Good/OK. Factory pads have 3x more initial bite and deceleration rate until pad life is <70%. After the 70% mark bite and deceleration is on par. I do have to note the XT910 pads have a very very linear feel. It's been 3,000 miles and the pads still feel exactly the same as day one. I'd safely assume they'll feel the same up until they're in need of replacement. Factory pad performance demished as time went by. Up until they were in need of replacement. By that time they did not feel confidence inspiring. This was about 40-30% life when the factory pads just didn't feel confidence inspiring. They weren't bad but weren't good. Having a linear performing pad is key to proper driving. You want your pad to perform exactly as you expect it when you expect them on the street or the track.
I have yet to perform any elevated or panic braking with the XT910, but as they feel very linear in regards to pedal pressure it is not something I would worry about for daily driving. I do have to mention that my opinions on the pads beyond street would be a no...they feel like a great sport pad, but not a pad I'd use on the track. That is just the feeling I get. I could be wrong though as I haven't tested them to that extent just yet.
In regards to dust and noise...they aren't noisy one bit, but do dust the same as the factory pads intially. Over time though the pad dust didn't keep building exponentially on wheels though like factory pads do. Factory brake pad dust seems to attract more factory brake pad dust like a magnet. The XT910's dusted the wheels within the first 10 minutes of stop and go driving, but after that slowly built up. Also, they made noise once or twice but that was about it.
As time goes on I may update this review if anything changes.
Street Driving:
Initial bite is Good/OK. Factory pads have 3x more initial bite and deceleration rate until pad life is <70%. After the 70% mark bite and deceleration is on par. I do have to note the XT910 pads have a very very linear feel. It's been 3,000 miles and the pads still feel exactly the same as day one. I'd safely assume they'll feel the same up until they're in need of replacement. Factory pad performance demished as time went by. Up until they were in need of replacement. By that time they did not feel confidence inspiring. This was about 40-30% life when the factory pads just didn't feel confidence inspiring. They weren't bad but weren't good. Having a linear performing pad is key to proper driving. You want your pad to perform exactly as you expect it when you expect them on the street or the track.
I have yet to perform any elevated or panic braking with the XT910, but as they feel very linear in regards to pedal pressure it is not something I would worry about for daily driving. I do have to mention that my opinions on the pads beyond street would be a no...they feel like a great sport pad, but not a pad I'd use on the track. That is just the feeling I get. I could be wrong though as I haven't tested them to that extent just yet.
In regards to dust and noise...they aren't noisy one bit, but do dust the same as the factory pads intially. Over time though the pad dust didn't keep building exponentially on wheels though like factory pads do. Factory brake pad dust seems to attract more factory brake pad dust like a magnet. The XT910's dusted the wheels within the first 10 minutes of stop and go driving, but after that slowly built up. Also, they made noise once or twice but that was about it.
As time goes on I may update this review if anything changes.
Last edited by hachiroku; 05-05-2017 at 01:42 AM.
The following users liked this post:
RacingBrake (05-06-2017)
05-05-2017, 12:06 PM
#7
Super Member
My experiences are fairly opposite of hachi's, and that's why I chose the r4s. Street use was my main focus and I wanted quiet pads with good performance and wasn't worried about the bleeding edge of technology. I wanted a known quantity. On my M3, Hawks were noisy, both HPS and HP+, and they were properly bedded and shimmed, with and without paste, according to my discussions with the manufacturer. I just could never get them quiet. I had some friends with issues with the RB XT's on the track (as hachi noted weren't the best application), and even though that wasn't my concern, caused me to steer clear. I didn't even know the MX72's were available for our e63's. Personally, with most pads I've used and especially "performance", once you get to 30%, to me, they all feel a bit sloppier than when even at 50%. But that's just me.
So far I've been happy with the r4s, even though they may not be of latest compound technology. For me, they still work as advertised.
That's the beauty of this forum and others like it. I love reading hachi's experiences and opinions on products for our e63's. Sometimes I don't agree, and my experiences are opposite, but I always learn something and it gives me food for thought and a reason to dig deeper. As the OP said, he's now gonna check out the other pads too. Hell, now I may even track down the Ferodo's when it's time to change pads. We all win.
So far I've been happy with the r4s, even though they may not be of latest compound technology. For me, they still work as advertised.
That's the beauty of this forum and others like it. I love reading hachi's experiences and opinions on products for our e63's. Sometimes I don't agree, and my experiences are opposite, but I always learn something and it gives me food for thought and a reason to dig deeper. As the OP said, he's now gonna check out the other pads too. Hell, now I may even track down the Ferodo's when it's time to change pads. We all win.
Trending Topics
05-05-2017, 12:32 PM
#8
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Richmond, CA
Posts: 3,249
Received 255 Likes
on
233 Posts
2001 E320 Wagon, 2006 LBZ Silverado, 2007 E63 (sold), 2001 E55 (sold)
It's always good to hear differing opinions on stuff like this. I hadn't even heard of some of these pads so it does give me something else to look into.
05-05-2017, 01:06 PM
#9
SPONSOR
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 3,628
Received 798 Likes
on
570 Posts
2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
yes...Hawk HPS were suuuuuuuuper noisy...nothing quieted them. even bedding the pads to the rotors didn't help.
my front Ferodo DS2500's were...stupid expensive. I paid something like 580 for the fronts, with no rears to match. That is how much I love these pads...wish they offered a rear though. They did state if enough we're ordered they would build a rear set as they do have the template. I think that does require 10 orders though. most would probably shy away though...although I haven't gotten to this point, I have read they don't last long when compared to other performance pads...they are rotor friendly though so that's the trade off. change pads and rotors, or just pads a bit more frequent.
my front Ferodo DS2500's were...stupid expensive. I paid something like 580 for the fronts, with no rears to match. That is how much I love these pads...wish they offered a rear though. They did state if enough we're ordered they would build a rear set as they do have the template. I think that does require 10 orders though. most would probably shy away though...although I haven't gotten to this point, I have read they don't last long when compared to other performance pads...they are rotor friendly though so that's the trade off. change pads and rotors, or just pads a bit more frequent.
Last edited by hachiroku; 05-05-2017 at 01:15 PM.
05-05-2017, 06:28 PM
#10
Super Member
Have you gotten any input on noise or dusting on the Ferodo's? What have you used them on? I'm like you; the money isn't the main issue if I believe in the product, so wondering which car you had them on to earn your respect. Was it street only, or did you do some tracking?
Sorry for all the questions but you've got my interest peaked.
Sorry for all the questions but you've got my interest peaked.
05-05-2017, 11:30 PM
#11
SPONSOR
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 3,628
Received 798 Likes
on
570 Posts
2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
my 2003 Audi A4 has Ferodo's with a big brake kit. I've had zero noise, rotor wear is amazing, the best I've ever seen from a performance pad. Dust, I'd say is much better than OEM E63...but on par of what you'd expect of brakes in general. I drive pretty hard in all of my cars, but since my Audi has KW V3's, Hotchkis RS4 sway bars, and a BBK I tend to drive extra extra fast in the twistys. Also it's a 4 cylinder so it's really lightweight. Previous to the DS2500 I ran Hawk HPS. If I were to compare the two...I wouldn't. the DS2500's are just that much a step ahead in all aspects than the HPS. I stop way way faster and way harder. The major difference is the coefficient of friction upon intially bite is comparable to pressing your pedal 20% when you're literally only pressing them maybe 5-10%. You slow down with less pedal input. Same with Project Mu HC+, but those are not offered for our cars. They also are noisy and dust quite a bit.
05-06-2017, 12:46 AM
#12
Former Vendor of MBWorld
RB's ET500 (predecessor of XT910) was the most popular aftermarket pad (replacing OE's DS2500) in EVO community where a lot of owners drive their cars aggressively (mountain/canyon) etc.
Here is another long term testimonial from an SL550 owner.
Racing Brake makes me happy
https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...ml#post5939978
- Very low dust
- No squeaking
- Excellent modulation
- Consistent delivery on brake torque (Liner)
- No cold temperature effect
- Highly durable
Hundreds of happy Mercedes owners like this SL550 owner, and we are adding more happy customers every week.
Here is another long term testimonial from an SL550 owner.
Racing Brake makes me happy
https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...ml#post5939978
- Very low dust
- No squeaking
- Excellent modulation
- Consistent delivery on brake torque (Liner)
- No cold temperature effect
- Highly durable
Hundreds of happy Mercedes owners like this SL550 owner, and we are adding more happy customers every week.
The following users liked this post:
GunMoto (05-08-2017)
