Audiodog

Anyone know the difference in weight between the forged rim and the cast five-spoke rim? I prefer the five-spoke aesthetics, but the forged is stronger and possibly lighter. Less unsprung weight is good, no?

Thanks!!

{edit} After looking more at pics, I am warming up to the black forged..... I guess these are much stronger, being forged. If they save 2-3 pounds a wheel that is a bonus.

2012 merc amg

If you have a lot of bumps in the main area you'll be driving I would get the forged, the cast can bend pretty easy if you hit a good pothole or paving seam, happened to me a few times on my last car so I vowed from now on these cars with such low profile tires to always go forged. The forged wheels should be 10 to 20 percent lighter than the cast wheels, so assuming the cast weighs around 27 lbs the forged should be 3 to 4 pounds lighter. Here's a good write up about the different process used in making the wheels, the forged is much stronger. http://corwheels.com/forged-vs-cast-...he-difference/

lap time

I m not sure the standard 5 spokes star wheels are cast or forged becoz they actually weight surprisingly similar (without tires). Unfortunately i dont know how to upload photos but here is the weight.

Forged vs "standard" (front)
13.24 kg VS 13.66kg

Forged vs "standard" (rear)
13.04 kg VS 13.22kg

Yes, front wheel is heavier than rear.

Audiodog

Thanks! So if I have the wheel and tire road hazard warranty, it is no real difference aside from looks. Other question is whether to get the carbon brakes. I hate brake dust. If the feel in the street is good and they are just as quiet, I may opt for the carbon. Thoughts?

78degrees

Carbon brakes is a nice way to throw away some money.. They are great on track but overkill on road.. In additon to that, it's impossible to fit 19" rims over the front carbon brakes..

Personally I will use 19" wheels most of the time as it's impossible to find studded tires in the correct dimension for 20".

lap time

Agreed. Steel brake performs very well on street unless you go for the best lap time on track, otherwise, they are too expensive to operate. IMO.

lap time

Clk63blkseries

Money no object Carbon Ceramics are way better street or track. They make less noise then steel, brake better ,lighter and no brake dust at all.

I have them on many cars and love them the caveat is the upfront cost is big and replacing them is expensive. Key is don't let the pads wear more then 50% before replacing them

Audiodog

Understood. I was pondering it since my lease is three years and the residual is like 58% or 59%, the actual CCB cost is only about 41-42% of the option cost (reduced by another 8% due to my "deal" off of MSRP) The actual CCB cost then is a little over $3K for the 3 years. Is the much lighter unsprung weight, better performance, and less dust worth it??? Thoughts? Appreciate the input.

E634Me

This will be my first car with composite brakes. Will it really be less dust? Watching the F1 cars you can see huge plumes of brake dust coming off the cars as they brake for some corners.

I'll be really happy if it really is less dust

signes

Less dust, yes, but you will still see it. Some people like to say no dust and that isn't accurate, and just like iron brakes amount of dust will depend on your driving style.

MrBE63

All of my cars have been steel brakes with the exception of my 458. I have to say I love the carbon ceramic brakes. Almost no brake dust and what brake dust is there does not seem to stick like dust from normal steel brakes. I can come home from a long drive and not have to worry about the corrosive brake dust eating away at my wheels if I don't clean them immediatley. I really considered the CC fro my E63 but @ $13k Canadian I couldn't justify it. I probably would have added the CC if the cost was more like $7 to $8k. The only thing with CC is when they are cold you have to be a little wary as it takes a litttle heat in them to make them bite.

Audiodog

In the US, I think they are around $8700 or so? So, my deal is for about 8.5% off of MSRP, the brake cost is roughly $8K. I am leasing and the residual is around 58%. That means my cost for the three years is about $3343. About $1114 a year.

I am thinking it is cheaper to pay my kids $5 or $10 bucks allowance a week to keep the wheels clean!

The only real benefit is then the 13 pound unsprung weight savings. How meaningful is it?

bluesea

Are you certain about 19's not being able to fit over CCBs? I was assuming (hoping) that the same CCBs are carried over from the W212 which have 19s that fit over the carbon ceramic brakes - which I have on my 2014 W212 E63.

I'd like to go back to 19s with my incoming W213 as there will be more rubber between the rim and the bad roads, railroad tracks, etc.

rluciano

The German configurator allows you to spec an E63S with 19� wheels and CCBs.

78degrees

The dealers system here in Norway does not allow 19" wheels on E63 with CCB.

The car must be ordered with 20" anyways, but winter wheels can be delivered in 19" as long as the car is not equipped with CCB.

24Hours

This will be my first car with CCB. Money is an object, but I couldn't get comfortable spending this kind of money on a car with cheap rear breaks. Really... 1-piston rears with standard breaks?

All else being equal (driving styles): how many miles would a "spirited" driver get from 50% wear?
Thanks in advance

E634Me

You don't really need much brake power in the rear. When you jam on the brakes, the weight transfer to the front puts the majority of the load on the front tire and the rear tires are not doing a lot of braking.

One problem I've had with US cars in the past with engines up front is too much brake bias to the rear and rear wheel lockup necessitating the lifting of brake pressure to keep the car under control in a turn - this before anti-lock brakes came on the scene.

On motorcycles the problem is even worse, on heaving braking during racing it's routine to have the rear wheel loft off the pavement. Engine braking alone is enough to cause rear wheel lockup. So you have a double job of managing front brake pressure to keep from overloading the front end, and clutch operation to keep the rear end from locking up. I know of guys who intentionally bleed in some air in the rear brake line on their bikes to make the rear brake less sensitive. Others have filed down the rear pads to make them less effective - and this is with a single disc / single piston caliper in the rear vs the dual disc / multiple piston calipers you have up front.

So I'm not troubled at all by Mercedes doing essentially the same thing here. I'm reasonably comfortable with the notion that they've designed in the right amount of braking force for the job at hand.

E634Me

I wonder if we will ever see carbon fiber wheels coming out. They're being produced for motorcycles now.

Would probably require a slightly higher profile tire I would imagine . . .