For road use, only buy slotted rotors if you're going for the look; performance-wise you'll not notice a benefit. As to durability, all I can offer is that I ruined 2 sets of Ate Powerdiscs, 1 each at a track event where I drove around 90 miles on-track. The second time, at Lime Rock Park, the rotors developed a bunch of little fractures...very disconcerting. Most recent time at the track I ran OE rotors that had been cryo-treated, and they held up perfectly!!

SS lines really don't affect pedal feel much, if at all. Replace your lines, as they're 15 years old at this point, but only use SS lines if they have a Kevlar layer between the inner line & outer SS sleeve.

I think if there's a pad that will be better than stock, Porterfield's likely the company that makes it. Again, for road use the factory pads are excellent (if dusty).Going forward my plan is to run OE rotors that have been slotted and cryo-treated. I'll use OE pads on the street, and try a set of Porterfields for the track (EBC Red Stuff pads were utterly cooked after 90 track miles-I'm hoping I'll get better wear from the Porterfields, but I should since they cost twice as much!!)

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"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

i agree with you totally 100%.

did you happen to cryo the ate power discs? cryo makes a world of difference on rotors and other metal products (i.e. camshaft, valves, etc.)

i personally don't like oe pads, cuz of the soft compound and dust. porterfield is probably the best for the street overall (r4-s compound). these are much better than the oem pads. if you are going to use the oe rotors and have them slotted and cryo for street application, then why don't you get the ate power discs and just get them cryo (street application only)? this seems alot more feasible. there both the same concept (release gas vapors).

anyways, good luck and safe track driving.

Aiino-

I'm not much for the way Ate slots their discs-less effective than if angularly vs. elliptically slotted (I may have this wrong, so if there's an engineer out there please chime in). Further, they failed worse than plain old OE rotors do, so I think I'm now starting with superior base stock (meaning Mercedes-spec, OE rotors).

I may or may not slot going forward-slotting looks neat (largely why I'd do it, frankly), but given I had no fade at the track last time out, what can slotting get me?

So, you like the Porterfield road pads? Aren't they expensive? I know their track pads are expensive-my question is can the road pads handle track events? Or do you need to move up to their "Panther Plus" pads (I think that was the name)?

PS-My Plan is to use the same rotors for street & occasional track events, maybe 3-4/year; I don't mind changing pads out, but rotors I'd prefer not changing (I know it only takes 1/2 hour or less per side, but time's tough to come by). And No, I didn't cryo the PowerDiscs.

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

hey michael

as far as in oe rotors vs. ate, the quality should be exactly the same since mbz does not make their own rotors or have a certain requirement made by them.

i believe you ate power discs did not las that long on the track due to crystalization. the pads heated up so much and cooled down so quickly (more than oe) that they began to crystalize. in other words your pads kind of went thru a tempering process which made the material in the pads harder. try cryoing the rotors. i feel they will last much longer. if not, i would still cryo your oem rotors.

i definetely like porterfield pads (R4-S). there is another brand i have not tried, but i am later is called the carbotech super street-f brake pads. don't know much about them. not yet. these pads are even more expensive than the porterfield pads.

porterfield offers 3 types of pads: street, endurance and racing. the street version is made for the street and light track racing and testing. call porterfield for the specs (tel # is 949-548-4470). i believe the R4-S can withstand 1100 degrees F. your street and light track applications don't even come close to that.

if you interested in buying some porterfield pads at a reasonable price contact a guy name tony downs at bekkers import (tel 800-624-5410 ext 16) tell him andy iino sent you. he'll hook you up.

hope this helps.

Andy,

Actually, it's CarboTech that makes the Panther pads. And they have a sterling reputation, so I may try their pads-I'll have to start with a cost comparison.

BTW, I ruined the PowerDiscs both times running OE pads.

Lastly, as regards MBZ vs. aftermarket rotors ( and I did indeed know that they don't fabricate their own rotors-best OE rotors I ever had came in a Brembo box), maybe I'm naive but I like to think MBZ is holding their suppliers to a higher standard-remember, if a supplier falls out-of-spec on a Mercedes-bound part, oftentimes Mercedes makes the supplier eat the whole parts run...they're brutal to supply for. I kinda like that

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

hey michael

give me your insights regarding a problem i have with a low brake pedal. i posted it yesterday along with pre-detonation.

later.

i know ate's reputation. my guess is that their standards is not any less than brembo's in rotors. i could be wrong.

Jury's out on Ate's reputation-just last week I emailed pictures of my trashed rotors to an engineer in Germany at Conti-Teves (own Ate). I await his response.

As to the low brake pedal thing, I'll take a look at your post & get back to you. But basically, low pedal is bad in a 300E (presuming it's been properly bled). My 300TE and 300Dpedals are quite high and immediate, moreso than my 500E

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Just to re-iterate, be very careful if using cross-drilled rotors, esp. if the drillings are NOT casted into the rotor.

Check out these stress fractures/lines on this Brabus cross-drilled rotor taken from the Gumball Rallye 300 site.

:-) neil