I am in need of new brakes and rotors. I am thinking of going with brembo cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads. I have been told by a few people NOT to get ceramic pads. I am questioning why? Anybody have any thoughts or comments? I also plan on doing this myself. TIA


Patrick

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Patrick

Patrick,

unless you are racing - the ceramic pads are a bad idea. why? they are designed for optimal performance at high temp and you don't achieve this driving around town. Actually, at cooler operating temps - the ceramic pads will have worse performance than factory pads.

Are you planning on autocrossing your ML?

No I am not planning on autocrossing it. Just trying to do little mods to make her better. Thanks for the input!

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Patrick

Rotors....sp Performance Diamond Drilled And Slotted

Pads........ebc Suv 7000 Green Series

Avoid Ebc Rotors, They Have A Disign Defect.

I hold a much different opinoin of the ceramic pads. True, there are ceramics out there that are for performance use (there are also metalics out there that are for performance use). However, not all ceramics are performance pads, in fact, most are just the opposite. They are not all like the Porsche PCCB system. I have the satisfied Brake ceramic pads on the front of my 99 ml430. They are great. Silent and next to no noticeable dust. The reason is that the base material is a ceramic powder, and when they wear, they create a light white dust that is barely noticeable on the rims (as opposed to the usual black dust). Another bonus is that since they do not have the ususal metal fibers in them, they wear the rotors much more slowly, even though braking performance is as good or better than OEM pads. I used the regular (read NOT cross drilled) Brembo rotors from Tirerack. They are a perfect match to stock. I highly recomend this package. It is not for performance use at all, just good old transportation. Unlike what some have said, there is no need to get them "hot" before they bite well. They are worth the money for the cleaner wheels alone, let alone noise and better rotor wear.

What I would stay away from are the cross drilled rotors, unless you just like the look. The holes (just as with slots) act as little knives cutting into your pads, wearing them faster. Unless you are pounding on your brakes on the track (in any car), then cross drilling and slotting (all used to relieve gasses generated as well as heat) are worthless.

Go To The Sp Performance Brake Web Site, The Diamond Drilling Elimenates The "knife Like" Edges. I Take My 320 Off Road And Give It A Work Out, After All Its A Four (all) Wheel Truck Not A Mini Van. Mercedes Should Have Put Out A More Spatan Edition For The Real Outdoors Man.

Actually, Mercedes did put out a base no-frills ML in the US. I think it was 01......I saw one up at RBM in Atlanta. Very basic with minimum options. The seat material was a houndstooth cloth. I kinda liked it !!

The ML is an awesome offroad vehicle !! Its biggest weakness is ground clearance which a lot of owners have addressed with lift kits/wheel upgrades.