Brake Pad Suggestions for '95 E420 - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gsxr · #16 04-19-2004, 02:56 PM

If you can swallow the cost, I highly recommend Porterfield R4-S Carbon-Kevlar pads. Low dust, no noise (on my cars anyway), and fantastic feel & stopping power. They're also the only pads I have EVER used where I got stopping power on the FIRST pedal application with new pads + new rotors installed. Every other pad I've used felt like they were made of teflon for the first several miles and few dozen stops, as they bedded in and started working. Scary stuff, I hate that feeling with new pads/rotors! My R4-S pads just worked out of the box, which IMO was way cool.

I've used Mintex Red Box pads and they're OK but not fantastic. I don't like EBC much at all. Performance Friction is great but they don't make pads for Mercedes.

Textar Yellow Box pads are popular, cheap, work well, but I hear they're dusty/dirty. It mostly boils down to what's important for you - noise? dust? max performance? cost? - and then figure which pad does what you want. The R4-S are about the best, IMO, except they're not cheap:

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com

Tump · #17 04-20-2004, 11:48 AM

I agree with GSXR -- I had the EBC Green Stuff on my C43 and they did not work particularly well. Lower dust (but still enough dust left) and eventhough I spent the time bedding them in right, they still left uneven deposits and made the rotors feel as if they were warped (this may have happened because I installed the EBC's on Rotors that had been using OE MB pads.

I now have the Porterfield R4-S pads on my new cross-drilled AMG rotors and the set up is fantastic. Almost no dust. No noise. And no fade. Best of all, the combination of cross-drilled rotors with stainless steel kevlar brake lines has made the brakes absolutely controlable -- I can modulate braking just as I want. Great for fast corners, and much better than stock.

gsxr · #18 04-20-2004, 12:12 PM

Marc,

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad it's not only me that likes the Porterfields. Very few people buy them because they don't like the cost, but this was one of those purchases that I felt was worth the money.

On a side note, don't use the R4-S on the track, that's the "street" pad. The track pad is the R4. I talked to a Porterfield tech and they told me the R4 is a lousy street pad - very dusty/dirty, noisy, and requires high temperatures to work well. I heard one report of a guy using the R4 pads on the track who said they had "reverse fade", i.e. he'd be braking at the end of a straight and the brakes would bite harder as they heated up! P/F told me the R4 race pad would wear very fast at cold street temps and to stick with the R4-S, which I did, and those have been more than adequate...!

Side note: The R4-S pads for an E320/E420/E500 (W124), are ~$135 per set for the front axle. The same pads fit the SL320/SL500/SL600 (R129).

ke6dcj · #19 04-20-2004, 02:34 PM

My wife and I like the the Porterfield R4-S pads, but they are pricey.

At least they don't dust as much as the "yellow-box" Textars, which have great grip/bite without any warmup.

Forgot both pads for the track though. Porterfield R4's ONLY.

:-) neil
1988 E36T AMG
1993 500E

dieseldude · #20 04-20-2004, 06:09 PM

Thank you all for your experiences! But I guess, my follow-up(and part of my original inquiry) is - are all these setups keeping the factory brake-wear sensor intact? The stock setup stops great, so I'm not really looking for a huge upgrade in terms of performance (although it wouldn't exactly be unwelcome

), and if the dust is a neccessary evil, then so be it if it means good cold stops and keeping the wear sensors intact.

Thanks again for all the input!

- Ryan

Tump · #21 04-20-2004, 06:12 PM

Because of the Kevlar/Carbon compostion of the Porterfields, they should last longer than OE pads. That would certainly help to offset the price difference. As far as I'm concerned though, Porterfield R4-S pads are cheaper than what the stealership in my area charges for OE C43 pads.

The Porterfiled guys were great and they steered me away from the R4 pads since I do not yet track my car. After the warranty expires and I install a supercharger, however ...

Also, the Porterfield R4-S pads came with the exact cut-out needed for the MB brake wear sensor.

ke6dcj · #22 04-20-2004, 08:53 PM

The "yellow-box" Textars and Porterfield all have the "cutout" for the brake-wear sensor.

Textars from Randy of EPS Parts (http://www.epsparts.com) is SIGNIGICANTLY cheaper than both the dealer and Porterfields.

Randy also has Pagid and other brake pads that come with dampener/shims and MB brake grease so you don't have any squealing.

I have NEVER had squealing by using both the dampener/shims and grease.

Check it out here:
http://www.epsparts.com/category/chassisnumbertable/

:-) neil
1988 E36T AMG
1993 500E

Excerpt:
Textar

Textar is one of the leading OEM suppliers to the German new car market. I have personally been selling Textar brake pads for 28 years now. They have proven to have the overall best formulation of combined qualities to retain the OEM stopping power designed in to your car originally! The Textar pads we sell are commonly known as the “Yellow Box Textar Pads” in some Internet communities. The compound used in the formulation of these pads is a slight bit different than the compound in the Textar or other brand OEM pads, sold at the dealers. The compound is a “European Compound” and has a longer wear life and a noticeable decrease in the amount of brake dust. They also retain the smooth but firm stopping power found in the standard OEM compound, virtually eliminating the brake squeal found in many “aftermarket” brake pads. They are not dustless, and do not last forever, but have proven to be the most popular pad in most Mercedes applications. You can find further information about Textar by visiting their Website.