Brembo Big Brake Kit for the E500?

[rainmaker]

Brembo offers a big brake kit for the R129. They don't have a specific kit for the E500/500Es. Brembo says that if the suspension upright and caliper mounting points are the same as the R129 then the R129 kit will bolt on. You still need to see if the wheel offset is the same.

I know that the wheel offsets are the same as the wheels that fit both carry the same part numbers (i.e. the Evo II wheels). What about the caliper mounting points and the "suspension upright"?

I've heard that the SL600 brakes fit directly on the E500, can I safely assume that the answer to all the above is Yes?

The reason I ask is that my Expedition has a brembo kit which uses the same rotors and possibly the same calipers as the kit for the R129. I'm selling my truck. I'd want to be able to recycle the Brembos for the 500E. Hopefully, I'd only have to order new hats and brackets.

Many thanks...

[mbdoc]

The 1992 500E came with BREMBO brake calipers! Many of them had dragging & squealing brakes, the fix was to install 600SL brake calipers. THAT is what should be on your car!

[rainmaker]

I understand that, Doc. I wasn't meaning to go that route. I was actually looking at a big brake kit (14" cross-drilled rotors, floating hub etc.)

Would you know if the 600SL brakes are direct bolt on parts or if they needed some miscellaneous bits? If they do bolt on, I'd bet the Brembos would fit. Don't want a good set of brakes go to waste...

Many thanks...

[Michael]

Actually, with all due respect to MBDoc, the retrofit for early (pre-94) 500Es were 500SL calipers, made out of iron...only european '92 & '93 500Es got the 320mm brakes (and an oil cooler) from the 600SL.

According to documentation I have, the 500E front hubs were swiped from the R129, so I'd think the calipers would bolt right up.

Lastly, I'd think the suspension upright would be a non-issue, as that would present a wheel clearance issue, which cannot be the case here.

Good luck!

[rainmaker]

I'm still waiting for Brembo's reply on the cost of the parts that need to be replaced for them to fit on the 500E. If the parts don't turn out too expensive, i'll risk them and post results.

Thanks again!

[Michael]

I wanted to add that the front calipers are hard-mounted directly to the hub carriers with 2 big bolts (19mm hex head as I recall...I replace them every time I change out the rotors). If you undo those bolts, the caliper would fall into your hands if it weren't for the brake line! And the rotor's simply held in place by a single allen head bolt (and the wheel's 5 lug bolts, of course!). Very, very simple to work on setup.

Good luck!