I installed a set AKEBONOS Euro ceramic pads in the front wheels of my 99SL 500 and I can not be happier with their performance and the fact that there are cleaner than anything else I've tried, I dare call them dust free but that is not scientifically accurate, but is close enough,there are also the same price as OEM.
I left the rear Padgid pads in the rear, there were new and I will wait till they wear out before I change them, the difference is like night and day between the front and the rear wheels when it comes to dust,the front will look nice and shinny after two weeks of daily driving and the rear look like they are chocolate coated
I'm happy with Akebonos ceramic, the pedal feels improved not diminished, but then again I changed front rotors too; anyways no complaints here.

I've had the PBR Deluxe on my 560SL for at least three years now (can't remember if it's 3 or 4). They DO stop just fine, even in the rain, and DON'T seem to cause any inordinate rotor wear. They DO cut down the wheel cleaning from every 1-2 days to every 1-2 weeks, and make it a lot easier when it does need to happen.

There are a few things about traditional Mercedes engineering that seem to come from the department of "Of course, zis is a problem, but it is ze best. You vill liff viss ze problem because it is our way." Brake pads that shed an obscene amount of dust, when there are eminiently satisfactory alternatives, seem to be one of those. (But then the ultimate in that regard is Ettore Bugatti, who when a customer complained about his car starting hard in cold weather, retorted, "If you can afford a Bugatti, you can afford a heated garage!")

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Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)

Craig, MB specifies a soft brake pad compound so that in the event the brake booster is lost the automobile can be stopped without a power assist. How effectively do PBR Deluxe brake pads function without a power assist?

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Fred Hoelzle

Fred, that's a really good point; that could definitely be a safety issue if there is a big difference with the low-dust pads.
I know from my younger days that old Chevys certainly wouldn't stop well with a dead engine.

I started this debate, so I might try to do a test with Old Pearl, and see if she'll stop with no brake boost - if I can find a really big deserted place.
(inquiring minds want to know!).

DG