Difference in 86 & 88 190e brakes?
 

I have an 1986 8V 190e that I am upgrating. Driving the vehicle, I was not impressed with the brakes when forced to stand on them in an emergency.

I have an 88 190e that I am dismantling and have read that the 88 has a better brake setup.

Is it worth my effort to swap the rotor/caliper assemblies out for be better braking?

I'll rebuild the calipers, new hoses, and found some hi/po rotors- pads for either setup regardless.

Benz Sage

Your problem is probably worn/glazed rotors and sub-par pads. Our 300E had questionably powerful brakes until I replaced all 4 rotors and all pads recently...now it stops like God himself is grabbing the rotors! :eek: Its REAL powerful/grippy. My W126 brakes are tired too....soon I will be putting the same pads/rotors on it as the 300E....we'll see how awesome they are then. :D

I have to be careful now with the 300E that I don't grab and detach a section of pavement when I hit the brakes. :D :D ;)

The REAL difference is the rotors. they are thicker & ventilated.
Of course replace the hoses with new ones.

Of course you will need 15" wheels to run them on a 1986 car.

Rotor Size?
 

So the Caliper Setup is the same - just different rotors? Is it the same setup in all years of 190, 260 & 300s?

The wheels shouldn't be a problem -- I bought a used set of Kosei 5 spoke wheels for $250.00 last year from Craigslist and mounted 205/55R - 16 tires in the back, and 205/45R - 16 wheels for the front -- It gives the car a nice looking lower front end rake and seems to handle a little better.

I was looking to upgrade the Caliper/Rotor assembly because of the extra leverage presented by tire diameter and width.

I found a deal on EBAY for hollow-cross Drilled rotors and performance semi-metalic pads to purchase. I will be buying some stainless braided hose since they are only $60.00 and using silicon brake fluid to do the brake job right.

The only difference in the caliper is HOW wide the opening for the pads are.

Don't use silicon fluid! Use Ate Blue OR Type 200.

Of course 300E OR 16V brakes bolt on to that car.

My brother's 300D had really bad brakes, they vibrated and didn't stop very well, so I put on new front rotors and pads....and now it can easily lock up the wheels in a hard stop....night and day difference. I just used the standard ATE non vented rotors + autozone (made in USA) pads....stops great. He only drives in the city for 95% of his driving, so fade/rotor temp isn't really an issue as he never even gets the solid discs warm. :D