I'm planning on doing some brake work soon on the SD. New front rotors and pads, repack wheel bearings replace seal. My question is, there are several choices onn Fastlane for rotors and pads. Does anyone here have any definitive information about which ones to use? I'm sure they all work OK, but is one pad softer and quieter, one rotor have a better finish, etc? Thanks!

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

I put Textar pads and Balo rotors on the SDL. I've always had a good fit with the Textar, but, I will tell you that they produce a ton of dust. I'm going to use the Kleen-Wheels to stop the accumulation on the outside of the wheels, but, I do remember some posts where someone found some pads that produce about 10% of the dust that the Textar's do. You might need to do a lengthy search to find it, unless someone can chime in.

I have wondered about this also. I see disks on eBay and they don't tell you who made them. One auction said Ctek or something close to that. Sounds like 'made in china' to me. Can you still buy disks made in Germany?

The Balo's are made in Germany. Right on the outside of the box.

At some point you have to wonder if the language spoken in the country a part is made in, especially a basic machined metal part like a brake rotor, has anything to do with the quality? Depends on price I suppose. About 10K ago I needed rotors for the work truck. US made $202.00 EACH!! Chinese made $75.00 each. Guess which I bought and have had no issues with..... If German companies can allow "trash" in their oil filters then I think the Chinese can handle simple metal machining like a brake rotor. I'm sure someone will chime in on how one rotor is better than the other but I can't see how it can be proven, just simple anecdotal evidence or preference. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

RWT,

In general you are correct. The chinese should be able to make a brake rotor to the specifications required at significantly less cost than the Germans. That being said, there may be some instances where the low cost Chinese cannot achieve the required tolerances on a piece such as the brake rotor. It seems like a simple device, however, the axial runout requirement between the bearing centerline and the face of the rotor is about .001. This is not easy to achieve, by any manufacturer. For floating calipers, you would never know the difference if the rotor is out by .005. But, fixed calipers are not very tolerant of any runout in the face of the rotor, without making the driver aware of it.

Please note that I have no anecdotal data to back up this theory. I just have a sense that the Chinese are not quite there with respect to very tight tolerances on critical dimensions.

I don't put a great deal of mileage on anymore, now that i live so close to work. I'd be inclined to go with a softer pad, even if it creates some dust. Thanks Brian. Anybody else?

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Brian, I think you might be right with respect to the tolerances. Whether this comes out of getting more out of a cutting tool, obtaining and maintaining the appropriate machine tool, or spending a bit more on your metrology, China probably has a bit further to go. But judging from where they were not too long ago, I bet they're getting closer, and fast.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Good question... mine is similar...are my brakes supposed to squeal? My dad took the 300D to change the pads a while ago, and I dont think he took notice of what brand.

i got a pair of bremobo front rotors if u need them. they are OE replacement and not high performance brembo's

i used ate rotors, and ate pads in mine. i also replaced both the calipers with rebuild ones. today i acidently loked up my tires because i was not use to the improvement a fresh system made

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198? 300D ???K - Future DD
1989 300TE 285K - traded in '12
1984 300SD 186K - Sold in 08
1978 300SD 330K - Died in 05

I have had Textar pads and ate vented rotors on mine for about 6k miles. The ate's are great they are showing minimal wear and look cool behind the wheels. Now the Textars are ok they throw tons of dust but have a nice bite and are extremly quite. I have to clean my front wheels 2-3 times a week or they will turn black!

Gsxr knows of ceramic pads that don't make much dust. I don't remember their name but I will buy them next time around.

I also want a set of Brembo cross drilled rotors! Their so pointless but yet so cool.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

At Phil's (Fastlane) recommendation, I bought PBR Deluxe pads and Zimmerman rotors for the E300. He was right, I'm very happy with them. The pads feel right and make much less dust than the OEM.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Rick, are those pads fairly quiet?

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Aside from the technical considerations there are social and political issues involved in decisions to choose one country's products over another. As far as technology goes, robots work just as well in China as in Germany. I may question the metalurgy employed in the Chinese disks.

With ATE regular discs for $39 per I wouldn't search for anything at a lower price regardless of source. We are talking safety and reliability here.
I am using ATE power discs ($42 per) and like the fact they will show the wear when the grooves are gone, as well as allowing gas to escape during heavy (panic) braking. I am sold on ATE Power Discs.

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/smittys/sa/quote.jsp?clientid=sasponline.com&cookieid=18Z0QQ6YL1D90121GS&baseurl=http://www.sasponline.com/&partner=smittys&year=1982&product=N1000-16595&application=000014323
I can also vouch for ceramic pads, they leave very little dust, are silky smooth and need no break-in like some pads I have used. I prefer them over PBR deluxe now. Unfortunately they do not make them for the W123

PBR deluxe (non ceramic) are fine Pads but they tend to squeak a little under slow braking, my wife hates that noise, I love 'em because they don't leave the profuse amount of dust that OE and Textar pads do, but I suspect they wear the discs a little more than ceramic pads.

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!