FYI...Front Brake Pad Comparison 300E W124
 

I just wanted to post this for anyone wondering about front replacement brake pads. I just replaced my Jurid brand cermic pads with Akimo ceramic pads and I am very disappointed. The Jurid pads stopped the car on a dime as soon as I installed them! Lasted a good year and 12K. These pads (Akimo) were about $15 less and don't come with the electronic pad sensor wear wires and make the braking feel mushy. I have a W124 '91 300E. Hope this helps somebody. Get the Jurids! I will...soon!!!

Did you go through the bedding proceedure to break them in? I know my Axxis deluxe ceramics on the BMW would not bite until I did that.

Just ordered some posi-quiet ceramics for the wagon. We'll see what happens....

I'll post back after I break them in a bit more and see if anything changes. The rotors are brand new as well. When I bought the car, the braking felt like it does now so I researched brake pads and got the Jurids. I thought I had bought the same ones this time...but I did not:(

New Brake Pad (AND Rotors)1st time "Burn"
 

There is a specific procedure to be followed,you don't just "Wear them in".
And Once you've NOT followed the procedure you have to restore the pads
(AND Rotors) surface to Like New before attempting to "Burn them in" properly.

Some thought for your contemplation:

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/tech_support/tech_tips.download.-Par50rparsys-0012-downloadFile.html/06%29%20Brake%20Burn%20In.pdf

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=28456

And Break In:

Brake pad break-in procedure.

1. After reaching medium speed engage brake pedal to slow car WITHOUT
COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat four or five times.
2. At higher speeds engage brake pedal to slow car WITHOUT COMING TO
A COMPLETE STOP. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat five times.
3. At or near high speed engage brake pedal to slow car WITHOUT COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat three times. Allow a few seconds between brake engagements while car is in motion.
4. Do not hold brake pedal. Park car for approximately 20 minutes or until brake rotors are completely cool to the touch.
5. If during the above steps the brake pedal becomes soft or brake fade is noticed, park the car immediately for approximately 20 minutes. Do not hold brake pedal.

Important reminders:

* Do not attempt to use badly worn or damaged rotors with new brake pads.
* Do not drag brakes while car is moving during break-in procedure.
* Do not engage pedal while car is stopped at any time following the break-in procedure.
* Upon completing the procedure, allow the brake system to completely cool before use.
* Clean a used rotor surface with fine sand paper or steel wool, rinse with water, dry and install before bedding new pads.

I've determined the only safe/sane way to carry out the procedures is late
@ Night on an almost abandoned Interstate.
The first time "50" catches you "Buning In" your new pads it'll help if you have
a copy of the procedures to show Her/Him,otherwise likely to be subjected
to the old Sobriety Test.

The Crazy part of this whole Brake surface prep is that you've gotta get to
your "Prep" area with as little brake use as possible (Can You Say ZERO.)

Did you change the brake fluid when you did it? If so, rebleed the brakes. You probably have air in there.

My car is at the garage now getting Zimmerman rotors, Textar pads and brake bleed done.
I hope it brakes well... can't wait to get it back

I have that exact setup on my 300E. Textars in front, PBR Organic in rear, Zimmerman rotors on all 4. Stops AMAZING. It has a vicious bite if you hit it. Extremely powerful brakes.

My W126 can stop almost as well, but the brakes are "softer" on application. It has zimmermans with PBR Ceramic pads....30k on them and very little rotor wear and almost no pad wear!

How do you only get 12k out of a set of braked :confused: I generally get over 150,000 on a set of fronts on my Jetta :eek:

Brake "break in" procedures have very much be debunked. And your first link is for a mountain bike.

Some good info here. From what I have read and understand about the procedure is that after all the stop and goes you should NOT park the car and let it cool. Rather drive continuously for 15 minutes to cool them back down. You would need to be on a highway with to stops. I do mine mid day when traffic is low. If a car approaches while slowing, I just pull to the shoulder and continue again. ....without stopping! If you want the best performance from the brakes this needs to be done. Not many mechanics tell you this if you take your car in for a brake job.

An internet search would suggest that there is no such thing as Akimo ceramic brake pads.

WOW! You guys are really over-thinking this. A good pad installed properly will bed in quickly with little more than a few moderate applications at speed. My test drive loop is right at 2 miles, typicaly with traffic. I never have any problems bedding in new pads within that 2 miles.

The single most important thing to note about breaking in new pads is that hard aggressive braking before bed-in will overheat and glaze the rotors as well as crystalize the pads.

For the 12K mile question, I failed to explain that the rotors were worn down so I had to change the pads. Still had plenty of pad left. Sorry.

For the brake "break-in" procedure, I have never heard of that before. I am 44 years old and have had 12 cars and never had to do that. From my experience, it is usually the pad or rotor that makes the difference but I will heed that helpful advice in the future and I thank you for taking the time to give me that feedback.

Also, brakes were a little better today after driving to and from work but still not "gripping" like the other pads and prior to my Jurids, there were some semi-metallic Dura-Lasts installed that required reverse thrusters and an airbrake to stop the car. So, I'm pretty sure it's the pad quality but I could be very wrong as I'm not an expert "brakesman" :)

sptt, switch to Textar brake pads (in the Yellow Box). Your 300E brake system isn't designed to use ceramic or semi-metallic brake pads.

Boy is my memory bad!!! Akebono is the brake pad name! Not Akimo. Thank you for the correction. No wonder they suck! Duhhh...