Semi-metallic, Pep Boys brake pads:
 

I did my own brake pad replacement and got the Pep Boys lifetime pads. Now the car (the 500SEL) groans for mercy from the rear wheels when I have passengers in the car and use the brakes at low speed, kind of embarassing.

Am I supposed to use organic pads or do the Pep Boys specials not measure up?

The OEM pads are semi-metallic. Pep Boys pads are a different compound. They may last a lot longer, but you will have to live with the groaning, and they most likely will not perform as good as the OEM. The OEM pads may realease a lot of dust and not last as long, but I think they perform flawlessly.

Ouch - I went through this as well with the 300E. I had used the Pep Boys lifetime pads on other cars with no problems. On the MBZ I had big problems.

The rear pads actually made contact with the "hat" part of the rear rotor. I'm talking about the metal plate that the friction material is bonded to. It did this on both sides. The grinding noise was awful. I took it apart and ground in some clearance with a bench grinder as a temporary fix. That's unacceptable quality in a product as critical as brake components.

The fronts squealed like crazy.

To make a long story short, those pads are now in a landfill somewhere. I put Balo rotors and Textar pads and it was the best money I ever spent on the car.

Don't mean to offend anyone, but in my experience the Pep Boys brakes are crap.

300EE320

Do the Textar pads dust a lot?

I've used ATE and Textar pads on my W126. Both create lots of dust. I believe all OEM quality MB pads are going to dirty up your wheels. Fact of life.

Yes, they do cause a lot of dust compared to some others.

I don't mind the tradeoff because I love the feel of the stock pads. I put 8 hole wheels on the car (the stock '95 E320 alloy "machine chrome" finish) and they clean up easily.

Balo rotors and Textar pads
 

I endorse the Balo rotors and Textar pads also. Very little dust, good braking, quality (appearance at least) and you can get them from PartsShop right on this site pretty darn cheap!!

-Tom

sorry to hear about the bad experience. I pulled the worn Pagid pads off the rear of my 300D and replaced them with Pep boys raybestos pads and within 200 miles or so the braking was MUCH improved! previously the fronts would lockup causing a loss of control, but now that the new pads have been installed, the car stops great and the wheels dont lockup nearly as easily, but when they do all four wheels lock up simultaniously! I have no bad noise to report, and they seem to work great.

car54 What about dusting?

dust is much improved over the german pagid pads, but its still there.

I recommend the Pagid pads. They have benn quiet with excellent performance.

Take it from me and go with OEM stuff, I been there done that and I rather pay the extra few dollars and not deal with the mess.

It is not the image you are after when an MB squeaks and turns head because it is squeaking and groaning. Specially if it is an S class.

I use Pep Boys pads on my Pontiac and Dodge.

If you are a do it your self type of guy, I am sure you have seen the prices here are far better than the dealer so you are paying a bit more than Pep Boys but you are not getting robbed like the dealer. I am not pluggin the site I don’t even know them. But I have to be honest in what I see.