I wanted to upgrade my brakes for improved, cleaner performance. I decided to use R1 rotors and ceramic pads


The first thing I noticed is the mass of the front rotors as compared to the rear rotors

 

I have been thinking about doing the same kind of upgrade, will you keep me posted on how it works out?

 

Sure no prob, I wanted to do a upgrade without spending a ton of money or getting away from stock fit parts. The stock brakes are pretty impressive to start with. I'm not sure how much difference the feel will be but, I'm game for an upgrade. If the wheels stay clean I'll be happy.

 

replacement sensors

 

where and how much xfire451? let me know how that works out

 

The rotors came from R1 Concepts. They are the E Line rotors ("E" probably means economy) they arn't much more expensive than the stock replacements.

Front= $132.57 R1 Concepts front E-line rotor

Rear= $86.05 R1 Concepts rear E-line rotor

I noticed that the weight is listed as the same for the premium rotors. The sensor wires are $2 each so they are about the same as any where else

For the pads I went with Advance Auto. Nothing special here, other than being ceramic.

Front= $47.99 Advance Auto front pads

Rear= $42.99 Advance Auto rear pads

They have a life time warrantee, and Advance offers several discounts. I chose 15% off current order of $100 or more + 50% off any order of $100 or more in the future

132.57 front rotors
86.05 rear rotors
47.99 front pads
42.99 rear pads
4.00 sensor wires
313.60 total + some tax and - Advance discount

 

WOW! thanks for such a complete reply man! I'll save some cash for this upgrade, it's always good to invest in brakes!

 

It would be a good idea to flush out your brake fluid with new stuff while you are doing all this.... Some Racing Blue or Motul will do the job..

 

XF451, like Mike said, I would recommend a fluid upgrade, and if you want the pedal feel to be as good as possible, you will notice a difference if you switch to SS brake lines, and they are only like $100 a set, well worth it.

 

Thanks for that list of parts, I am going to have to put aside some cash for these... that is after I get done putting aside the cash to get the hood repainted after a rock truck pelted me a few months back.

 

Thanks for the comments. I am going to change the fluid and I have checked out the various fluids. I began to realize that the fluids like Motul are for racing and my car is never really pushed to anything near those kinds of stresses or limits on a regular basis. I do like the SS lines to reduce internal flex and more consistent application. Also, they would have a much longer life. So the lines are more interesting. I want to see how much of a difference these current upgrades accomplish. Many years ago a friend changed a master cylinder on a 1/2 ton Dodge truck, the brakes went through the roof! You barely had to touch the pedal and they would throw you through the windshield. We realized the new master had a different (smaller) bore diameter. It was really stepping up the line pressure!

 

adding the SS lines and the higher temp fluid will give you a nice solid peddle that is firmer than stock but not drastically....

 

Ok I've been thinking about it and listening to you guys and I'm going to do the SS lines and upgraded fluid. I'll need to do it as a separate project though, due to the fact that the car is a semi-daily driver. The sensor light is coming on now (that's why I decided to do this). Also I'll be able to evaluate the differences individually to figure out what is the best bang for the buck! I found some places that do custom lines, does anybody know where to get off the shelf, if they are available that way. Being that our cars are so similar to the CLK's I might be able to look there in the Mercedes parts bins as well.

 

Goodrige SS line kit for the SLK..... Rob (Needswings) sells them.....

 

How are those brakes doing? I need an upgrade. I went on a pretty aggressive mountain ride with the 2012 srt high performance tour guys and mybrakess were smoking. I felt so bad for my little xfire seeing it suffer like that. She pulled through though now its just time to get her back in the game.

 

Sorry, I haven't had a chance to really put the brakes to the test. Work and weather have taken a toll on my time. I haven't had a chance to drive the car very much. Many say ceramic pads take longer to bed in so, I want to give them some time.

 

Not a problem! It would be great to keep us updated though! Greatly appreciated.

 

I had a little chance to put some miles on the last couple of days. The brakes feel a little more positive, not a really significant change (I always thought the stock brakes were pretty good). There has been a bit of dust though. I'm hoping this is in relation to the pads breaking in and hopefully will subside as the pads bed in. The rotors look great and have a perfectly smooth surface. I found the SS line kit at NOPI for $106.01 + free shipping and I would probably get a NOPI sticker that would definately make my car faster!

 

I have them on my roadster. R1 is a good product. But, after doing the roadster, I realized how good the stock rotors are, so on the coupe, I upgraded the lines, the fluid, and the pads, and left the rotors. Both car perform about the same... If you are round tracking the car, and heating the brakes consistantly, then, drilled and slotted rotors are the ticket. Not necessary for us drag racers...but we do need to stop.

 

Hey crossfire451,

Two things: Blackhorse rules! I'm a Blackhorse veteran too.

Other thing. I found the E-Line rotors (and pads) on E-bay. They're right here in my backyard (in California) so warranty would be easy to exercised.

Tell me about your experience with the E-Line rotors.

Thanks,

Ed