The front end of my Limited is squealing, whenever I lightly press the brake pedal or turn the wheel slightly, the squeal goes away. I planned on turning the rotors this weekend @ school but heard that Mercedes uses a soft steel that you can't turn. So I hit the streets to validate this whether it's fact or opinion. My local Chrysler dealer has none in stock (rotors) @ 185.50 a piece!!! And have no clue as to whether they can be turned or not. So then I go to the Mercedes dealership about 30min away, and get the scoop. Mercedes rotors are a composite, not steel, so they can't be turned because they'll chip. Plus they're only $70 a piece!!!


First off, does this sound right to you?? I just want a rotor pad combination so I don't have to clean the wheels every other day. I keep hearing Porterfields, Rotex Golds, I have personally used EBC Green Stuff and was thinking maybe stepping up to Red Stuff or Yellow Stuff. DO I go composite, or steel??

What are some educated suggestions? You guys haven't let me down yet.


Justin

 

As Long As They Meet The Minimum Thickness Stamped In The Rotor They Can Be Turned.....

 

I had my stock rotors turned about a month ago with no problem. They only had to remove about .005" on each side to clean up. Installed new Rotex Gold pads that I sprayed with anti squeak spray on the entire back. I have had no brake squeak and still have a little dust but much better than stock. I'm suspecting that some of the dust is coming from the stock MB rotors.

 

Can't resurface composite rotors, they don't cut like steel.

 

The MB price is good. Brakeworld has OEM rotors for like $79 fron and $58 rear for the NA xfire. They only list front for the SRT at $115.

MikeR

 

I have a 04 and had my rotors cut at 19000 miles and installed Rotex Golds and now have 30,000 miles and the are quiet and smooth and work fine.

 

That's what I need to hear!!! I can't believe the rotors are junk to need to be turned so soon. I have an 05 and it has 21,xxx on it

 

Perhaps Valkeryguy's rotors weren't junk at all. They may have been perfectly fine and he was only having them turned so that he could install his new rotex pads. Its my understanding that rotors should be turned or replaced whenever new pads are installed.

Certainly, you can install new pads without having a fresh rotor surface and your brakes would work. But, your braking performance might suffer until the pad was worn to match the imperfections of a used rotor. Also, your brakes could be noisier than those installed with a fresh rotor surface.

 

Hey there, when I bought my XF a couple weeks ago, I had them trim the rotars and pads. They didnt have any problem. But I do get a ton of breakdust on my front wheels. Anyone know any good pads that dont expel a ton of dust? Thanks guys, as I am still new to this forum, and only 22 years old with limited mechanical knowledge.
Tusk

 

rotex gold, posi-quiet, or disc italia

i would rank them in that order... definately rotex gold first....IMO

 

Yeah, you will find TONS of threads with praises about the Rotex Gold.. I have them as well and definitely recommend them... get them.. asap!

 

I've got the Posi-Quiet ceramics and installed them myself with just under 5,000 miles on the car. I did not turn the rotors. There is virtually no dust at all, I've never heard them squeal, and braking performance does not appear to compromised at all since a weekend of track duty showed them to work perfectly. Said track day included a heavy braking zone taking me from 125mph to 35mph on every lap and another 115mph to 30mph braking zone. I highly recommend them.

 

In my opinion and in the opinion of others, to ensure that you get maximum braking and to ensure that you will not get any brake squeal, you need to:

Turn or replace rotors
Use anti squeal grease or spray on the back of the pads
Bed the brakes

You may get away with skipping any of the above but there is a reason to do all of them. The rotors may have a slight wobble and grooving that has to be removed and also you need to remove any embedded material that the original pad has left in the rotor. Check this out : http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml

I know most of us would never wax our Crossfires without first washing the car And most of us wouldn't change the oil in our cars without also changing the oil filter. So why would one skip any of the proper proceedures in the most important function that we have, and that is stopping the car?

To quote my grandad " Be a job big or small, do it right or not at all."

I think we should have a stickey in the brake section of this forum on the proper method of doing a brake job or maybe we do and I missed it. These brake pad and dust issues are all over the forum.

I know that the Rotex Gold pads aren't the only pads out there and some of or forum members have found some others, but I think at this point, we have more members using Rotex than any other brand of pad. I also think that in time, with usage, we may find a better pad.

This is a another useful article on the subject: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/rot...e-pads-review/

 

Very good points Chuck. The only reason I did not turn the rotors on my car was because of the low mileage on them at the time I replaced the pads. I spoke with several people much more knowledgeable about these things than I, and every one of them agreed that unless there was something noticeable on the rotor surface there was probably no need to turn them with less than 5,000 miles of use. I did apply an anti-squeal to the back of the pads as well.

Otherwise, I have never replaced pads without also turning or replacing the rotors.