I need to get new rotors and brakes pretty soon. and I saw someone installed c32 big brake kit on his car. So i was thinking maybe i should get a big brake kit and searched on ebay. my question is, in order for me to get complete big brake kit set up, do i just need to buy rotors and brake pads??? i don't know anything about brakes so please help me what I need to buy and where I can buy it for decent price. thanks in advance!

 

Let me start by saying that the Crossfire has very good brakes to begin with, but I've modified almost everything else so why not the brakes?

In order to run larger diameter rotors, you need different calipers, or a way to move your calipers "out" further to handle the larger diameter. I am not aware of any adapters to let you use the existing calipers with bigger rotors.

The C32AMG brakes I put on the front of my car do several things:
1. larger rotors for more mechanical leverage when you hit the brakes hard.
2. increased rotor size and swept area for better heat disapation.
3. different caliper design -- four pistons (two per side) directly acting on the brake pads plus a very stiff caliper frame design gives you great gripping power
4. larger pads for more braking force

The rears are not as different but do use larger rotors (same size as the stock fronts!) and the rotors are ventilated instead of solid. Pads are also larger and it's a larger two piston set up, one on each side of the rotor. The combination helps maintain the proper braking balance front to rear.

The other big deal is that this setup handles the extreme braking of track events better -- on some tracks my stock brakes would fade after a few laps, and the C32AMG setup does not show this at all. Having driven C32AMG's on the track in the past with no braking issues, I did not anticipate any with the 700 lb lighter Crossfire......

All of this gives greater braking force (my co-pilot complained that she lost her sunglasses and her collarbone hurt from the harness when I hit the brakes hard) and shorter stopping distances (measurements coming soon).

But I run my car at NASA and other track events, and the other big advantage is the better modulation and brake "feel" that lets me control my braking, especially into the corners (this is greatly influenced by the pads used). On the street you usually brake harder as you come to a stop, on the track you hit 'em hard at first and roll off as you end your braking, especially if you are "trailbraking" into a corner.

I've always had big Brembo's on my 914/6 and 911's, my Audi quattro's in the 80's (worked for the rally team) and on my A4 track car here in the states before I got the Xfire. Once you get them, you'll never go back -- the braking feel and results are totally different.

 

wow...thanks for nice explanation Tazz... how much did you spend on your set up and where did you get them?

 

Tazz: your details are amazing.

Now I don't know much about mechanics/brakes, but I can tell you what I've learned the hard way as I've burned up a lot of brakes.

If you are interested in road racing and are not sure you want to change the calipers and rotors, then consider putting on metal brake lines, motul 600 brake fluid and racing porterfield pads (R4) in the front. You can also do that in the back. This is a great place to start without spending a ton of money, although your racing pads could run around $400.00. Your brakes will squeal. We just took off my Porterfields in the front and they held up incredibly well. The first set I didn't fry.

Now, if you want a really big brake set for major road racing, then you can consider the Stop Techs brakes, calipers. But you'll need to make room for the big calipers. Make sure, if you use a spacer, it is hubcentric. Otherwise, your favorite mechanic or body shop guy is going to have to sand down the outside of your brand new expensive calipers to make a good fit without the spacers. Just don't watch when they do it, it helps reduce the pain.

Just thought you all would like some good advice from a girl who really doesn't know much, except that she just wants to drive fast and hard.

Good luck.

 

Jane, good advice for track only applications. Just remember that the best track solutions sometimes do not work well on the street, no matter how hard you think you drive. As Jane can tell you, even aggressive street driving does not stress some systems, like the brakes, nearly as much as a few laps on the track.

For street/track use, the R4 Porterfields will generate a lot of dust, and a lot of that will be from the rotor! If you don't get them up to temperature, they don't work too well, and they are harder on the rotors. Use the R4-S to get the best street/occassional track day performance, or try the EBC Red Stuff for street/track or Yellow Stuff for track only.

I use the ATE Super Blue racing brake fluid, along with their similar gold color fluid (you alternate which you use when changing fluid in the whole system so the color lets you see when you've purged the old fluid), just a personal preference.

Be careful grinding down the calipers -- hate to weaken the caliper, especially if it's at a spot that the fluid travels under pressure -- a blowout wouldn't be fun! I've had that happen in the old days when there was a small piece of hard brake line as a "bridge" between the two sides of the caliper and it got damaged..........

While I don't like to use them unless I have to, spacers are available that are hubcenric, and do not cause vibration or out-of-round issues, you just have to be careful... I find the IchibaUSA ones to be the best.

 

I was fortunate to find a complete set of C32AMG brakes used from a guy on mbworld.org who had had them on his C320 for a couple of thousand miles, and got a good deal --- well under a grand for front & rear calipers, pads, and rotors in great shape. I already had the ss brake lines, so all I did was clean them up, paint 'em red, slap 'em on and bleed the system.
I did change to the EBC Red Stuff pads because I like the greater initial bite they give.....and less dust on the street than the stock pads.

Others have found used front calipers from other MB cars that use the same diameter rotor as the SRT6. Currently there are a set of C32AMB rear calipers only on eBay, but a bit pricey.

 

If you want to keep the costs under $3,000 for a kit ther are basically two ways you can go. Which ever way you go the calipers are the same with the only difference that one may Say AMG, Mercedes Benz, or nothing on the side:

345mm Rotors - Calipers and rotors from a C32, CLK500, CLK55

330mm Rotors - SRT-6/SLK32 rotors and CL500, S500 calipers

The 330mm setup can be much cheaper becasue he calipers are more common and brand new rotors are about $109 each new from the dealer.

Racing pads should not be used on the street as they are not very safe when cold and when cold wear the rotors very quickly.

I prefer Ceramic pads on the street and the rotors and pads will last almost forever with no dust and great braking. If you track your car you can change pads with this set up in under 15 minutes.

I started out intending to use C32, but was able to get a nice set of calipers for $99 from a CL500 on Ebay. the 330mm are almost the same size as the C32 anyway I did notice that my brakes don't seem to be workng very hard anymore.

 

Hey Lantana,

Were you able to just bolt on the CL500 calipers or did you have to space them to center on the rotor?

Did you/can you use CL500 rotors or do you have to use the SRT6 rotors (because of offset issues)?

You can get the decals on eBay that say AMG or Mercedes Benz if you want your calipers marked!!!

 

Sorry -- post duplicated.

 

If you go with the SRT rotor then you have to use the S/CL class calipers and you can't use the CL/S class rotors because they have to much offset. Because of the offset you do have to space the caliper out just a bit. I used four washers between each caliper mount and the spindle mount. this was absolutely perfect spacing. If you don't get this just right you will have a hard time installing new pads.

I bead blased the calipers and spary painted them with Ceramic caliper paint and then used the decals you mentioned. You can also put Brembo decals on as well.

The C32 is direct bolt on while the CL/S class is also direct bolt on except for the need of $3.00 worth of washers. Motul is a great brake fluid and if you can't find it check with the bike shops. I also like ATE Super Blue which is what I used this time. the only problem I have had is some squealing which i have finally narrowed down to the ebay drilled and slotted rotors. I tried three different types of pads, the OEM pads that came with the calipers, semi-metalic and Posi-quiet Ceramics. The Ceramics are the quietest by far, and the squeal is almost completely gone finally. If I have any more trouble I will go to the dealer and by OEM MB rotors. I like the look of my rotors but probably should have just bought OEM. The C32 OEM rotors are drilled. If you are tight on money the CL500 caliper SRT rotor is the way to go. If you have plenty of money or have the patience to wait for the right deal go C32.