Vented front brakes

[voorhas]

Hello,

I own a '89 W124T 250D with about 95K miles on the clock and apart from the less than thrilling straight line performance and the poor braking when loaded, I'm quite satisfied with it. Since its time to get new discs and pads, I'm looking into the possibility of getting around the lack of brake endurance by fitting the front calipers from a vented disc setup (W124 300 E). Can anyone tell me if these go straight on without any kind of modification to the hub?

Thanks in advance.

Gnoçalo D.

 

[barrie]

Should bolt right up, check the diamater of the disks incase they foul your dust guard.
MB were quite good at standardising fitments and I am looking for a set to bolt to my 190E

Bazza

 

[andy_k]

our 1989 230TE has vented disks fitted as standard so I'm guessing they will fit without too much surgery.

Of course, i'm willing to be proved wrong here

Andy

 

[JimmyTD]

You will most certainly need the calipers and pads to match the thicker vented discs.

 

[voorhas]

Hello,

First of all, thanks for all the helpful comments.

Regarding the brake setup issue, I will obviously need specific calipers and discs (apparently the pads are similar in vented and non vented brakes). My only question concerns the ease of instalation, so if anyone else could confirm if the calipers bolt straight on to my hubs...

Oh, and the disc diameter is similar (and about as big as you can fit under a 15" wheel) so there are no worries there.

Gonçalo D.

 

[barrie]

A guy in America called Rik has fitted E400 brakes to his 190E and demonstrated the ease of upgrading to other MB brake set-ups.
This is quite an extreme example and 300E brakes are considered more than adequate for 190's.
He has a picture by picture explanation of how to do it on his website www.2phast.com
As you will see, the W201's and W124's are very similar mechanically and the swap will be straightforward


Bazza

 

[voorhas]

Hello,

That piece of info is quite reassuring... thats exactely what I was looking for! I'll definitely be picking those calipers up and give it a go.

Thanks again for all the useful tips.

Gonçalo D.

 

[Rasputin]

Power Disks

Consider using Power disk, they grip far better!! and Blue-racing brake fluid.

 

[Orlando 300E]

Please try the Powerdisc -made by ATE, stocked by ECP. 300E ones about £60.

They are great! -they have a "curvy" 5 point star shape narrow groove all the way round both sides of the brake surfaces.

Not as drastic as cross drilled or some of the other grooved discs you can get -type approved for general use: these not classified as a modification for insurance purposes.

I have them currently on my 300E, also had them on my old Audi Coupe. They bite a bit quicker than standard discs -can be a great reassurance!

Good luck with your brakes
O.

 

[Rasputin]

POWER DISKS

A better picture of PowerDisks

 

[voorhas]

Hello,

The price is quite appealing. I'm only concerned about the groves... do they make the car noticeably noisier under braking? And how much do they affect the pads longevity?

Gonçalo D.

 

[Rasputin]

Slotted disks offer cleaning of the friction material (brake pads) but do little in terms of additional heat dissipation. Slotted brake disks do not cool better than cross-drilled disks or even standard disks. The face grooves will slice the brake pad material allowing the pad to bite harder into the disk, therefore causing an increase in disk temperatures. This is recommended for vehicles to bring the pads and disk temperatures up to optimal operating ranges. (Race cars warm up engine, tires and brakes for the best possible performance).

There is no noise increase or noticeable reduction in pad longevity.