Which rear brake pads for 2007 Mercedes S550?

A

atikovi

Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
18,546
Location
Suburban Washington DC
Car is rolling on 22s so the brakes are very visible. Also putting on a pair of new drilled rotors and although the current pads aren't worn, I noticed that one pad has crack in the friction.

Primary objectives are:

Low dusting so ceramic only.
Name brand and preferably euro.

Looking on Rock Auto I see these contenders:

Bendix Priority One Ceramic $22.79
Brembo NAO Ceramic $33.99
Bosch QuestCast Ceramic $45.71

Leaning towards Brembo. Any other pads I should consider?
 
atikovi said:
Car is rolling on 22s so the brakes are very visible. Also putting on a pair of new drilled rotors and although the current pads aren't worn, I noticed that one pad has crack in the friction.

Primary objectives are:

Low dusting so ceramic only.
Name brand and preferably euro.

Looking on Rock Auto I see these contenders:

Bendix Priority One Ceramic $22.79
Brembo NAO Ceramic $33.99
Bosch QuestCast Ceramic $45.71

Leaning towards Brembo. Any other pads I should consider?
Click to expand...
Your first paragraph gave me chills. But, my take would be Akebono.
 
atikovi said:
Car is rolling on 22s so the brakes are very visible. Also putting on a pair of new drilled rotors and although the current pads aren't worn, I noticed that one pad has crack in the friction.

Primary objectives are:

Low dusting so ceramic only.
Name brand and preferably euro.

Looking on Rock Auto I see these contenders:

Bendix Priority One Ceramic $22.79
Brembo NAO Ceramic $33.99
Bosch QuestCast Ceramic $45.71

Leaning towards Brembo. Any other pads I should consider?
Click to expand...
Baer or Wilwood. They are less well known but a great option.
 
With low dust being one of your criteria, the Brembo NAO Ceramic is a No Go. I put a set of them on the front of my E350 about 2 1/2 years ago, and the dust was every bit as bad as any semi-metallic pad I have ever used. They performed good in every other way, but I was constantly cleaning the wheels, significantly more so than with the semi-metallic OEM Textar pads that MB puts on at the factory.

I eventually got fed up with the Brembo NAO Ceramic pads and replaced them after only about 15 months, with a set of Powerstop Evolution Sport Z23 carbon-fiber ceramic pads, and I couldn't be happier. No dust buildup on the wheels at all. They are super quiet, and plenty of braking. They may not be Euro, but they are now my go to pads for my cars.

So the Powerstop Z23 would be my recommendation.
 
I have a set of Textar ePads that don't generate much dust, and what dust that is generated makes little impact on silver wheels.

Of course, they're not performance pads, and don't have the initial bite that even street semi-metallic pads can have, but they are R90 compliant, and fine for daily driving. They wear rotors very evenly as well. Made in Romania.

There is now an ePad+, but I'm not sure whether it supplements, or replaces the original.

But they are harder to find, and on the more expensive, rather than cheap, side of the price spectrum.
 
Not a popular option for many, but I had installed a set of Centric ceramics as part of their rotor/pad package (customer got the off rockauto) on a CLS550 and the customer swears they stop better, quieter and almost dust free vs his previous OEM pads on the car. That was a year+ ago and it was here last month for motormounts and i drove it and it felt fine and the wheels were clean. FWIW
 
BHopkins said:
With low dust being one of your criteria, the Brembo NAO Ceramic is a No Go. I put a set of them on the front of my E350 about 2 1/2 years ago, and the dust was every bit as bad as any semi-metallic pad I have ever used. They performed good in every other way, but I was constantly cleaning the wheels, significantly more so than with the semi-metallic OEM Textar pads that MB puts on at the factory.

I eventually got fed up with the Brembo NAO Ceramic pads and replaced them after only about 15 months, with a set of Powerstop Evolution Sport Z23 carbon-fiber ceramic pads, and I couldn't be happier. No dust buildup on the wheels at all. They are super quiet, and plenty of braking. They may not be Euro, but they are now my go to pads for my cars.

So the Powerstop Z23 would be my recommendation.
Click to expand...
Brembo may have updated the formulation. I installed a set of Brembo ceramic on the front and rear of my E39 BMW 540 M-Sport last fall and they dust less than Akebono or ATE ceramic, and have better cold bite.
 
f355spider said:
Brembo may have updated the formulation. I installed a set of Brembo ceramic on the front and rear of my E39 BMW 540 M-Sport last fall and they dust less than Akebono or ATE ceramic, and have better cold bite.
Click to expand...
I've often wondered if Brembo mistakenly packed semi-metallic pads in a box labeled for ceramic pads, and that is why my Brembo pads were so dirty. That bothers me more than them having a ceramic pad formulation that is dirty.

I've always considered Brembo to be a leader in performance brakes. And thinking that they have sloppy production practices bothers me.

I've been happy with the Brembo rotors that I put on my E350, but it will probably be a while before I try Brembo products again, particularly their NAO ceramic pads.
 
GMBoy said:
Not a popular option for many, but I had installed a set of Centric ceramics as part of their rotor/pad package (customer got the off rockauto) on a CLS550 and the customer swears they stop better, quieter and almost dust free vs his previous OEM pads on the car. That was a year+ ago and it was here last month for motormounts and i drove it and it felt fine and the wheels were clean. FWIW
Click to expand...
I put centric ceramics on the front of my montero. They stop alright when cold but you have to stop regularly for them to grab good.

Also if I come to a complete stop from highway speeds some of my brake pads stick to the rotors and you can feel a pop in the brake pedal when you start moving again. Doesn't happen if you coast the last few feet after slowing down.
 
dumkid said:
I put centric ceramics on the front of my montero. They stop alright when cold but you have to stop regularly for them to grab good.

Also if I come to a complete stop from highway speeds some of my brake pads stick to the rotors and you can feel a pop in the brake pedal when you start moving again. Doesn't happen if you coast the last few feet after slowing down.
Click to expand...

That would absolutely drive me nuts and if my brakes did that I would not be able to tolerate it.
 
dumkid said:
I put centric ceramics on the front of my montero. They stop alright when cold but you have to stop regularly for them to grab good.

Also if I come to a complete stop from highway speeds some of my brake pads stick to the rotors and you can feel a pop in the brake pedal when you start moving again. Doesn't happen if you coast the last few feet after slowing down.
Click to expand...
Did you clean and properly lube the slides and pads etc?
 
GMBoy said:
Did you clean and properly lube the slides and pads etc?
Click to expand...
I didn't clean anything. I did lube the slides but not the pad ears. In Arizona the grease just attracts dirt and there's no rust to protect from.
It's also only been 2 years and 8000 miles since they were changed.
 
I would prefer a semi metallic on a heavier vehicle s550 is no lightweight. But sounds like your mind has been made up. These would be my choice

IMG_4486.jpg
 
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