Oh right on, thank you. I see in #190 is clearly shows 345 in the casting. Mine doesnt have anything of the sort. Also yeah it looks like the bolt holes on the bridge are significantly lower on the casting .So it looks like I have the wrong stuff. Maybe the guy At the bone will let me take a look around and see if I can find some calipers that will actually work. 😓

 

Ok I have found a set off of an 04 clk500 for the front calipers. Now did anyone find out if the rear brakes are compatible with any other MB cars other than the c32? (Cant seem to find any c32s laying arpund this particular bone yard)

 

If you look at the form for REAR 300MM DISK I show the parts for putting the LK 500 rear caliper and disk on a NA.

 

Having absorbed all this information I did the front brake upgrade on my car. Below are all the possible sources for 345mm rotors & 4-piston calipers.

MERCEDES-BENZ 2002-2004 C32 AMG
MERCEDES-BENZ 2006-2007 C350
MERCEDES-BENZ 2005-2006 C55 AMG
MERCEDES-BENZ 2003-2006 CLK500
MERCEDES-BENZ 2003-2004 CLK55 AMG
MERCEDES-BENZ 2007-2009 CLK550
MERCEDES-BENZ 2007-2010 SLK55 AMG

Having done brake upgrades on probably 75% of the cars I've owned please allow me to share some general thoughts and observations.
1) Since we're going from a single-piston floating to a 4-piston fixed caliper with a much larger pad area it's going to increase the gripping-strength of the caliper. Therefore it only makes sense to avail yourself of the greater stopping-force the mechanical-advantage of a larger 345mm rotor provides, since you've increased your power to stop that rotor. IE, it makes no sense to use a 330mm rotor.
2) The SRT has a fine dual-piston rear brake setup which is not wanting. To my mind there is not much economic merit in upgrading it because at that point you're chasing diminishing returns. The NA Crossfire on the other hand, is a great candidate for a rear-brake upgrade.
3) I don't understand why anyone would consider sourcing used/rusty brake components in the junkyard or on Ebay when online parts stores like RockAuto.com exist. Plus by choosing any of the cars listed above you can cost effectively buy new rotors and new or rebuilt calipers knowing the two are meant to work together. Doing that REMOVES THE WHOLE PROBLEM of the "Does this caliper require a 330mm or 345mm rotor?" quandry. You can even buy your pads & caliper hardware on site. The only thing I couldn't get on Rock Auto were the bolts to mount the calipers to the car, but a quick trip to the dealer solved that.

 

Thanks for the great info !
Where in the no abortion state are you located ?

 

ala_xfire, I'm near Huntsville.

Having motored about for a few days with my new front brakes here's where my brain is:

NA Crossfire brake specs:
FRONT: Swept Area 281.2 sq. in., 300 x 28 vented disc with 2.25" (57mm) single-piston sliding caliper
REAR: Swept Area 219.6 sq. in., 278 x 9 solid disc with 1.42" (36mm) opposed-piston caliper
SRT-6 brake specs:
FRONT: Swept Area 359.8 sq. in., 330 x 32 vented disc with 1.73" (44mm) dual-piston sliding caliper
REAR: Swept Area 255.0 sq. in., 300 x 22 vented disc with 1.65" (42mm) opposed-piston caliper
C32 AMG brake specs:
FRONT: Swept Area ????? sq. in., 345 x 30 vented disc with 44mm/40mm opposed-piston caliper
REAR: Swept Area 255.0 sq. in., 300 x 22 vented disc with 1.65" (42mm) opposed-piston caliper

Does anyone know the swept area specification for Mercedes C32 AMG front brakes? Since no manufacturer I know of releases "clamping force" data, nor the friction coefficient of their pads, swept area is about the best statistic we have when trying to figure out the effectiveness of any given braking system. Just so we're all on the same page, swept area is the total surface area of the disc that the pad operates on. In one turn of the wheel, it's how much of the rotor's surface that the pads touch. I think of it like this... the pad is only touching the outer-race of the rotor. That means the larger I can make the diameter of that rotor the greater contact-area (swept area) there will be. That means more friction is "going on" to stop the wheel. That's why the biggest rotor you can possibly fit inside the wheel will give you greater stopping power. So in our 3 car data above, we want the one with the biggest rotor diameter. The more rotor we can touch with the pad within a single revolution of our tire means more friction and thus more STOP! That's why I'm placing such a great emphasis on getting the swept area stat for the C32 AMG.

BTW the rear brakes for the SRT-6 & C32 AMG are identical right down to the part numbers, in case anyone has wondered. Moreover when I was considering the StopTech brake kit for the Crossfire it was woefully lacking in data. It didn't even state the piston-sizes of the caliper, much less the swept area. What exactly would you be buying? Who knows!

Anyway back to my few days with the new brakes. I think the clamping force is greater. The pedal is definitely firmer, but how much of that is just because the brakes are freshly bled? I should have done a before and after stopping test on a deserted road. Oh well. The brakes are definitely not worse. So there you go. If I had to estimate a percentage I'd say the brakes are 8% better (at stopping) with a far improved pedal feel. But I sure would like to know that swept area stat! Oh here's a final kicker for you: The master cylinder and brake booster are the same part number on all 3 of the cars above!

 

I'll throw this out as food for thought: On a Lotus I owned I bought a full (both discs & calipers) Wilwood kit. I wasn't very happy with it as beyond replacing a single-piston sliding caliper with a 4-piston fixed one (better pedal feel) the actual STOPPING part of the situation didn't change much. After buying the kit though I knew the part# of the Wilwood caliper. To keep things simple (plus I don't remember!) let's say it was a Dynalite with 34mm pistons. Well I bought the next bigger piston size of Dynalite. Then I did it again. The larger the pistons the more clamping force I has able to exert (I continued using the same pads). The bigger the pistons though the more brake fluid it took to move them the same distance, so my brake pedal went almost half way down now. But I tell you what. I ended up with AWESOME brakes!!!

 

Even using the same pad and same master cylinder using larger diameter rotors will result in better braking due to the torque because of the friction being applied farther from the axis.
Braking results in heat and larger rotors can absorb more heat due to the extra mass, cooling should be better due to the larger cooling area available.

 

That's true, but it also means the pad simply TRAVELS FARTHER on the rotor. If you deconstruct the rotor and lay out the circular path the pad travels, except put that path straight and flat on a road, you're left with a much longer straight line. So because of the bigger rotor the pad is simply pressing against it over a greater distance, IE you can get MUCH MORE pad to disc contact in ONE REVOLUTION of your tire. In essence you are "stealing from physics" (boy that phrase will **** some scientists off!) more braking in the same distance. That's important because we only have a finite distance before hitting the "cement truck" that is stopped on the road just 92 feet in front of us. In that 92 feet we need to find all the braking we can lay our hands on!. :-)

 

Isn’t that just another way of describing the sweep area, and with a longer “arm” with the greater radius allows the same amount of force to do more work?
dan

 

Sure, but sweep area does not describe the torque affect, force x distance. The force being the friction of the pad on the disc. I was just describing it in simple terms.

 

Yes.

 

I compiled a list of the parts I used for my front brake upgrade. Hopefully it will help someone. I really have to thank all the people who contributed to this thread before me, ESPECIALLY DHS. Without your help, and especially the input of DHS, none of this would have been possible.

Parts needed for FRONT brake upgrade:
four-piston FRONT calipers. Need 1 left & 1 right. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...b,caliper,1704
(you might do better shopping around...) https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/b/b...s-benz/c32-amg
https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...s-benz/c32-amg
2 345mm FRONT brake disks/rotors https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...hub,rotor,1896
4 front brake caliper bolts https://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/...FG4-V3571.aspx
1 front calipers hardware kit https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...dware+kit,1736
(The next 3 items allow the brake hose to be re-oriented so it mates up against the caliper properly. See https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cro...1a0f72a34.jpeg )
2 Banjo bolts M10x1x22mm, BQ8095 https://brakequip.com/products/hardware/banjo-bolts/
4 10mm copper washers, BQ1016 (buy 6 washers in case banjo bolt is too long)
2 Banjo Adapters with Port, BQ61 https://brakequip.com/products/hardw...ers-with-port/
2 brake pad wear sensors https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...r+sensor,10283
2 M6x1x20mm bolts to secure the brake-pad wear sensors
AKEBONO EUR847 brake pads $56.79 https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...brake+pad,1684
Goodridge G-Stop SS Brake Line Kit OPTIONAL $120 NeedsWings Performance Products. Goodridge G-Stop Brake Line Kit
2 Mercedes-benz R170 15mm Hub Centric Wheel Spacer Adapters 5x112 (3 different choices BELOW)
$84.50
$45
$32.96
2 Speed Bleeders SB8125LL OPTIONAL (your new calipers will already come with a bleeder screw)
NOTE: If you add wheel spacers you will need new lug bolts with a longer thread length. The OE lug bolts are M12-1.50, 22.5mm Ball seat flange, 39.4mm shank, 17mm hex head. Increase length as needed.
With a 15mm spacer search EBAY for this: "Mercedes Benz Lug Bolts 12x1.5 Ball 55mm" or order the ones below from Amazon.
$52.99 (yes, there are 20.)
$3.99 (here you can order them individually)

 

I installed SS brake lines and bled the brakes again. The firmness/hardness of the pedal improved dramatically. I have the confidence to truly stand on the brakes as hard as I can push the pedal now and just let the ABS do its thing. So with that last little piece of the puzzle I'm now really satisfied. I still haven't added up everything I spent but now that the idea has occurred to me I'll probably do that in the next couple of days. Regardless, it was worth it (to upgrade a Limited). I highly recommend it. It would be interesting to drive an SRT-6 with stock brakes to see how it stacks up.

I just read DHS's thread about converting the rear brakes and I'm sure in time I'll follow his lead, but it's far less important so there'll be no rush where that's concerned.

 

Did you find any fitment issues from the SS Brake lines? Did you install a banjo union like DHS did or. Did you not encounter the same issue?

I have a set of SS brake lines from Stoptech.When I ordered them appeared to have banjo unions already attached...BUT when they arrived they were Exactly oem replacements. (No banjo) I am hesitant to start pulling my car apart. Just to find out I have to leave it on the jackstands for a week while I wait for extra parts.

Sorry for the grammatical errors and such I'm on my phone

 

No. Yes. Yes.
In a post above I pointed this out:
(The next 3 items allow the brake hose to be re-oriented so it mates up against the caliper properly. See https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cro...1a0f72a34.jpeg )
2 Banjo bolts M10x1x22mm, BQ8095 https://brakequip.com/products/hardware/banjo-bolts/
4 10mm copper washers, BQ1016 (buy 6 washers in case the banjo bolts are too long)
2 Banjo Adapters with Port, BQ61 https://brakequip.com/products/hardw...ers-with-port/

If you look at the ENTIRE post I made farther up this page I listed every part I used. EVERY ONE. However to play it conservatively tie your old caliper up out of the way, but leave it attached to the brake line. Work on ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE CAR until you know everything will fit. Then & only then do the other side of the car. With your old caliper still connected to its hydraulic line you should still be able to bolt the wheel on to make sure it'll rotate without hitting the new caliper you've already bolted up. If something isn't right or you're missing a part just remove what you've installed and bolt the old caliper back in. That way you can get whatever else you need whilst you continue to motor about, allowing you to finish the deed another day.

 

If anyone is looking to simply spend money and go full nutter on their brakes boy can I make your day. I stumbled upon this then did some more research. It all bolts directly onto a Crossfire.

https://www.benzworld.org/forums/r17...r170-sort.html
...Brakes from:
......CLK63 AMG 2007-2008
......SLK55 AMG 2005-2010 WITH PERFORMANCE PACKAGE
...FRONT: 360mm discs aluminum hat/iron rotor, 6-piston calipers
...REAR: 330mm discs, 4-piston calipers 28/26mm

If you can find an SLK55 AMG in the junkyard with 6-piston front calipers or ANY CLK63 AMG you've found what you want. If you're buying the parts online then ONLY order CLK63 AMG parts because I already found a place which was selling standard SLK55 AMG calipers as the performance ones. It's just too easy to screw up when two different sets of components came on a car. The CLK63 AMG only got the good stuff, so that's the way to go.

 

The reason I didn't use Turobomar's caliper is because it's meant to work with 330mm discs whilst the C32 AMG caliper is compatible with 345mm discs. I did not realize at the time that using the C32 AMG caliper would result in the brake-line being stretched to the maximum, but fortunately DHS solved that little problem just in time to make my installation trouble free. I don't know what car Turbomar's 330mm-compatible caliper is from, but it's not the C32 AMG. You can easily tell the calipers apart on sight as Turbomar's brake-line attachment "extension" cast into the piston-housing is much shorter/stubbier.

I'm glad I didn't find out about the compatibility of CLK63 AMG brakes until after I'd already installed the C32s because they are 'stupid' expensive. Here's a single rotor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Mercede...AAAOSwfVpYsWg~ And that's THE ABSOLUTE CHEAPEST I could find!
I don't have a clue what the calipers cost; I'm sure in the thousands. I'll post a picture of the CLK63 AMG full 4-wheel caliper set. You can tell how physically large the front calipers are by looking at the bolt-holes through which they'll bolt to the car. Instead of the way our scrawny calipers angle their bridges back in these mounting-holes almost seem to "disappear" beneath the caliper!

 

You guys might find this to be a useful resource. It's the Brembo "parts page." You type in any Brembo part number and it tells you EVERYTHING about it. Specifications, what cars it goes on, etc. Also you can look up any car and it'll list all the Brembo parts that came on that car or that will go on that car. Try it with the Crossfire for grins! Automotive Aftermarket Catalog - MyCarParts

 

The trouble with this thread is people quite the car model the parts came from, maybe they think it came from that car but it did not. The trouble with quoting Mercedes calliper assembly is that each part has a number on it but it is the assembly number you need.