E320 CDI (W210) Brake Discs Needed

[Dave K]

Our E320 CDI (W210) is now in need of new front discs and pads. Obvious choice is OEM items from MB, but are the parts on offer from the likes of Euro CarParts and German & Swedish of simillar quality? Any opinions would be much appreciated.

 

[Doodle]

ECP offer ATE pads and discs, which are the OEM manufacturer.
GSF offer a variety of manufacturers, but seem to tend towards Textar pads, and Zimmerman discs (this is normally what I have been offered), and they seem to be fine.

For the parts I've bought, there is generally not much of a price difference, and so I generally go for the ATE items.

 

[dougal74]

I can strongly recommend Rossini discs as they have given great performance and no signs of wear on our Audi. At £120-160 per pair they seem to be reasonably priced too. I like the way you can track the wear by the visibility of the Rossini logo, so no more dodgy Stealers saying "you know you brought your car in for a service well it needs new pads...and discs - shall we do them while we have the wheels off?"
http://www.carparts-direct.co.uk/

 

[willy]

ask for brembo discs at GSF, the quality is same as merc ones and they also come with a visual wear indicator. prices is not much different when compared to other brands, as they buy them in bulk

 

[Pietre]

I changed the disks and pads on my 210 when I bought it. I found GSF to be very helpful but with 10% off from my stealer they were far cheaper for genuine parts. So it was a no brainer. In my opinion fit genuine if you can.

 

[Dave K]

Thanks for the input guys. Even at 20% discount on retail, MB works out more expensive than ATE parts from Eurocarparts It's Christmas + I've just had my drive block paved + VX Omega has a broken front shock + daughters 3rd birthday + spent a fortune decorating 8 month old son's bedroom + spent a fortune rebuilding LC front suspension so money is a little thin on the ground this month. If I would be getting ATE items if I bought from MB, then I think I'll go for the ATE items from ECP this time and maybe look at better items next time. Works out at £120 for discs and pads. To be honest, standard discs and pads lasted quite well, stop well enough for how we ususally drive the car, work reasonably well from cold, aren't noisy, and don't fade too badly. If standard is ATE, then I'm happy to continue using ATE.

Oh, and need to do the front anti-roll bar links at the same time as they are knocking a bit.

 

[Dave K]

Fitted the ATE discs and pads from ECP over the holidays and the brake feel is great. Not too harsh but certainly doesn't require much pressure to get them working hard. Piece of cake to fit too.

Anti-roll bar links were a revalation - simply push fit onto the end of the anti-roll bar!! Took a bit of persuasion and some silcon spray to get the old ones off and the new ones on but all in all, a very easy job and the car is transformed. The slightly loose feeling and the clonking are gone and teh smooth, supple ride is restored.

Thanks for all the advice people.

 

[big x]

As well as OE ATE and Textar ECP stock Guttmann pads which are incredibly cheap..W124 @ £10 fronts and £8 rears.They work well,in fact Guttmann do supply some car makers.
If you have the funds and on a latter performance cars I try to match disks to pads EG. all ATE, all Brembo.

adam