The w212 E350 brake thread (including ceramic pad options)

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MrGreedy

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
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Here and there
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E350 CDI
So, I've been looking how to get ceramic pads on my 2011 E350 for a while. There has been conflicting reports of what is needed, so I thought it would be useful and helpful to some others to get to the bottom of what was needed disc, pad and caliper-wise for the various E350s around the 2011-2014 vintage.
When I talk about the w212 in this thread, I specifically mean the E350 and this applies to rear wheel drive w212 and s212 models.
This might well apply to all the other w212s, but I've not checked anything other than E350s (as I have an E350).

Many thanks to @pmcgsmurf @bob6600 @Gazwould @Abb who have provided useful bits and pieces along the way 👍

Please check what parts you actually need against your specific car and VIN and don't rely on what I've written here. This is for information only.
It is a collection of what has been found for my specific vehicle, but I hope it might be a good starting point if others are looking to source aftermarket ceramic brake pads.
I'm also sure that these part numbers apply across a range of vehicles, such as the CL218. In fact a lot of the part numbers start A204... which indicates original C-class fitment.

It seems there are 2 caliper styles on the front brakes for the w212. Either ATE/Lucas style single piston calipers, or Brembo double piston calipers.
The rear calipers are all ATE/Lucas style.

EBC brakes (of Redstuff fame) kindly list a large selection of pads and discs for the various styles of caliper here:

On the EBC lists, they specify fairly accurate diagrams of the pads, and list the caliper type (ATE/Lucas or Brembo)
 
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TRW front brakes (single piston)

The original fitment 'ATE style' calipers are actually made by TRW, which is hard-stamped on the rear of the caliper, which you can make out in the picture.
w212 brake caliper.jpg

w212 ate brakes2.jpg

Mercedes part numbers are:
A2044213581 - Left with AMG Package
A2044213681 - Right with AMG Package

The plate on these calipers with "Mercedes Benz" lettering is also made by TRW. It has TRW part number 32337198 stamped on the back of it.
TRW (who make them) deny all knowledge that they make them if you get in touch with them.
Mercedes dealer has confirmed they cannot supply this part separately. A new caliper was suggested at £284 +VAT. I find this a little ironic as it seems to be at complete odds with Daimler's internal environmental and sustainability policy. Apparently the plate 'cannot be removed' and uses a barbed one-way collar on the two locating studs of the plate. Of course, Mercedes could choose to supply this part, but they prefer not to.

Front Pads are Mercedes part number A0074207520 (current, which have replaced A0054201020 replaced by A0064202820).

These pads have ‘ears’ and you can see fit inside the TRW caliper.

w212 ate brakes1.jpg


Aftermarket ceramic pad options and prices at end of Feb 2021 include:
Breck Ceramic 24310 00 551 00 - £38 Autodoc
Jurid White Ceramic 573291JC - £57 Autodoc
ATE Ceramic 13.0470-2734.2 - £62 Autodoc
EBC Redstuff DP31991C - £135 EBC
Textar EPAD 2431081 - £70 on Autodoc
Power Stop Ceramic 17-1342 - £52 on Amazon
(added as a comparison only Brembo non-ceramic pads P 50 069 - £35 Autodoc)

ebc ate front.jpg


Front Discs are Mercedes part number A0004213012
Discs are 322mm diameter and 32mm thickness
Aftermarket discs include:
Fremax BD6472 - £125 Autodoc and $50 eBay US
Brembo 09.A621.31 - £60 ECP (50% offer) & £60 Autodoc
Fremax discs have black paint on the hubs and rotor vents to prevent corrosion. Brembo discs have a ‘UV’ coating on the hubs and rotor edges to prevent corrosion.

b1.jpg

f1.jpg
 
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Brembo Front Brakes (dual piston)

w212 brembo caliper.jpeg

Original-Mercedes-W212-W218-E500-344-Bremse-Bremssattel.jpg

If you have the Brembo caliper setup part numbers are:
A2044215398 Brake Caliper Left
A2044215498 Brake Caliper Right

These are originally made only by Brembo, but are now available as remanufactured calipers by Budweg, ABS and Elstock.
Original Brembo part numbers for the calipers are probably F 50 322 (Left) and F 50 323 (right)

Pads for the Brembo calipers are Mercedes part number A0074206320.
You can see that the pads are rectangular, and fit into the rectangular slots in the caliper body.
w212 brembo caliper2.jpeg

Aftermarket ceramic pad options and prices end of Feb 2021 are:
Power Stop 17-1420 plus stainless hardware £39 Amazon
EBC Redstuff DP31857C - £85.44 from EBC
(There are no ATE ceramic pads and no Akebono pads; Akebono EUR1223 do not match this part number)
(added as a comparison only Brembo non-ceramic pads P 50 087 - £37.99 from ECP -50% offer)

ebc pads.jpg

A0074206320 Brembo Pads.jpg

Mercedes part number for the discs are A0004211512 Brake Disc Vented Right/Left
Discs are 344mm diameter and 32mm thickness. Aftermarket alternatives include.
Aftermarket discs include:
ATE 24.0132-0168.1 - £75 from Autodoc
Brembo 09.B746.51 - £55 from ECP and £53 Autodoc
Fremax BD6466 - price not confirmed

b1.jpg

b2.jpg
b3.jpg
 
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ATE Rear Brakes (single piston)

There appears to only be one choice for rear calipers; Mercedes part number A2124230281 and A2124230381 originally made by ATE.
You can make out the ATE logo in the picture.
ate rear.jpg

Rear pad Mercedes part number is A0074206720
Ceramic pad options are:
ATE Ceramic part No. 13.0470-7259.2
EBC Redstuff part No. DP31491C
TRW DTEC Pads GDB1546DTE £36 on Autodoc
Textar EPAD 2333481 £48 on Autodoc
ate1.jpg


Rear discs are Mercedes part number A0004230912
Aftermarket options include:
Brembo 09.A358.11 - £35 Autodoc
NK Coated 313363 - £34 Autodoc
Fremax BD0910 - £82 Autodoc

ate2.jpg

b1.jpg
 
Regarding the Brembo calipers for the front.
If you buy the remanufactured calipers by Budweg, ABS and Elstock, not doubt they have had the Mercedes Benz lettering removed and not reapplied as part of the reman process. I don't know how you would go about getting the lettering put back on.

The original Brembo part numbers for the calipers F 50 322 (Left) and F 50 323 (right) show as-new calipers on their online parts catalogue with the correct Mercedes Benz lettering, but I haven't been able to find those anywhere for sale (except a Mercedes dealer £££).

If anyone has any other recommendations, I would love to hear them.
One option might be taking a fresh set of remans (£100 each) to a caliper refurb place to have the outside face of the caliper finished in an original equipment style?

Edit: www.online-teile.com lists a new caliper at EUR650, so I can imagine a Merc dealer is ££££, not £££ :oops:
 
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After all that hard work, do you know what you need?

A nice cup of tea, that's what.

(Just subscribing/registering my interest in the thread... great work!)
 
Good stuff, would you happen to know if the carriers are the same for the single and twin piston calipers? looking to swap and I can get the calipers quite easily but not sure about the carrier/hub fitments
 
My understanding is that the fitment is the same, as when looking through 7zap at the associated hub and parts numbers, they all looked the same on the two vehicles I was comparing.
A member on here reported in a post that he has done the swap and the 2 piston Brembos went straight on.

The reason I went through all this trouble was because I thought I couldn't find ceramic pads for my brakes, but after all the research it turns out they do exist hence the idea for the thread.

The reman 2 piston Brembo calipers can be had from Autodoc e.g. branded Elstock, but Elstock are just the remanufacturer.

I did phone up one caliper refurb company who would return the calipers to a smooth finish, paint them and apply the decals, but they wanted to charge the same £250 per calipers if the calipers supplied where wrecked dog poo, or new fully remanufactured units.

The silly thing is, the wrecked used dog poo calipers are more expensive on eBay and from breakers than the remanufactured units from Autodoc.
 
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My understanding is that the fitment is the same, as when looking through 7zap at the associated hub and parts numbers, they all looked the same on the two vehicles I was comparing.
A member on here reported in a post that he has done the swap and the 2 piston Brembos went straight on.

The reason I went through all this trouble was because I thought I couldn't find ceramic pads for my brakes, but after all the research it turns out they do exist hence the idea for the thread.

The reman 2 piston Brembo calipers can be had from Autodoc e.g. branded Elstock, but Elstock are just the remanufacturer.

I did phone up one caliper refurb company who would return the calipers to a smooth finish, paint them and apply the decals, but they wanted to charge the same £250 per calipers if the calipers supplied where wrecked dog poo, or new fully remanufactured units.

The silly thing is, the wrecked used dog poo calipers are more expensive on eBay and from breakers than the remanufactured units from Autodoc.
Thats good to know I will order a couple and see how we go....once my house refurb stops making a pauper of me! As for the swanky "stickers" these can be had off Ebay in heat resistant material
 
Thread bump, any feedback after the 2 piston calipers upgrade?

What are benefits of this upgrade ?
 
If your asking me I did not do the swap, I had a chat with a couple of good local indy garages and they both said the same, dont do it as the rest of the system is setup for those calipers ie ABS pump etc, whilst it may work in theory they did not fancy having to do an emergency stop with Brake assist kicking in and abs etc trying to control the skid.
I bought decent Discs and pads from EBC and so far have been happy with them
 
I haven’t contemplated it yet because the main motivator for me was because I thought I couldn’t get low dust pads for the Single piston calliper, but you can so I have. Just need to wait for some warm weather so I can fit them.
 
If your asking me I did not do the swap, I had a chat with a couple of good local indy garages and they both said the same, dont do it as the rest of the system is setup for those calipers ie ABS pump etc, whilst it may work in theory they did not fancy having to do an emergency stop with Brake assist kicking in and abs etc trying to control the skid.
I bought decent Discs and pads from EBC and so far have been happy with them
What’s the difference between the stock ones and the EBC upgrade, if any? Interested in how you find it, personally — pros and cons. Any squealing? Dust?

Thanks
 
What’s the difference between the stock ones and the EBC upgrade, if any? Interested in how you find it, personally — pros and cons. Any squealing? Dust?

Thanks
I got both the Slotted Discs and the Redstuff pads on the front and standard discs and redstuff on the rear, bedding in was a pain as it took a long time in comparison to normal pads but once done am happy with these, dust is minimal and braking is more positive but more importantly you get no fade or at least I have not had any with my driving and there are roads and times round me where the box and suspension are put in sport and I give it the beans..so yes am happy with the choice but they are more than standard cost wise.
If you wanted to go the whole hog they do fully floating disc and caliper kits but that would be E63 Brakes money.
 
I've been running with the Brembo's 344mm diameter and the Redstuff pads for 52k now - The inner side of the discs are wearing faster than the outside so will need changing in around 5k.
I've been very happy with the performance of this combo especially the lack of brake dust keeping wheels cleaner for longer.

I'll be replacing it with the same when the time comes.

Big thanks to Mr G for making the parts easy to find. 🙏
 
I'm a 3 car full sets / 15 year Redstuff fan but won't be replacing the next with Redstuff .

The next..

Eco_Friction.jpg

43b97c2b5cf2b59bd438a4e7ca2dde2e.plist.jpg


Screenshot_20210516-150400_Chrome.jpg


Pops is rocking them up front ( right wheel ) this is 1 month after first wheels wash after bedding in , stock pads on rear .


20211007_160404.jpg
 
The motivation is cost , much cheaper than Redstuff .

Too much brake dust particulates including copper was identified as harmful years ago but yet we still have dust monster pads .

This is 4 days low mileage .

20190503_102119.jpg

And the poo poo responsible is called Pagid.
 
I've fit OEM pads and discs when I did it a couple of years ago, but yeah the dust is insane. If I can reduce dust without any drawbacks, I'm obviously all for it!
 
Playing devils advocate the friction material needs to wear to work so the dust content is exactly the same but perhaps not visible however its going somewhere and sulphides are nasty, the eco badge is a bit of a con.
I personally will always avoid Ferodo products because in my home town we had a large T & N factory both my Grandfather and my Mums Brother worked there and both died as a result of working with Asbestos, my Grandfather died in 1964 my Nan in 1989 up till the Day she died she fought for recognition and compensation for her Husband and Son and it was denied all along that working with Asbestos caused deaths until in 2007 they admitted liability and set up a trust to pay compensation long after many of the victims and families within the UK had already died and therefore could not claim, not a company I trust am afraid.
My Nan was left virtually destitute bringing up 7 kids ( Irish catholics !) whilst my Auntie was left with a 3 and a 2 year old to bring up alone in 1973, there are hundreds of the same issues in the Town as well
 

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