Just a heads-up on my initial impressions of the PBR pads on my '91 SE.
Put them on about 3 weeks ago.
THEY JUST DON'T MAKE MUCH DUST AT ALL.
Maybe 10 times less than any other pad I've used. UNBELIEVABLE!

There must be downsides:
- I do notice just a tad more pedal force required (maybe 5%) when they are stone-cold. After one break application, they feel perfectly normal.
- I do notice the wipe area is not quite as large - about 1/8 inch of untouched rotor on the outer edge.
- They may eat up my rotors; we'll just have to wait and see.

Happy camper!

DG

Which PBR - Deluxe, Deluxe Plus, Metalmaster or Ceramic?

I don't think anyone can say there is a brake pad that makes no dust. All brake pads make dust, otherwise they would never wear out. PBR Deluxe makes light colored dust so it looks like the wheels stay cleaner; they don't stop as well as original pads though.
Original Mercedes (Jurid, ATE, Pagid etc) pads make black dust, but also stop on a dime

I would avoid PBR Metalmaster like the plague. I have them on my car (400SE) and can't wait for them to wear out. For the first couple of stops you may as well be pressing a block of wood instead of the brake pedal - there are no brakes.

Haven't used Deluxe Plus or Ceramic.

So the choice is do you want good brakes, or clean looking wheels?

I wouldn't know what to do with the hours I spend a week cleaning the dust off my wheels.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Haven't heard this in a while. There are many alternatives for "dustless" high performance brake pads today, some of which are original equipment on other luxury cars. Just a few minutes of research can dispel the above notion, as could actually using them. Assuming that MB is always perfect is just no way to go through life, as Dean Wormer of Animal House might say.

These are the deluxe PBR pads.
As I said there is a tiny bit of dust, but at least 10 times less than the other common brands I have tried for the past 18 years.
And, what dust there was after 100 miles just sprayed off - no rubbing.
Sure, the pad wears and the dust is created on all brakes; but maybe these don't have that gooey, sticky dust that the others have, and most of it blows away, just like on American and Japanese cars.

As far as not being "good" brakes, I think they will do the things I require of a big wallowing 18 year-old sedan:
1. Feel and stop just fine under normal conditions.
2. Take the wheels into ABS mode (once) if I really need them.
3. Last reasonably long, not eat pads, not squeal, and work in the rain.

I've tried them on 1&2. So far, they are "good" brakes.

Those who equate dust with performance should try out my Corvette; virtually no dust, 50k pad life. And, gee, they work kinda good, too.

I'll let you guys know if the rotors go away, or if water kills the brakes. That's the only potential downside I see so far.

DG

PBR Deluxe has been a favorite of mine for some time because of the LOW dust. I can't say that I notice any additional pedal pressure, or rotor-eating. I have recently found another great low-dust pad. It is the "Akebono Euro" ceramic pad. So far, they have been great, but they don't yet make them for all models...

__________________
02 S500
92 500SL
92 400E (Sold)
87 300E (Sold)
83 300D Turbo (Sold)
75 300D (Sold)
74 240D (Sold after 20 years)

I installed a set AKEBONOS Euro ceramic pads in the front wheels of my 99SL 500 and I can not be happier with their performance and the fact that there are cleaner than anything else I've tried, I dare call them dust free but that is not scientifically accurate, but is close enough,there are also the same price as OEM.
I left the rear Padgid pads in the rear, there were new and I will wait till they wear out before I change them, the difference is like night and day between the front and the rear wheels when it comes to dust,the front will look nice and shinny after two weeks of daily driving and the rear look like they are chocolate coated
I'm happy with Akebonos ceramic, the pedal feels improved not diminished, but then again I changed front rotors too; anyways no complaints here.

I've had the PBR Deluxe on my 560SL for at least three years now (can't remember if it's 3 or 4). They DO stop just fine, even in the rain, and DON'T seem to cause any inordinate rotor wear. They DO cut down the wheel cleaning from every 1-2 days to every 1-2 weeks, and make it a lot easier when it does need to happen.

There are a few things about traditional Mercedes engineering that seem to come from the department of "Of course, zis is a problem, but it is ze best. You vill liff viss ze problem because it is our way." Brake pads that shed an obscene amount of dust, when there are eminiently satisfactory alternatives, seem to be one of those. (But then the ultimate in that regard is Ettore Bugatti, who when a customer complained about his car starting hard in cold weather, retorted, "If you can afford a Bugatti, you can afford a heated garage!")

__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)

Craig, MB specifies a soft brake pad compound so that in the event the brake booster is lost the automobile can be stopped without a power assist. How effectively do PBR Deluxe brake pads function without a power assist?

__________________
Fred Hoelzle

Fred, that's a really good point; that could definitely be a safety issue if there is a big difference with the low-dust pads.
I know from my younger days that old Chevys certainly wouldn't stop well with a dead engine.

I started this debate, so I might try to do a test with Old Pearl, and see if she'll stop with no brake boost - if I can find a really big deserted place.
(inquiring minds want to know!).

DG

Those Akebono Euros are my new favorite. I used PBR deluxe (aka Axxis Deluxe) for years and they were not half bad. The Akebonos have about a 10% better first time dead cold performance and even less dust if that is possible . I can't clean wheels in the dead of winter...brrrr and I like clean wheels.

Oh and I had a brake booster failure in my W124 with PBR Deluxe. Pedal went to the floor. I was able to drive to my mechanic 10 miles away in city traffic...very carefully. These two pads perform like OEM pads when they are just slightly warm. Its that first initial stop after they have been sitting overnight that is about 80%.

I've noted no notable change in pedal pressure or brake behavior with normal assist, and therefore wouldn't expect a marked change in behavior without assist. That said, I have to admit I haven't tried it--should do that in a large empty parking lot out of curiosity. I have had that situation in other cars and found the car can be stopped but obviously not with the same ease.

__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)

the wife has gotten Textar for the '98 C280, twice. I've put them on each time. They are dusty as hell, and it's black, black dust, just the stuff Benz wheels are supposed to be covered with.

The PBR brand is now Axxis, and has been for some time. I don't know how it happens that they are still referred to by their former name here.

I have used Metalmasters on all my BMWs, some 15 of them, since I first heard of them maybe 20 years ago. I live up on a ridge and I don't think they eat rotors; I like the Balo rotors and install them whenever I have to change a disc, on bimmers and Volvos. Now, my cars come and go with high mileage, so I come due for a lot of pad and some rotor changing, but I don't think MMs eat discs. YMMV.

I bought some PBR pads for my 400E brakes, I just needed some cheap pads to throw in there, but when they came, they look like half worn out already. Maybe that is why they are cheap.

I like Porterfield and Textar best.