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So what's the deal with the massive disk brake setups so popular today? Ten inch, 12", 14" rotors, 4 pad, 6 pad, what, 12 pad?



I run the brakes off a Mercedes S55 AMG front and rear. They are 14.2" front rotors that are 1.4" thick and use 8 piston calipers with 4 pads each. The rears are 13" rotors 1.25" thick with 4 piston calipers.
The difference between these and the old 10" drums is incredible. ONE front rotor has more surface area than three of the stock drums. Sure, they're heavy at 27 lbs each but I have the power to cover that.

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I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it. Where the heck are you guys driving that you need so much braking?



I drive in Dallas, TX. We used to have nice people here then everyone in the world thought it'd be a good place to visit and they never went home! Now, there are no rules on the road. I've had a couple close calls that would have resulted in a collision had the old drums been on the car.

My car isn't a G-machine or whatever you want to call it. I do have good brakes, plenty of power (twin turbo 440), and front/rear sway bars. The big brakes and sticky 245/45-18 and 295/45-18 tires help me put a little fun in driving. Even without chassis upgrades the difference is astounding.

I didn't do a "bandwagon" or "keeping up with everybody else" thing. I had the 11/75" front discs and TSM 11" rears. The car was still able to heat up the brakes when I was misbehaving behind the wheel. In fact, I could push through the brakes with the throttle. My own little "unintended acceleration" issue would result in a car that would not stop by brakes alone.
I wanted more brake power to go with my horsepower. When shopping for a brake kit 5 years ago I came up with VERY expensive packages. Working at a Mercedes store opened up the possibilities for good stuff at an employee discount.
I picked up all four corners of the AMG brakes for less than an aftermarket 13" front brake kit cost at the time. It was also more "me" than buying a kit. I have a tendency to find random things that work nicely on my car but were never intended to be there. Why give someone else the money when I can make my own?

Enough babbling. I found 'em cheap (relatively speaking) and made it work. That's what I do.


We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon