Brake pads Textar or OEM Mercedes

I do plenty of track days and the OEM Textar pads are grippy enough, modulate well, and hold up just fine on the track. If you want something that's not loud on the street or dusty as hell, OEM is probably the best option

I consider my W204 C63 visceral, even if not analog. The 6.2 V8 makes all kinds of nasty noises you would not expect from a Mercedes and it howls all the way up to 7200rpm, which may not be that high, but still impresses me given the size of the engine. The car is quick, noisy and has the brakes to back it up.

rear disc axle with prop valve, new textar pads

I used OEM replacement Textar pads. At some later date I may go with something a bit more grippy, but for DD duties the Textar/Porsche pads seem to be more than up to the task.

I recommend Textar, great bite and no need of pre-heating. They also don't cause too much wear on the discs and on the other hand don't generate much brake dust.

Mercedes has always had great brakes but until the 190E you didn't have many cheap upgrade options. I have E420 brakes on my 190E Sportline, and my god the stopping power is exceptional.

Textar is an OEM supplier, and they're not that expensive - run with those. Same amount of dust as stock, but no noise, and stock like braking characteristics.

Textar is the OEM brand..which of course you can get from 1stVWparts.

Might I share an experience with my Mercedes Warranty Service: It was my last "scheduled" maintenace on my Benz before my warranty expired in a month... This is what my service rep told me behind closed doors...."We better schedule in as many repairs as possible" 4 new break pads and 2 new rotars for the front (even though they still had a few more thousand mile on them), replacement wood trims for 2 of the door panels, new wiper blades and arm, a whole new radio system b/c the tape player broke (even though I've put probably only 2 tapes into the bay for the 4 years I owned the car); a brand new driver seat b/c one of the heating element on the car seat would not power on (I live in Florida, rarely ever used it).....