Brake pads Zimmermann or OEM Mercedes

I bought the Zimmerman/Akebono kit when the E92 needed front brakes. I'm amazed how brake dust has been nearly eliminated and it has good bite.

I hate the brake dust and went with the Zimmerman/Akebono kit, it's amazing how clean the wheels have been since installing them.

I literally just did the rear rotors/pads and front pads for my amg GTS last week. I found that MBpartscenter.com had the best price that are OEM. Only 1k per rotor (compared to the dealer who wanted 1700 each). I also got porterfield R4S pads from pelican parts. They are considered streetable/track pads. I didn’t change the front rotors yet, but if I were to I would get them from FCP euro at $500 each rotor. My mechanic charged me $500 for install and a brake fluid flush

That's probably the kit I'd go with for my GLI. Again, as a daily driver... it meets the needs. The semi-metallic pads work good in many different temp ranges. However, semi-metallic pads also produce more brake dust, so you'll get more debris on your rotors faster. One of the other downsides is that they're more aggressive on the braking rotor because they're metallic, so you'll need to check your rotors more often for thinning.

I bought the Zimmerman kit with ceramic pads from FCPEuro for $530 front and rear and did the work myself.

They work great they are an oem supplier.

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.

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.

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).....