2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster Long-Term Road Test

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2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster Long-Term Road Test

Our 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster has some great brakes. They're quite literally, life savers.

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quadricycle

Wow close call! I'm confident that this would be a very different story if you didn't pay attention to the road, so way to go!

fordson1

Those brakes are an upgrade mostly for heat-resistance purposes in a track-day setting. I doubt very much that their cold-brake panic stop from 33 mph performance is any better than the stock brakes. In fact, most road tests show that in this scenario (initial stop, cold brakes), most metal rotors do better than carbon-ceramic. Unnecessary drama.

duck87

I second fordson's comment... the main reason for going to the ceramic brakes are to counteract brake fade. Regular steel rotors and pads would be enough here with the right tires.

meng_mao

You think the marginal difference in braking performance, as modulated by ABS, made a bigger difference than your reaction time?

I'm all for trumpeting safety tech, but maybe this is a bit of a stretch.

stovt001_

"this would be a very different story without the optional $12,500 AMG Carbon Ceramic Braking system." I'm not so sure about that. Doesn't the advantage of carbon brakes come from resistance to heat-fade?

yellowbal

All modern cars can lock-up the brakes. Good tires allow you to stop earlier.

unionbuster

Teach your children not to play in the street. If you don't, my only concern is the dent your kid's going to leave in my front bumper.

tlangness

@fordson While I understand your skepticism, the numbers just aren't on your side. A few months back we tested our SLS side-by-side with the New AMG GT. At 60mph, the carbon brakes (partially because they're lighter, therefore making the car lighter) stop

s197gt

"I was cruising at about 33 mph in a business zone with a posted speed limit of 35 mph..."

ha ha, that's what they all say...

fordson1

You have a human operating the brake pedal in a test like that, when it's time to initiate the test. One foot at 44 feet per second is within the margin of error. One foot in any event is not "less than 3 feet." You're saying the carbon-ceramic brakes saved the kid's life - c'mon. You tested two different cars, two different suspensions, different tires (the GT model with metal rotors had Pilot Super Sports that the tester all through the test commented had to be up to temperature to produce best performance) with different inflation pressures. And you're attempting to draw a hard-and-fast distinction on a question of one foot difference from that mishmash. Really.

tlangness

@s197gt / @fordson - I suppose I could've been more specific about this in the initial update but I had my foot covering the brake as I was cruising towards a stop sign just up the street. Perhaps the GT brakes would've done just as good a job stopping in

ckuers_

I'd thank the tires more than the brakes, especially at that speed. They provided the grip necessary to haul the car to a stop from that low speed. Like fordson1 said below, the carbon ceramic brakes won't reveal their benefit until you have to hammer that brake pedal repeatedly from high speeds.

That being said. The thing that impresses me is how the brake rotor bolts line up perfectly with the valley between the spokes of the wheel. Fantastic design detail in my opinion.

zcalvert

how about we all just agree it has very good brakes and move on? ok?

fordson1

Travis also mentioned a weight advantage - 50 lbs would not be much of an advantage in all-up vehicle weight, but rotational weight would. Now, the rotational inertia is a tiny bit less for the entire wheel/tire/rotor/bearing assembly with the carbon-ceramic brakes, so that would help, but in this size, the SLS-specific Contis on the front weigh 26 lbs. and the Pilot Super Sports weigh 25. In the rear, the Contis weigh 32 lb. each and the Michelins weigh 29, so there goes a huge part of the rotating-weight advantage the carbon brakes confer. Add to that the fact that weight reductions further from rotational axis (the tires) have more of a salutory effect than those closer to axis (like brake rotors or wheels), and it's a moot point.

noburgers

end result--close call, no tragedy. Must have been a mixed zone of business and residential. I think the slow driving speed and reaction time were more crucial. At higher speeds I would lean towards superior braking capability and tires as the reason for success.