2014 Nissan GT-R Review

The Nissan GT-R is probably the most well known and most talked about sports car in the automotive world over the last decade. In all of its reviews, reporters reflect the GT-R as some type of super car god that has no flaws. The truth is that there are a lot of flaws, and I am prepared to expose them all. Currently the 2013 GT-R comes in 3 versions excluding the Midnight Opal Special edition, the standard Premium edition ($99,590), the attractive Black edition ($109,330), and the raw Track edition ($115,710)⁵.  The Black edition comes with a dry carbon-fiber rear spoiler as oppose to colored, an attractive set of 20” black Rays® wheels, and a black and red Recaro® front seats. The Track Edition comes with everything the Black edition has plus additional brake cooling, a track-tuned suspension, and makes your interior blue and grey while robbing you of your back seats⁷. I will be talking about the premium edition since it the version that most buyers will be purchasing.

Design

Design? The Nissan GT-R does not truly have a design. The overall dimension and look is designed to be entirely functional. Every curve, vent, duct, lines, and angle are there increase downforce, improve aerodynamics, and reduce drag; not to when a beauty contest. Not much else to say about it. The Nissan GT-R is a lot larger in person than you may expect. Despite being coupe, the big brawny stature makes it as large as most midsize sedans being 15.3 feet long and 6.2 feet wide. The large space also carries itself inside. The cabin is pretty roomy for a sports car, offering good visibility outside and plenty of elbow room. The GT-R is classified as a 2+2 coupe but those backseats are useless unless you chop your legs off or pile girls on top of one another, either way it’s cramped.

Despite the GT-R’s bland exterior, the interior thankfully have some styling to it starting with the leather everywhere. The seats, door trim, and dashboard is all lined with smooth leather littered with suede inserts and carbon fiber trim. The cabin’s interior is average; it’s not super luxurious like the Audi R8’s or tech savvy like the Porsche’s. Here’s the main problem, interior only comes in black. Why would Nissan only offer one standard interior color? Where’s the variety, imagination, and customizing possibilities. It’s probably to push buyers into purchasing the $4,000 premium interior package that offers a very attractive red/amber and black interior on the Premium version of the GT-R the standard ⁷. In terms of parts of the interior that the driver interacts with, the dashboard is clean and well laid out. There is a large firm leather wrapped steering, perfectly sized paddle shifters mounted on the steering column (like it’s suppose to be), and center stack with perfectly placed buttons. The interior is just simple. And for the first time, simple is better. I know everyone knows about that famous 7 inch LCD touch screen build in collaboration by Sony and other companies no one cares about. Everyone knows about the 8 or so default screens and 4 customizable screens that display 18 different parameters of information. It’s honestly really cool for the first couple months, you will not stop looking at it and changing displays but eventually it’ll get old and you will forget about it. That screen also comes with Nissan’s hard drive navigation system and a backup camera⁵. The navigation system does the job well but unless your concern about data usage, I would just you my phone. Good news is that the screen and all of its features, except Sirius’ NavTraffic and NavWeather, are standard. Good job Nissan.

Powertrain

The 2014 Nissan GT-R still comes with that brutal 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 engine that produces 545hp and 463lb-ft of torque. Every engine is hand-assembled by a single technician (like AMG) in a temperature controlled clean room (not like AMG). Thanks to its independent intake system for each cylinder bank, the GT-R’s engine feels lively as it revs to 7,000 rpm without much turbo lag⁶. The 463lb-ft of twisting forces is sent through a 6-speed sequential dual clutch automated manual transmission and laid down to the grown via its ATTESA E-TS® all wheel drive. In case you don’t know, ATTESA E-TS® stands for Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain and its been with the Nissan family since 1989⁶. With the legendary launch control, the GT-R can blast from 0 to 60mph in a hypercar level 2.7 seconds. After all, it’s that launch control that gave the Nissan GT-R its world famous reputation. I will be explaining how the Nissan GT-R performs its launch control in mind blending speeds sometime next week so stay tune for that post. The world class Bilstein® DampTronic® suspension system is another one of the GT-R’s trump cards that continuously adjusts the shock absorber damping based on vehicle speed, lateral acceleration, torque, engine rpm, and braking behavior to provide the best suspension damping for the situation. Honestly, I believe that this DampTronic® system is one of the most advance suspension systems currently on the market. It’s mainly because of this suspension system that the GT-R is so superior on the track and drivable on the road.

Associated with the trio of toggle switches on the dash, the GT-R has few personalities that you can choose from at any time. The first toggle closest to the driver influences the transmission to choose between Snow, normal, and R-Mode. Snow mode, which Nissan themselves call it Save, is for gentle torque delivery for long distance and bad weather driving. R-Mode of course offers the fastest shifts times (0.15 sec) by preselecting and priming the next gear before you click the paddle shifter⁶. The GT-R’s intelligent brain is even able to prep and prime a lower gear by monitoring whether you are braking, so downshifts are just as immediate and fast as upshifts. The middle toggle controls the suspension between automatic, comfort, and R-mode. The last toggle furthest from the driver controls the traction control or Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). My advice to you is “Unless you are activating Launch control, DO NOT TOUCH THAT TOGGLE BECAUSE YOU MAY VOID YOUR WARRANTY”!! I will also be discussing about this warranty problem in my next post, you don't want to miss it.

Driving a GT-R is full of emotion, both good and bad. The good emotions come from the torque, the speed, and more torque. Flooring the GT-R on a straight will never get old, ever. No matter how many times you do it or what mood you're in, downshifting a few times and pressing the accelerator will always make you laugh and smile. Launch control is just brutal, ripping your face off and exceeding the speed limit before you even realize what happened. Other than the GT-R’s launch, you will probably never accelerate that fast ever again. Just don’t do it repeatedly, launch control puts a lot of stress on the vehicle and something is bound to fail if you do it back to back. The last of the good emotions comes from the price. For just over a $100,000, you will not get that much performance for that price anytime soon. The launch control’s 0-60mph acceleration, the unmatched ability to hold the road, the confidence it gives the drivers, and lap times that are in league with supercars makes the GT-R a steal. It’s just hard not to resist the GT-R.

The bad emotions mainly exist in the city. The GT-R’s suspension is pretty stiff even in comfort mode. I personally don’t think it’s too bad, but I can easily see consumers complain about it. Rough city roads can beat you up and give you a headache, but only in the city. Driving on the highway or country road feels like driving any other sports car. The Audi R8, who directly competes with this car, does have a much better ride than the GT-R. On the flip side a better ride on the road equals body roll on the track so you can’t blame Nissan. Also the 6-speed double clutch transmission is extremely clunky at slow speeds. Now all DCTs are jerky at slow speeds; some are better than others but that’s just part of owning a double clutch manual. The GT-R’s double clutch transmission is one of the worse, nothing that should deter people from buying one but it’s really annoying in traffic. The last disappointment comes from those quad exhaust pipes. Those pipes look stunning and super aggressive; I can fit my entire fist in just one of those tips. But after hearing what comes out from those pipes from the outside and within the cabin, I realize that those pipes produce an ugly noise. They just produce a moan-like roar that gets louder as RPM rises. The old GT-Rs, I mean the ones from the late 80’s and early 90’s makes an auditory orgasmic sound. I miss that sound and I wish the current GT-R sounded a little bit better.

Options:

                This section is going to be really short because sadly Nissan only offers 3 package options. The first is the Premium Interior package ($3,000) that I mentioned before⁷. It offers a red, amber, and black interior that, depending on your exterior color, will be an attractive addition to your GT-R. The next package is the $3,000 Super Silver Special Metallic Paint option⁷. Wonder how many suckers they convinced to choose that option. The last option is one that everyone should pay attention too. The standard GT-R comes with a set of Dunlop® SP Sport MAXX GT 600 CTT high-performance run-flat tires filled with nitrogen (what a mouth full)⁶. Those tires are awesome in terms of providing maximum grip to both perform face numbing launches and support insane lateral Gs around corners. Unfortunately, the world is not one big Formula 1 race track with constant sunny skies. When the heavens open up and the roads become slippery, those Dunlop® sport MAXXs are unbelievably scary to be driving on. You are probably wondering; “but the GT-R has all wheel drive.” But I would respond to you by saying; “Yes but even in snow mode, you are only as good as your tires.” You can have the world’s greatest stability control and 4 wheel drive system in your vehicle, they can’t help you once your car has gained momentum and your tires can not offer the grip to turn or stop. Nissan knows this, that’s why their 3^rd option, the Cold Weather package, is offered for FREE⁷!!! This package offers Dunlop® SP Sport 7010 all-season run-flat tires and 50/50 coolant⁷. If you plan on driving this on a regular basis or you live in the deciduous climate zone, this package is a must buy. Because these are all-season tires, your 0-60 mph times maybe be about 2 hundreds of a second slower. I would definitely sacrifice 2 hundreds of a second for an improvement in overall drivability, who is going to notice that I accelerate a blink of an eye slower. If you are really determined to maintain that 2.7 second acceleration, than just buy those sport MAXXs al la carte from your local dealer. Those are Nissan’s 3 packages for the GT-R; one is completely pointless, one is a total up sale tool, and one is extremely important. Also keep an eye out for the Midnight Opal Special edition, or what I like to call “the Need for Speed Underground edition”. It has the purple and brown dynamic reflective pain that changes as your angle changes. They are only making 100 of these editions, 50 is for the USA and 50 for the rest of the world.  Furthermore, especially keep an eye out for the ultimate GT-R coming out in 2015 called the GT-R Nismo.

Since their debut in 2008 the Nissan GT-R has been a hot topic in car magazine, blogs, and YouTube comments. Most of those comments and reviews have been extremely bias, shining a god-like light upon the GT-R as it eats supercars alive. Here is the most popular GT-R comment: “The Nissan GT-R is a budget supercar.” After experiencing the GT-R, I say it’s more along the lines as a really good sports car than a budget supercar. Supercars have a charisma and a presence to them that no other cars have. People who don’t even know anything about cars knows what a Ferrari or a Lamborghini is and is excited to see one. The world will stop to take a picture of a supercar. The Nissan GT-R does not have that level of presence or charisma; it does not form crowds, or makes random people’s day, or start conversations like a supercar does. But whatever you call it, the GT-R is a monster of a vehicle. The Nissan GT-R has 4 key features that places it in the legendary list of sports cars; the launch control’s 0-60mph acceleration, the unmatched ability to hold the road, the confidence it gives drivers, and lap times that are in league with supercars. All of the other features are mediocre if not surpassed by its competitors, but all that gets negated after a quick launch or brisk drive on a canyon road. I wouldn’t say the Nissan GT-R is the best car in the world, but it is definitely up there on the list.

Resources

1.       Nissan GTR Wallpaper 2013 Wallpaper." Radiope.com RSS. Radiope.com, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.radiope.com/nissan-gtr-wallpaper-2013.html>.

2.       Nissan. "2014 Nissan GT-R Colors & Photos." Nissan USA. Nissan USA, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nissanusa.com/sportscars/gt-r/colors-photos#_exterior>.

3.       Geiger, Jennifer. "2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO Photo Gallery." - KickingTires. Cars.com, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/11/2015-nissan-gt-r-nismo-photo-gallery.html>.

4.       Hqwide. "Cars Nissan Gtr Wallpaper." HQ Widescreen Wallpapers. Hqwide, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://hqwide.com/cars-nissan-gtr-wallpaper-40101/>.

5.       Nissan. "2014 Nissan GT-R Specs." Nissan USA. Nissan, 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nissanusa.com/sportscars/gt-r/versions-specs>.

6.       Nissan. "Performance Feature." Nissan USA. Nissan USA, 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nissanusa.com/sportscars/gt-r/features>.

7.       Nissan. "Nissan GT-R Build." Build Your Nissan GT-R. Nissan USA, 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nissanusa.com/buildyournissan/modelLine/build/2014/GTR>.

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2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250: Setting the new entry level luxury sedan standard

2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250⁶

If you have never seen the Mercedes Benz’s Super Bowl commercial with William Defoe playing as the devil for the new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250, you need to go to YouTube and watch it. That commercial blew me and probably half of the viewing audience away thanks to that unbelievable MSRP of $29,900. $29,900 for a Mercedes-Benz! Sounds too good to be true, right? It turns out that there is a little more to this vehicle than just a price.

Design

The new 2014 CLA250 is Mercedes-Benz’s new compact luxury sedan that is listed under the C250 within the Benz’s lineup hierarchy. With a price starting price of $29,900 plus destination, it is also the cheapest Mercedes in the United State’s market place. Think of it as a baby CLS because that is basically where the overall design language comes from. That sloping roof line, broad grill, even the tail lights of the CLA easily resembles its big brother. Now I don’t really comment on vehicle design very much because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I will comment on some styling cues that are interesting to me. First, the car looks sportier than it really is. Mercedes have done a good job in producing an aggressive but classy design without going over the top. Add on the Sports package ($2,200) and you’ll receive a more aggressive front splitter and real diffuser, a tire and brake upgrade, and some cooling vents. Another interesting stylish touch is the illuminated 3 pointed star on the grill. It’s a $480 option that will look cool at dawn and dusk. It’s hard to forget about the beautiful diamond block grill. This grill has that mesmerizing levitation effect that is functional by improving airflow and looks good at the same time.

The new Diamond Block grill on the new CLA9

 The interior of the 2014 CLA250 has that tradition two tone Mercedes-Benz look with the million buttons underneath the vents. I wonder if people still use that number pad today. The CLA comes standard with a smooth vinyl interior littered with planes of plastic. Yes, I said plastic. Now all cars, no matter how expensive, have plastic in their interiors somewhere. But the CLA’s interior will possess the most amount of plastic than any other Mercedes. I guess in order to support that low MSRP, they have to substitute some plastics bits in there somewhere. The sporty theme is carried into the interior with standard sport seats and a flat bottom steering wheel. Flat bottom steering wheels are one of those stupid design gimmicks that caught on to imply sportiness. Honestly, a flat bottom steering wheel fitted into a cargo van doesn’t make it faster, but it’s there to make you feel good. The most eye catching feature of this interior is the new 5.4 inch LCD multimedia screen. I will talk about the screen’s features later, but let me complain about the design now. It’s bad, really bad. It looks like the designers design the whole interior before realizing that they forgot to include the LCD screen. So they fashioned a plastic stand protruding from the dash and stuck the screen right on top. The screen looks removable, even though it is not. Which is concerning because things that unintentionally look removable makes you question quality. And even though it comes standard, it looks like a hundred dollar removable navigation box.

Notice the CLS themed sloping roof line of the CLA.
This CLA250 is equipped with the sports package11

Lastly, the CLA250 is a lot smaller in person than it looks in pictures. Its overall dimensions (15ft 2.3 in long, 5ft 10in wide, and 4ft 8.6in high²) places it 3 inches shorter than the Audi A4⁴, BMW 320i⁵, and Acura TSX³. And the lack of those 3 inches shows in rear seat space. It’s really cramped in the back. An average adult’s kneecap will brush against the front seats and the sloping roof line sacrifices head room. Short drives in the back will pass in most cases, but it’s a back seat fitted for children and teens.

Powertrain

                Besides the CLA250’s attractive looks, the powertrain is a feature that should never be ignored. The CLA250 comes standard with 2.0 liter direct injected turbocharged four cylinder that produces 208 horsepower and a brutal 258 foot pounds of torque through the front wheels. Now that not as impressive as Ford’s 2.0 EcoBoost but that much power pack into a compact sedan is nothing to sniff at. Mercedes utilizes a rapid multispark ignition system, high pressure direct injection, and a twin scroll turbocharger to produces those impressive numbers. With 258ft-lbs of torque and a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, you might mistake this car for having a large V6. And because that boosted power is available from 1,250-4000 rpm, the CLA will feel effortless in all driving scenarios. The two liter turbo is mated to a 7 speed double clutch automatic (DCT) with manual mode. You have to love DCT’s quick and seamless gear changes and various driving modes (eco, sport, and manual). Speaking of eco mode, this car is “capable of achieving” 26 city/38 highway miles per gallon! In terms of power output to fuel economy, that is extremely impressive. Probably class leading in terms of holding the “most powerful fuel efficient engine in its class” title, if there is such a thing. But I did say “capable of achieving” because Americans love torque too much to hold such numbers in real life.

                Now for those who have experience driving front wheel drive vehicles with more than 250 foot pounds of torque are probably concern about torque steer. I say no worries for you doubters because thanks to Mercedes’ advanced stability control, traction control system, and the numbing effects of electric power steering, torque steer is practically eliminated. For now, the 4matic all wheel drive option is not available for the CLA250 but there are rumors stating that it is coming soon. Beware Audi!

The CLA model line also has AMG variant that also carries a 2.0 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder that unleashes a monstrous 355 horsepower and 332 foot pounds of torque. But I will save the AMG’s specs for another article.

Options

                Most reviewers, except for CNET of Cars, seldom dive into the realm of options, but I believe options available to vehicles are just as important as available engine selections. Here are some options that I believe you should look at and others that you should ignore. Remember that oddly place LCD screen? That 5.4 inch box comes standard with HD Radio and Hands-free Bluetooth connectivity. If you are a simplist in terms of interior options, that box is all you need. The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to link up your phone to dial and receive hands-free calls and stream music. Those who need a little more features from that box can upgrade to the multimedia package for $2,370. This package includes a larger 7 inch display, a backup camera, 80GB hard-drive navigation, Sirius XM® traffic and weather, in-dash 6 disc DVD/CD player and SD card reader, and a 10 GB music register. The 10GB music register is just an in-car hard drive to store your music. The problem about this register is that the only way to download music to it is by ripping song from CDs and audio DVDs, which no one does anymore. Hard drive based navigation are not as impressive as they used to be since the maps tend to become outdated within a year or two. Although the multimedia package can be an eye catching upgrade for most buyers, there is a catch. In order for you to qualify to upgrade to the multimedia package, you have to first purchase the $2,300 premium package. I absolutely hate package bundling. This means obtaining the multimedia package actually cost an eye watering $4,670! So unless you need a backup camera, which you shouldn’t with this small of a car, I would totally ignore this option. Iphone owners should look at the Drive Kit Plus for the iPhone® Accessory ($599). This feature integrates your iPhone and its apps such as navigation and media apps, including Facebook®, Twitter®, and Pandora® to your Mercedes. An expensive feature, but worth it compared to the multimedia package. For those who do not own an iPhone®, I can refer you to the stupid and pointless Mercedes-Benz Apps for $14 per month. Oh and those Mercedes apps package requires you to purchase the premium/multimedia package combo.

Premium interior with lots of safety features and a dorky LCD screen.
Leather interior, wood trim, and a panoramic sunroof available to
fully customize your interior1

I cannot talk about a Mercedes vehicle without diving into its world class safety features. Here are some safety features that are standard. Collision prevention assist; the radar feature that warns you of potential objects to collide into. Adaptive Braking technology; where the car will prime the brakes for instant response whenever you rapidly release the gas pedal. Attention assist; the “you need more coffee” warning when the car sees that your sleepy. Rain-sensing windshield wipers; for those who are too lazy to move their fingers and manually activate their windshield wipers. Steer control; Mercedes claims it’s a sporty feature that can detect if slight steering corrections is necessary and perform them for you to enhance handling. In other words, Steer control is like traction control for your steering wheel. Mercedes, please leave that feature out of the AMG lineup! Please! If you want additional safety features, be prepared to pay $2,000 for the driver assistance package. This package includes Adaptive cruise control (which I love), Blind spot monitory, lane keep assist, and active collision prevention (different from the standard feature by braking for you in emergencies). And for those who can’t drive, active parking assist is available for $970. Parking assist understandably belongs in SUVs and trucks, not compact sedans.

 Absolute base price for the CLA250 is $30,825. Add on the premium and multimedia package ($4,670) and driver assistance package ($2,500), packages I believe most people will get, the price will become a hefty $37,995. This is a lot of money compared to the vehicles Mercedes are aiming at as their competitors, but not overpriced. Personally, I would order those bright Bi-Xenon headlamps ($850), the driver assistance package, and the iPhone drive kit accessory ($599) to bring the price to a respectable $34,774. Now there are other options such as the leather interior package and a panoramic sunroof but those are typical luxury options that you should choose based on your own taste.

Competitors

In terms of competitors, Mercedes-Benz and other reviewer will tell you that the 2014 CLA250’s competitors are the Lexus CT200h, Acura ILX, and BMW 1-series coupe. That’s honestly a low blow to make such comparisons. Of course the CLA comes on top compared to Lexus’ version of the Toyota Prius, a Honda Civic with a suit on, and a roadster hatchback looking thing.  Now I understand that this segment is a huge market but Mercedes should not be setting their sights toward smaller, simpler, and less powerful vehicles. I believe the true competitors are the 2014 Audi A3 sedan (not the hatchback version that we are all used too), 2013 Buick Regal (forgot about that car didn’t you), Cadillac ATS, BMW 320i, Acura TSX, and the Mercedes C250. Now I chose those vehicles because I believe they will be in consumers’ cross shopping list for an entry level luxury sedan

                Yes, I did label the Mercedes C250 as one of CLA’s competitors. This is not the first time we have seen one of these inner rivalries in the automotive world. Audi went though one over the past few years when many of the potential A6 buyers migrated over to the larger and more attractive A7. I believe the same situation will occur between the CLA and the C250. Think about it, the CLA is more attractive, slightly larger, faster, more fuel efficient, and cheaper with similar options than the C250. The CLA will not take over the C class’s market place because the C class offers more powerful powertrain options that are not available in the CLA, but the C250 may be rendered useless. If you’re really set on purchasing the Mercedes C250, I would wait until 2015 when they unveil the redesigned C class.

Final thoughts

Base 2014 Mercedes CLA2506

When I first saw that Mercedes SuperBowl commercial for the CLA, I assumed that the really low MSRP, attractive styling, and the desire to own a Mercedes-Benz would cause the world to purchase the new 2014 CLA250 in hoards. But after hours of research and learning about the car, I don’t think that will be the case. The CLA’s small size, dorky LCD screen, and backstabbing options list takes this car out of the “absolute must buy list.” Don’t get me wrong, that powertrain and attractive styling does makes the CLA a compelling vehicle in the entry level luxury compact sedan market. We are just going to have to see how the market copes with the CLA250, and whether the low price is reflected in overall reliability. Another interesting fact, Mercedes-Benz categorizes the CLA model as a coupe and a sedan under the vehicle tabs in their homepage. This makes Mercedes look like they maybe going through a little identity crisis with the CLA. Fill free to leave a comment below if you have any questions on the new 2014 CLA250.

Resources

1.       Autoevolution.com. "2014 Mercedes CLA #26/28." 2014 Mercedes CLA. Autoevolution.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.autoevolution.com/news-g-image/mercedes-benz-cla-to-start-at-pricing-and-engines-announced-photo-gallery/100131.html>.

2.       Edmunds.com. "2014 Acura TSX." Edmunds.com. Edmunds, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.edmunds.com/acura/tsx/2014/features-specs.html?style=200490522>.

3.       Edmunds.com. "2014 Audi A4." Edmunds.com. Edmunds, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.edmunds.com/audi/a4/2014/features-specs.html?style=200477387>.

4.       Edmunds.com. "2014 BMW 3-series." Edmunds.com. Edmunds, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/3-series/2014/features-specs.html?style=200489817>.

5.       Edmunds.com. "2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA." Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz/cla-class/2014/features-specs.html?style=101410564>.

6.       Findthebest.com. "2014 Mercedes-Benz C250 vs 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250."Cars.findthebest.com. Findthebest.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://cars.findthebest.com/compare/4769-4782/2014-Mercedes-Benz-C250-Sport-vs-2014-Mercedes-Benz-CLA250-Coupe>.

7.       Mercedes-Benz USA. "CLA-Class." Mercedes-Benz USA. Mercedes-Benz, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-CLA/bodystyle-CPE>.

8.       Paswall.com. "Mercedes Cla 14083 Hd Full Size." Paswall.com. Paswall.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://paswall.com/mercedes-cla-14083-hd.html/mercedes-cla-14083-hd>.

9.       Seriouswheels.com. "2013 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class - CLA 250 Edition 1 Studio 1 - 1920x1440 - Wallpaper." 2013 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class - CLA 250 Edition 1 Studio 1 - 1920x1440 - Wallpaper. Seriouswheel.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.seriouswheels.com/2013/klm/2013-Mercedes-Benz-CLA-Class-CLA-250-Edition-1-Studio-1-1920x1440.htm>.

10.   Tingwall, Eric. "2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 / CLA250 4MATIC." Car and Driver. Car and Driver, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-mercedes-benz-cla250-cla250-4matic-first-drive-review>.

11.   Wallsave.com. "Mercedes CLA Car." Wallsave.com. Wallsave.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.wallsave.com/wallpapers/1366x768/mercedes-cla/347857/mercedes-cla-car-347857.jpg>.

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Carbon ceramic brakes vs. conventional steel brakes: Is it worth the money

When it comes to designing your dream car, the carbon ceramic brake package is often a no-brainer check off the option block. But with a price premium of $8,000 in some vehicles, is it really worth choosing ceramics over the conventional steel?

Cross drilled carbon ceramic brakes on a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.3 

Carbon ceramics brakes used to be an exotic car exclusive. Its high price masked in the sky high price for the vehicle itself. Now, carbon ceramics brakes are making its way into everyday performance luxury cars such as Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz and more. Entering a consumer market place where buyers begin to care about the options they choose and the price that accompany them. The most affordable car I was able to find that offers a ceramic brake option is the Porsche Boxster ($50,400 base price), where the upgrade to ceramics cost a whopping $7,4001. I find it hard to justify that increase in price, especially with the flaws that accompany ceramics during everyday driving. Before I go explaining the flaws of carbon ceramics brakes, let me inform you of its many benefits.

Carbon ceramic brakes refer to the carbon-ceramic composite material that the rotors are made of offering superior braking performance during extreme use. This composite construction offers lighter, stronger and more durable disks than their steel counterparts. And it’s this 3 way blitz where carbon ceramics shine over steel. Despite being larger in diameter, each carbon ceramics disc are about 12 lbs lighter than steel2. Therefore a vehicle equipped with ceramics can shed 24-28 lbs off its overall curb weight2. Where ceramics shine as the ultimate brake package is in its durability. Remember, Brakes decelerate your vehicle by forcing stationary brake pads onto the moving rotors and friction stops the car. Where there is friction, there will be heat. Steel brakes often have a tough time dissipating this heat during repeat hard use on the track. When the standard steel rotors get too hot, they warp, deform, and loose performance. Carbon ceramics dissipate heat far more effectively, preventing deformation, and maintaining performance. Not only can they dissipate heat efficiently, the extreme temperatures ceramics can handle are amazing. It’s why

Ceramic brake disc glowing due to high temperatures generated friction.
Although glowing bright, performance is not impacted6

carbon ceramic brakes are the number one choice in racing. Also the carbon composite material does not corrode like steel does when they are abused by water and salt2. Carbon ceramics are also known to last forever. Ok, not forever. But it has been reported that one set of ceramic brakes can last throughout the entire life of the car, about 100,000 miles according to brake manufacturers2. Now it’s too early to confirm those results true, but that is an impressive statement to make. Now you are probably wondering why I haven’t started quoting 60-0 mph stopping distances for ceramic brakes and begin comparing them to the steel equivalent. But most fail to realize that some steel disc packages stop just as fast as the ceramics do. The only time where carbon ceramics begin to gain an advantage is after repeated heavy braking, and the heat from the friction begins to scrub performance from the steel brakes.

Carbon ceramic brakes do have its flaws, but those flaws only show itself during everyday driving. First flaw is cost. No need to explain any further. The second flaw is the “squishy” or lack of feel the brakes have when they are cold. Ceramics don’t actually begin to feel “normal” until they heat up from extended track use. Which means those brakes will never feel “normal” for the 90% of drivers who never go tracking. The squishy feeling is actually the most common complaint and is a big deal for those who love the confidence of an early brake feel. Another flaw, which is me just nitpicking, is the squeaking noise ceramics make during low speed braking. Not as loud as truck and bus brakes sound, but just as annoying. The last flaw is of course the price. Sorry, I can’t help myself. The price for the upgrade can make anyone wince at its sight. Yes, ceramics discs look cool with those large dark gray rotors crossed drilled for extra heat dissipation. Yes, ceramic disc offer exceptional braking performance on the track. Can I reiterate, on the track. But if you don’t spend your Sundays at the track, where is all the money going? It’s a hard call to make, especially the standard steel brakes offer just as good braking performance as the carbons ceramics.

Ceramic brakes fitted to Lexus' flagship sports car,
the Lexus LFA5

So tell me, is it worth the premium? Are carbon ceramic brakes an $8,000-$9,000 bragging right or a design piece like carbon fiber trim? Are carbon ceramics brakes worth the inconsistency in brake feel depending on weather? In my opinion, I say if you’re a consumer that goes to the track to take a couple hot laps. Go ahead and get the ceramic brakes, you will not regret that decision. But if you are just buying your Porsche or BMW M6 to commute around town or flog on a windy canyon road, I would stick with the standard steel brakes. They are much cheaper, more consistent in pedal feel, and offer just as much performance as the more expensive ceramics. Now I do have one exception for those who work or live near a valley or mountain, carbon ceramics is a good choice coming from a safety standpoint. Those who live in that type of environment know that there are some long windy roads that go downhill at a steep grade for long distances. The steady braking needed to traverse that road can surely cause your steel brakes to overheat and lose performance which you don’t want spiraling down a steep hill. But worst case scenario aside, it’s all up to you to make the right decision.

Resources

1. Porsche Cars North America, Inc. "Porsche Car Configurator - All Boxster Models." Model Overview. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.porsche.com/usa/modelstart/all/?modelrange=boxster>.
2. Brembo SGL Carbon Ceremic Brakes. "Benefit." BSCCB. Brembo SGL, 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.carbonceramicbrakes.com/en/benefit/Pages/benefit.aspx>.
3. Car and Driver. "2012 Lexus LFA Cross-drilled Carbon-ceramic Brake Rotor and Caliper."Car and Driver. 2013 Hearst Communication, Inc., 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.caranddriver.com/photos-10q2/352444/2012-lexus-lfa-cross-drilled-carbon-ceramic-brake-rotor-and-caliper-photo-352498>.
4. Brembo. "Carbon Ceramic Discs." - Brembo Brakes. Brembo S.p.A., 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.brembo.com/en/car/original-equipment/products/Pages/Carbon ceramic discs.aspx>.
5. Ross, Michael Alan. "Carbon-ceramic Brakes." CNET. Cnet, 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-10863_7-10018759-2.html>.
6. Alexsmolik. "Ferrari 599XX Glowing Brake Disk Downshifts !!!" YouTube. YouTube, 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Q4OpGCfME>.

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