Big Brake Kit
XYZ Racing Hollow Front Brake Kit — Mercedes Benz W201 190E (1982-1992)
SKU: XYZ-BRK-BKF-ME-085-FRONT
- IncludesFront axle pair (2 discs + 2 calipers)
- PositionFront
- Disc Ø380–444 mm
- Caliper pots8 / 12-pot
- Lead time10–15 working days
Fits Mercedes Benz W201 190E (1982-1992)
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Caliper render for this kit:
The W201 190E arrived in 1982 with brakes specified for the performance envelope of the time, disc sizes and caliper specs calibrated against what 1980s tyres and road standards demanded. Forty-plus years on, these cars are in the hands of enthusiasts who actually use them: track-day registers, club motorsport entries, quick-run evenings. What was correct for the 190E in 1982 has become the limiting factor for owners who push the car properly.
The XYZ Racing front brake kit for the W201 190E answers that gap. It is a single-axle kit: a matched pair of front calipers and two-piece floating discs for the left and right corners, with three pad compounds that cover everything from a freshened road car to competitive circuit use, without committing to a single operating temperature range.
What this brake kit does for your 1982-1992 Mercedes Benz W201 190E
The 190E has always rewarded a driver who commits to the entry: the W201’s rear-wheel-drive layout means brake confidence at the front axle feeds directly into how accurately you can place the car for the apex. Upgrading the front hardware brings stopping response in line with what modern tyres now generate at the front of this chassis. On a car this light, around 1,100kg in standard trim, the improvement in pedal feel and clamping consistency is immediate rather than marginal, and the two-piece floating disc on its alloy centre bell trims rotating and unsprung mass to sharpen turn-in further. The hollow-vane disc draws air through the rotor body to shed heat between stops. Street is the quiet, low-dust default for daily use and spirited road miles without a track compound’s cold-bite; Sport adds bite and heat range for harder fast-road work; Racing is there for organised events where the brakes cycle through temperature repeatedly. Braided stainless lines keep the pedal firm, and the chosen caliper finish lets the upgrade read correctly behind whatever wheel the car is running.
About the Front Brake Kit
XYZ Racing’s front brake kit is a fitment-specific upgrade for the W201 front axle. Three pad compounds cover the realistic use spectrum for a 190E today: Street for the mixed driving most W201 owners actually do, including fast-road runs and the occasional track day; Sport for harder fast-road and light circuit work with more bite and heat range; Racing for organised events where sustained high brake temperatures are part of the cycle. The forged caliper is hollow-bodied as standard, with painted finishes at no extra cost in Red, Yellow, Gold, Black, or Anodized Black, a Custom Color to any Pantone for £150, polished-forged Titanium, Polished Gold and Polished Silver, and candy finishes in Teal, Blue, Red and Orange, so the upgrade works visually as well as mechanically on a car whose detailing still holds up three decades on. Discs come drilled or slotted at the same price, two-tone centre bells in five anodized colours or titanium, and a Hollow Racing upgrade is available for committed track use, dropping the dust cover, rated to 1000C with a two-year warranty. The kit targets the front axle, where braking load concentrates hardest on the 190E’s rear-wheel-drive platform under hard deceleration.
Fitment for the Mercedes Benz W201 190E (1982-1992)
This kit is listed for the W201 190E chassis across the full production run from 1982 to 1992. The W201 platform spans a range of engine variants from the base 190E through to the 2.5-16 Evolution specification. If your car is one of the Cosworth derivatives, the 2.3-16 or 2.5-16, which were factory-equipped with uprated front brake hardware, confirm the caliper mounting geometry against the kit specification before ordering.
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The W201 190E is too good a car to brake badly. Choose your pad compound, disc style and caliper finish when you order to configure yours.
What’s in the kit
Front axle kit — supplied as a complete bolt-on assembly.
- 2×Two-piece floating discs — 380–444 mm: you pick the exact diameter with the "Disc size" option
- 2×Lightweight aluminium centre bells
- 2×Forged aluminium calipers — 8 / 12-pot
- 2×High-stiffness mounting brackets
- 2×Braided stainless steel brake lines
- 4×High-performance brake pads (1 set)
- 1×Fitting hardware & tools pack
Choosing your spec
Every kit is built to order around the choices you make above. Here is what each option actually changes, so you can spec yours with confidence.
Brake pads — Street, Sport or Racing
Every kit ships with a full set of high-performance pads; the compound is your call.
Street is the right default for fast-road driving — a strong, progressive cold bite with low noise, low dust and long disc life. Sport raises the working temperature and adds bite and fade resistance for hard road use and the occasional track day, while still behaving on a cold morning. Racing is a track compound built for sustained abuse: huge fade resistance and bite once heat is in it, at the cost of more noise and dust when cold. Match the pad to how hard you actually use the brakes — there is no benefit to a race pad that never gets up to temperature.
Caliper grade — Hollow vs Hollow Racing
Hollow is the standard caliper on every kit: a hollow-body forged caliper, lighter than a solid one, fitted with a dust cover and backed by a 5-year oil-leak warranty. For most fast-road and spirited track use it is all the caliper you need.
Hollow Racing is the track-grade upgrade. It runs the same hollow body but without a dust cover (so there is nothing to melt at sustained high temperature), uses a twin-metal piston that isolates heat travelling from the disc to the oil seal, and is rated to 1000°C. Available 286–380mm (front). Warranty is 2 years on oil leaks and 10 years on appearance. Built for professional racing and repeated track days.
Caliper colour & finish
Painted colours (Red, Yellow, Gold, Black, Anodized Black) are included at no cost. Want an exact match to your car? Custom Color (+£150) paints the calipers to any Pantone code you supply (15–20 day lead time).
Polished Forged finishes are the flagship: a forged caliper given a mirror-polished surface treatment that shifts colour with the viewing angle. Beyond the looks, the polished surface dissipates heat better, resists rust and stands up to the weather. Choose Titanium (neochrome, +£350), Polished Gold (+£300) or Polished Silver (+£250). They look their best paired with a titanium centre bell. Care: clean only with a dilute neutral cleaner or water.
Candy colours (+£200) use a deep candy-paint and polishing process for a mirror-reflection, boutique finish — pick Teal, Blue, Red or Orange (shown below right).
Centre bells
The centre bell is the CNC-machined aluminium hat that joins the disc to the hub. The standard anodized centre bell is included. The Two-tone bell (+£200) adds an anodized accent ring — choose Red, Yellow, Orange, Purple or Silver right here at checkout. The Titanium centre bell (+£500) is a forged titanium bell (bolts not included) that finishes off the polished-forged look.
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