Help with wheel choice (mainly the offset!)

[gjp77]

Evening all,

I'm new to being a Mercedes owner & also to doing any type of modifications.

I very much want to buy some new wheels for my E Class saloon but I'm so confused as to what the best thing to do is...

Ideally I want to stick with original Mercedes wheels and I have found a set of 18" on ebay that are described as:

THESE WHEELS ARE 5X112 PCD WITH A 35MM OFFSET. STAGGERED FIT 8.5J FRONT AND 9.5J REAR.

The seller assures me they are fine for my w212 but looking through the owners manual the recommended offsets and wheel widths for 18" are different.

Will these be ok or am I being misled? Is there a minimum and maximum offset value that anything in between will be ok?

Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[BandyAndy]

Have a look through here, and you'll find all the info you'll need
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/whee...read-first-offset-fitment-answers-within.html


....... and welcome to the forum

 

[AMGeed]

The correct ET for your W212 is front et48 and rear ET54.

If you get the eBay wheels the fronts will be 13mm further out and the rears 19mm. There is a danger they could foul the arches, especially the rears. The seller is telling you porkies that they will fit.

Check the W212 AMG offsets below.
Mercedes-Benz Fitting Chart and Wheel Fitment Guide | Alloy Wheels Direct

Welcome to the forum too

 

[gjp77]

Thanks guys.

I'd already checked that thread out re all the different sizes etc and the info there is the same as in the owners handbook.

So do I have to 100% absolutely stick to the sizes/specs in the handbook or is there room for manoeuvre with the offset? This is what I'm struggling to understand...

I've been browsing through all the alloy websites and as I said ideally I'd like to stick with proper MB wheels (mainly because of having the proper centre caps) but if I go for other wheels is getting the offsets as close to the handbook recommendations ok??

 

[gjp77]

will these fit?

...so going by the fitting chart the following wheels would be ok to fit on an e class w212?

18" 8.5j et40 all round

I'm using the Brabus specs from the chart or am I getting this completely wrong?

I'm assuming that as long as I match the specs with whatever's on that chart it's been done before either by MB, AMG or Brabus therefore will be perfectly ok for me to do?


Is that correct?

 

[AkisGr]

...so going by the fitting chart the following wheels would be ok to fit on an e class w212?

18" 8.5j et40 all round

I'm using the Brabus specs from the chart or am I getting this completely wrong?

I'm assuming that as long as I match the specs with whatever's on that chart it's been done before either by MB, AMG or Brabus therefore will be perfectly ok for me to do?


Is that correct?

No,you'll be ok with the 8.5 et 40 all around. Don't worry.
It will even look a bit better than the originals,cause the wheels will sit just a tiny bit further out.
But you won't have problem with the arches,no need to worry.

But the truth is,you would neither have problems with the 35 ofset that u mentioned earlier.Especially if your rear would be 9.5 instead of 8.5 .
With 18 inch wheels there won't be any issues with rubbing and regarding aesthetics,they won't stick out of the fenders.

 

[gjp77]

more confusion!

@ AkisGr - thanks for the reply...

...but this just adds to my confusion as another member says et35 is no good and you say it will be fine!!!

I really would like to upgrade from my 16" standard wheels but theses are mixed messages.

Is there an absolute minimum et and an absolute maximum et for the w212 and everything in between is fine? anyone?

 

[AkisGr]

@ AkisGr - thanks for the reply...

...but this just adds to my confusion as another member says et35 is no good and you say it will be fine!!!

I understand that.
Look,the easiest and best thing to do,to judge for yourself,is to buy a spacer and check how the wheel you already have,will look on the car with the spacer on.
Spacers are extremely cheap and is well worth it.

If you want to see how an et40 wheel will look ,just get a 5mm spacer,take one of your front wheels out,put the spacer and then put the wheel back on.
Now it will look as if your wheel has et40 offset. So you'll know if its a good (or not) idea to buy wheels with et 40.

The same goes with the rest of the probable offsets that you wonder about. Its the easiest thing to do ,to know for sure .(when your wheels have big offset and you consider going to wheels with less offset.)

I know a couple of things about wheels. The other member was right with the factory numbers but he probably has no experience with modified cars.
Anyway,the best thing to do ,is judge for yourself if its something you care about.
As an example of the prices ,check this. 2x5mm spacers = 11 pounds.
Set of (2x) 5mm New Universal Wheel Spacers/ Shims 4 or 5 Stud for Mercedes Merc | eBay

You can find 5mm-10mm-15mm...and goes on.

 

[AMGeed]

I understand that.
Look,the easiest and best thing to do,to judge for yourself,is to buy a spacer and check how the wheel you already have,will look on the car with the spacer on.
Spacers are extremely cheap and is well worth it.

If you want to see how an et40 wheel will look ,just get a 5mm spacer,take one of your front wheels out,put the spacer and then put the wheel back on.
Now it will look as if your wheel has et40 offset. So you'll know if its a good (or not) idea to buy wheels with et 40.

The same goes with the rest of the probable offsets that you wonder about. Its the easiest thing to do ,to know for sure .(when your wheels have big offset and you consider going to wheels with less offset.)

I know a couple of things about wheels. The other member was right with the factory numbers but he probably has no experience with modified cars.
Anyway,the best thing to do ,is judge for yourself if its something you care about.
As an example of the prices ,check this. 2x5mm spacers = 11 pounds.
Set of (2x) 5mm New Universal Wheel Spacers/ Shims 4 or 5 Stud for Mercedes Merc | eBay

You can find 5mm-10mm-15mm...and goes on.

Pretty helpful, but to advise buying those universal wheel spacers is wrong. If you really have to use spacers then the correct ones are hubcentric, like these
5mm hubcentric spacers | eBay

I stand by the fact I said E35 wheels are no good considering the set up the OP has. Spacers should be avoided if possible.
There are plenty of wheels around with the correct (or very close to) ET's so it's just a case of continuing to search.

These would fit, albeit the sidewall profile of the tyres is one size up, but they appear a bargain to me. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/clas...nch-genuine-amg-alloys-continental-tyres.html

incidentally, I do have experience with modifying cars

 

[scgfull]

Pretty helpful, but to advise buying those universal wheel spacers is wrong. If you really have to use spacers then the correct ones are hubcentric, like these
5mm hubcentric spacers | eBay

I stand by the fact I said E35 wheels are no good considering the set up the OP has. Spacers should be avoided if possible.
There are plenty of wheels around with the correct (or very close to) ET's so it's just a case of continuing to search.

These would fit, albeit the sidewall profile of the tyres is one size up, but they appear a bargain to me. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/clas...nch-genuine-amg-alloys-continental-tyres.html

incidentally, I do have experience with modifying cars

I took the comment to read - buy cheap spacers just to see what the setup would look like - not necessarily to drive with them.

I see that advice as quite good as for minimal expenditure you are then very able to see how things fit with your specific set up.

Steve

 

[AMGeed]

I took the comment to read - buy cheap spacers just to see what the setup would look like - not necessarily to drive with them.

I see that advice as quite good as for minimal expenditure you are then very able to see how things fit with your specific set up.

Steve

OK I took it to read if you get spacers, get these
My bad if that's the case.

 

[gjp77]

Thanks everyone for chipping in...I have a better understanding of what I'm doing now, much appreciated!