W168 Wheel arch gaps

[pallasar]

Hello all...new on here and to the world of owning a w168 a class, but Im no stranger to cars and know my way around

The question I have is, the 1999 A140 Elegance I now own has the standard Elegance 15" alloys fitted with the recommended 195x50x15 tyres,, but the arch gaps seem to big to me.

I have compared them to the showroom brochure I picked up second hand, and am looking for advice / experience on the following:

a) Could it be that the car has had the incorrect springs fitted in its history? Do the Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde models have different ride height springs?
b) Has anyone had experience of running one on the winter tyre set up of 185x55x15 tyres? and if so, how does that affect the handling of the car by comparison?
c) Has anyone had any issues running a w168 on lowered coil springs? The subframe on the normal set up doesnt seem that high off the floor for clearance as it is....

I am in the process of bringing this somewhat neglected A class back to showroom condition, but am a stickler for running OEM cars or OEM+ at the most.

This is the beast after correcting the paintwork


Any info would be appreciated ; )

Vince
https://pallasar.wordpress.com/

 

[GLK]

Welcome to the forum!

Nice looking A class you have there - I have a soft spot for W168, even though I bought a 169 coupe to replace it last year.

Not a mechanic (far from it) but I do know for a fact that, the diesel (A170) springs are slightly taller - seen a picture comparing the two. No idea if Avantgarde springs were different, but it's not inconceivable to imagine A190 and A210 springs were - the engines are a little bit heavier, as far as I know. The A190 I had before the last A160 (both Avantgarde) had 16" wheels.

Here's my old A160 Avantgarde facelift on 15" wheels:

As you can see, the gap is probably the same as on yours (difficult to see), so perhaps if you want to fill it, you might consider going for 16" or even 17" wheels (won't make the ride softer though) - here's a chart: W168 Alloys

 

[pallasar]

GLK, thanks for your reply....Wow, your a class looks stunning

I know how much work goes into keeping cars to that standard

Thanks for the chart too.....Looking at yours, I suppose mine doesnt seem too bad. As the car has other more important jobs to do over spending £200+ on wheels, I'm going to check to make sure the coils it has fitted are the correct ones. I have a friend with the MB dealer programme to get the OE numbers of the correct springs.

If the avantgarde has a lower ride height spring, then Ill pick some of them up and get them fitted. That way its still true to the model

 

[GLK]

Thanks! I really liked it too. These pictures were taken when it had 107k on the clock That W168 had a two-page list of mods and upgrades, including full re-spray and leather interior, double-DIN, reversing sensors and camera, comfort windows, AMG pedals and exhaust, etc, etc ...

I actually sold it last summer - we needed wider doors, so I bought a 169 coupe.