18" problems on my 320ce

[russ79]

Some advice please, guys:

I've fitted some 18" wheels to my 320ce. Problem is, they are rubbing on the wheel arches a bit when e.g. the front compresses through a hidden dip in the road. You'll see from one of the pictures, that they do actually stand a little proud of the side of the wheel arch.

The tyres say they are 225/40. I'm not sure what my options are really. I like the oversized look and don't want to swap out the alloys, but I don't want this to be at the expense of having to replace the wings!

They're not original MB wheels. Is the better / cheaper option to either (a) buy some new alloys (and if so, what size??), or (b) swap out the suspension??

Thanks in advance for the wise words

 

[blondebier]

Get some smaller wheels... (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you some even wiser words.

 

[MBK]

looks like your running standard ride height so it looks like you may need smaller wheels or try a lower profile tyre maybe 225/30/18

 

[Howard]

What offset are those wheels ?

They look to stand proud of the arches ....

 

[BaldGuy]

Russ,

I'm sure this could be easily rectified by getting your arches "rolled".. any decent wheel and tyre accesory outlet can get this done for you.. I'm not sure about the cost but i'm sure it would fix your issue...

Cheers G

 

[russ79]

I don't know !! I bought them off a guy up the road who had them on a c180 and asked how much he'd take for them. i got them for £150 with new tyres on and that was about it, really !! I know this sounds incredibly naive,but i liked them and was in a hurry

 

[Howard]

We've all done it , bought something with the heart and not the head ...

You need to check the offset , it will be stamped on the back of the wheel and will begin ' ET ' , also , have a look how wide they are .... ( 7.5 , 8.0 or 8.5 )

Next , have a look at the chart in the link below ... and see if you can tally up the ET number ...

Wheel chart

Remember that w124s never left the factory with any wheel bigger than a 17 inch ( e36 amg ) so you may find with 18's on there it will mess your handling up ...

 

[gina2201]

I had an E220 Coupe with 18's on and they also stood proud like this. One of my front arches was more flared than the other and I looked into getting the other rolled. Was advised that it would be cheaper and less hassle to find a replacement wing! Perhaps flog them on and find some that fit, sure you'll get your money back!

 

[lynall]

Look on pistonheads classifieds loads of decent price mb wheels on there.



Lynall

 

[russ79]

okey dokey. looks like i have a few options of varying degrees of cost. will have a quick look at the offsets to begin with, then maybe some new tyres. not sure that wings of this age can be rolled, especially as i can see the white primer under the wheel arch now

thanks for all the advice, guys.

 

[BRABUSS]

hi there mate your best bet is to

a) go see a man with a lathe and take of a couple of mill from the rear of the wheel
b) New tyres with a 30 size profile
c) get your arches rolled & or pulled....here is a company that will come to you at home or at work and do the job. arch rolling and flaring

hope this helps, id personally go for the lathe option then go about rolling if needed.

 

[Howard]

Just out them and buy some wheels that fit ...

 

[BRABUSS]

Just out them and buy some wheels that fit ...

lol option d)

 

[kth286]

The 124 320 coupe already has the front arches rolled as standard for fitment of optional 17 inch wheels (as per AMG options for 124 for example).

18 inch wheels tend to be too big for 124 coupe because the width of most 18 inch wheels is min of 8 inches.

The offset is absolutely critical and will need to be of order of 35 on my 7.5 inch wheels or less on wider wheels.

 

[Dieselman]

hi there mate your best bet is to

a) go see a man with a lathe and take of a couple of mill from the rear of the wheel

c) get your arches rolled & or pulled....here is a company that will come to you at home or at work and do the job. arch rolling and flaring

hope this helps, id personally go for the lathe option then go about rolling if needed.

Not bad prices for the flaring, £95 per pair...

Turning the wheel centre down is a good option, but only if there is enough metal left afterwards, it would need careful checking before, to make sure.