18inch Alloys What Is Going To Happen?

[Kal6383]

Hi All,

My tyres arrived today whilst I was at work.

Now have:

2 x 255/35/18 FALKEN 452
2 x 225/40/18 FALKEN 452
4 x AMG II 18inch Alloys



I will be getting these put on tommorow fingers crossed and now am starting to get a little jittery as the wheels and tyres look massive.

Will I need to make any modifications to the wheel arches, use spacers, or fiddle with offsets, or is a matter of straight on and thats it?

What will the ride be like?
Will the car go slower due to the weight of the wheels?

Is there anything I should know or do?

Thanks

Khalid

 

[Will]

Ride will be pretty hard - especially on a sport W202!
No spacers needed
No altering of offsets needed (not really an option unless you were machining the wheels down or something odd!)
The steering might be heavier, it'll tramline a bit worse, probably aquaplane a bit more in the wet. You'll also have to be very careful of kerbs when parking and potholes when driving!

But you'll like the look of it, there'll be less tyre roll and dry traction should be very good with the 255s at the back.

Always +ves/-ves with stuff like this. If you are happy I guess that's the main thing

Will

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
As Will, but you will find an increase in the fuel consumption, i have about 50 miles on a tank full

 

[LTD]

Just think of the smile ....... driving and looking at your car.

 

[Kal6383]

Cant wait...

Thank god I didnt need to get any spacers and bits etc.

 

[flango]

Mines a W208 but there is no real difference in fuel consumption if I run the 17's or 18's the speedo is actually more accurate with the 18's on than with the 17's which may account for it?

 

[bellman]

18" wheels

Hi ,fitted same size and type of tyres 2 months ago, initially thought ride more controlled but firmer,when tyres bedded in (approx 300miles )noticeably firmer,slightly uncomfortable in certain conditions but all forgiven for looks,mine on staggered set (9" rear,8" fronts) fill arches to perfection especially with Avangarde ride height,only drawback so far ,almost total lack of traction during recent snow(embarrassing!!!)
Cheers ......Paul

 

[Kal6383]

Hi All

Well the tyres are now on the wheels, and the wheels on the car.

First thing that comes to mind is the car needs to be lower, the front arches fill out nicely but the back looks odd, I think I could have got away with a much fatter tyre on the back even with 18inch wheels.

What will happen if I lower the car and how much do I lower it by in order to make the wheels look flush with the body instead of having gaps four fingers wide from the top of the tyre at the back.

Other things ive noticed are; the car is not as quick as with the 16's, and after trying a kwik fit and another tyre shop, apparently there is only one place localy in birmingham that can do the 'proper' alignment tracking other than the dealership.

 

[stevesey]

What will happen if I lower the car and how much do I lower it by in order to make the wheels look flush with the body instead of having gaps four fingers wide from the top of the tyre at the back.

4 fingers - the vertical gap I'm lucky if I can get 1 finger in the back (and 1.5 at the front). I'm running 225/50/16 all round 7J front 8J rear - see left and right had sig piccies below. Your diameters with those tyres on should be within a mm or two of mine, so if the verticla gap is 4 fingers something is seriously wrong. Are you sure someone hasn't fitted standard spring at some point??

What's the measurement from wheel centre to wheel arch on the flat (front and rear) there is a thread comparing various 202s here - I'll try and find it (also I have some meausrements from mine and few others).

 

[stevesey]

Here's the thread - http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/wheels-tyres/11832-get-those-tape-measures-out-3.html

Mine are measuring about 335mm front and 325mm rear.

 

[Kal6383]

Ive just had the springs changed on a service I had done, I told them to replace with exactly the same that was there prior and not second hand ones but new ones.

Come to think of it the car has seemed a bit higher when you sit in it.

How would I find out what springs my car should have and the numbers?

 

[stevesey]

Try here for spring details Êàòàëîã

Have fun - you need to work out the total points you have, then use the correct tbale for sport suspension to look up the pad and spring part numbers.

Best to do the meausrement first - from that other thread sports models are typically 335mm and elegance around 370mm (at the rear) - if yours is up near 370mm it would suggest incorrect springs.

Any chance of a photo as well.

 

[Kal6383]

Let me go take a pic and see if I can find a tape measure!

 

[Kal6383]

Made a gallery (well two pics) in the Album section as I cant paste it into here.

Link:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/members/kal6383-albums-kals-c230-k.html

 

[C230kompressor]

that is a big gap!
tho's do look nice tho
would be nice to see a pic from a distance
this is how my Kompressor sits on 16's
excuse the rust (sorted when i get time)

 

[Kal6383]

your pic above is how my car used to sit on 16s before the poxy service and spring change! ...first thing in the morning im going to the mechanics who did the work, I just need a way of finding out before hand if all sport models come with standard lowered springs. I did quiz the guy when I picked the car up that it looked high but he said that was the correct spring for the car and the parts where from KMS.

I rekon they have put elegance springs on or something.

Should I have had thicker tyres on the back instead of the 255?

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
Looking at your pics i don,t think they have replaced your springs with Sport springs, look at mine in the pic though mine are only 17"s rolling radius will be the same so the wheel arch gaps should be the same as my Sport (C230K) mine is certainly lower, you could get the spring pads checked to see if the car could be lowered by fitting thinner ones.

 

[C230kompressor]

your pic above is how my car used to sit on 16s before the poxy service and spring change! ...first thing in the morning im going to the mechanics who did the work, I just need a way of finding out before hand if all sport models come with standard lowered springs. I did quiz the guy when I picked the car up that it looked high but he said that was the correct spring for the car and the parts where from KMS.

I rekon they have put elegance springs on or something.

Should I have had thicker tyres on the back instead of the 255?

might just take time to settle down! but i would deffo see what they have to say

 

[C230kompressor]

that looks realy good andy

hope i can get mine to like like that once iv done a lil work to it

 

[Kal6383]

Ive done 700 miles in her since ive had her back... I would have thought it would have settled by now.

Also it explains why the traction light goes off when I put my foot down, its as if the back dosent dig in as much as it used to and the back wheels seem to want to spin more than normal.

But it definately has been feeling high to sit in, I thought the same that it may just be because the springs are new and its sitting higher but now that the alloys are on I can actually see the car is higher than it should be.

How will I know they have fitted the wrong springs for sure, and also how will I prove that it was on lowered springs originaly?

I was told that one of the springs on the back was broken, they may use that as a reason so say it was never on low springs.

What im hoping is that is for example, independant mechanic x calls up a parts supplier and gives them my vehicle details and age the parts should be the correct lowered original springs, if this is the case then they simply cannot get away with it, if however there are a multitude of different springs avaliable and sizes and any could go on the c230 k then they may wiggle!

I am so angry you wouldnt belive, have been looking at all the other w202 pics in the ablum and mine looks horrible