kamilclk430

Hey Guys

Got my new wheels but I'm working some fitment issues out right now so that I can get it down just right. I lowered the car yesterday with my buddy Chris, other than finding the OEM rear link which took a while lol The install was very easy and quick. Here are the results of the lowering




My new wheels are here already just testing out spacers to make sure fitment will be right (wheels are 20x10 all around ET40)




SO HERE ARE ALL THE NEW UPDATES ON THE CAR

WHEELS INSTALLED AND SPACERS INSTALLED (15mm front and 20mm back)







VIM INSTALLED:


LED LICENSE PLATE BULBS INSTALLED:

kamilclk430

Here is a pic of the car with 15mm spacer up front and 20mm spacer in the rear with new wheels.

Mike5215

Wow! Looks great. Any vibration issues with the spacers?

hemmissey

Those looks good brother. I can't wait to put my 21" wheels on as well and lower it.

kamilclk430

Thank You. No vibration at all spacers are 66.6 so they fit right over the hub and wheel rests on it perfectly.

Thanks Man. I wanted to go 21 but liked the look of these and they dont make them in 21. I think 21 is the perfect size wheel for the w221 S make sure to post pics as soon as you get them on.

ramos226

kamil, What tire size is that? I recently traded my 07 for an 09 4matic that came with OEM 20" AMG wheel package. I'm trying to figure out what size spacer I should get for these OEM 20x9 with 45 offset. Also, Do you have any profile shots of front & rear with new wheels? Might help me decide on thickness. Thanks...

kamilclk430

245/35/20 all around. Ill post pics of side tomorrow for you

ramos226

Thanks... I'll check back..

bmetz5

Looks Good Man I'm supposed to get Mine Lowered Friday Morning, Is 400.00 a good price for the Advanced performance adjustable lowering links ,installation and 4 wheel alignment???

Mike5215

That sounds about right. A couple hundred for the links and another couple for the alignment. In my experience it's better to play around with the links for awhile until you're settled on a ride height, and then do the alignment once it's where you want it. You can adjust the links in your driveway easily with a floor jack without removing the wheels so its easy to experiment with different looks and ride stiffness.

hemmissey

Can't you use the star system to lower the car instead of links? I heard that the links puts stress on the bags? Idk. I'm just doing research.

Mike5215

Your car has links now. They're a fixed length and they connect each corner of the suspension to a lever on a little electronic sensor near the strut. The car uses the reading from the sensors to "know" the height of the car and make adjustments to maintain that height.

Lowering links are identical to OEM links except their length is adjustable. Increasing the length of the link puts the sensors into a position that causes them to report that the car is sitting higher than it actually is, and the car responds by lowering itself.

Lowering modules work in the same way, but rather than tricking the sensors mechanically, they trick them by changing the way the car interprets the data the sensors produce, and the car responds by lowering itself.

Using STAR is just another way to trick the car into misinterpreting the sensor data

The net effect on the suspension itself is identical, in that whatever method you use, there's a lower volume of air in the struts. Links are inexpensive and can be adjusted by you. Modules are expensive and adjustable by you. The STAR is a one shot deal. If you want a different height its another programming session. Modules or a STAR drop may affect your warranty. Links can be popped off and replaced with the OEM links in about fifteen minutes if need be.

Frankly I love how a drop looks and hate how it destroys the ride quality, but that's a personal choice.

hemmissey

Mike Thank you so much. I was looking into the Ghost links. What brand are u running?

Mike5215

Ghost links are fine. I used Adjustable Air Ride links on my 220. Probably won't drop the 221.

kamilclk430

Mike covered everything i would say about the car as far as dropping it and cost. I will post pics from the side today

kamilclk430

Here you go Ill take some more once the weather clears up these are the ones I had taken the day of install. Since than I lowered the front just a bit more and the wheel went a bit inside up top cause of camber. Ride is smooth with no issues.

ramos226

Thanks kamil , This helped alot. I'll probably go 12mm Front & 20mm Rear, just based on my setup.

hemmissey

More shots of the rear wheel? And how low is that compared to stock? Looks nice

Mike5215

Curious as to the use of spacers to lower the offsets vs getting wheels with the offset you're going for. Were lower offset wheels not available in the style you wanted?

kamilclk430

No Problem post pics when you are all done

I will post some more pics this weekend. I will try to take pictures to show exact fitment.

I bought these wheels off a forum member and got a great deal. Even if you putrchase these new you would still need apacers cause offsets are high on these wheels.

ramos226

yeah.. I'm pissed I can't use my Brabus 21" wheels that were on my last s550. They were my summer shoes & were only mounted for 2 years. They've been sitting in my garage for over a year now. They're staggered & I don't want to take a chance causing damage with this 4matic.

Mike5215

I must be missing something. What's the offset on the wheel?

Mike5215

You can run them! It's not the rim widths that can cause an issue, it's just having too great a variance in rolling wheel diameters (the diameter of the rim plus the tire) between the front and rear axles. Just be careful when choosing tires to keep the variance under 3%.

Here's a couple of "safe" 21" fitments for your 4Matic:

F 21x9 255/30R21 R 21x10.5 285/30R21 (Variance of 2.60%)

And safer:

F 21x9 255/35R21 R 21x10.5 285/30R21 (Variance of 1.05%)


www.1010tire.com has a nice online calculator that lets you experiment with different front vs rear tire sizes and reports the difference in rolling diameters.

kamilclk430

Its 4 wheels at 20x10 offset is 40. With a 15mm spacer up front offset now is 25 and rear is a 20mm spacer so offset now is 20. I think that is correct.

Thanks

kamilclk430