Well I just put on the 18'' ASA ST4's I got from tirerack on my ride...and I love the look. So much more aggressive and it even seems to be a smoother ride...Just got back from my local area shop where I had them mount my new rims and I noticed a few things..

1) My stock Continental tires showed uneven wear - my right rear tire was bald, my left rear tire has some tread left but it seems like most of the wearing came from the outer portion, my 2 front tires were about even but once again it seems like most of the wear was coming from the outer portion of the tire. Should I get an alignment done? I want to preserve my new tires as long as possible and I intentionally did not get a staggered setup so that I can rotate my tires every 5,000 miles or so.

2) After I put my new rims on the car, my car felt very light to handle - the steering became more sensitive and more responsive - very much unlike how my stock tires felt. Is this normal or is something wrong?

3) My front left brake pad is wearing faster than my front right brake pad and what sucks is that the actual brake pad sensor is on my front right brake pad...the wearing of the brake pad was happening in the inner part of the brake pad / it showed uneven wear because the outer part of the brake pad still looked good....so it looks like I have to get new brake pads for the front - my rear brakes still looked good thanks god. Plus they said that my rotors were a little groovy but that I shouldn't have to replace them - just have them smoothed down. (By the way I have 22,400 miles) So MB of Pompano charges like $260 for new front brake pads including a new sensor....so I should go with aftermarket brake pads or OEM? I heard that there are not many good aftermarket brake pads for a 2005 C230 SS..is this true?

I am super happy about my new rims but I want to take care of this brake business..I have a service B coming up in 2 weeks and I still haven't decided where to get it done either...

Thanks in advance for your input....

 

in my opinion/experience and i am not a tire/rim expert..i would definately do an alignment it won't cost much to do in comparison to having to change tires..and something simple like a pothole could set off the alignement..so i would do it..

as far as your car feeling responsive...that would be because you got bigger rims..ie more metal in contact with the pavement as opposed to before when you were most likely running 17's

and finally as far as your brake situation..i'm not sure what caused it..but if you have the drilled rotors you can not resurface them..they have to be replaced..and if you have uneven brake wear chances are you should change your rotors aswell..where you take the car is entirely up to you , i usually take it to the dealer just so i have a record of it when i'm selling the car..

Personally, not a big fan of aftermarket brake pads.

hope this helps,

 

Thanks for the feedback! I am going to get a wheel alignment done tomorrow morning and the handling is much improved..still have not figured out what I am going to do with my front brakes??

 

no problem, anytime...BTW what do you think of your sprint booster..i have one on order for my automatic...

 

uneven wear in tires can be caused by few reasons: 1. alignment is off, but highly unlikely given that your car is stock. 2. tire's not properly inflated which can cause wear in the middle when the pressure is too high and wear on the edge when the pressure is too low. 3. front tire wear on the outer is caused by the MB suspension design which the front has slight positive camber.

the reason you are feeling that the new wheel/tire combo's more responsive is probably because 1. your stock setup wasn't properly inflated which under-inflated tire can make your steering heavier. 2. the shop over-inflated your new tires. 3. weight of the new rim might be less than the stocks. 4. you now have less sidewall which in terms means less movement in the sidewall before the wheel starts to turn.

 

I love the SB, either it or I have adapted a bit so the car is a lot easier to drive in stop and go traffic...when I first installed the SB it was fun, really had to learn how to drive the car all over again. Overall a great mod! I am excited for you to get it...

Frank W - Thank you for your feedback, I have been trying to get an alignment done the past few days (just to be safe) but 3 local shops have told me that they can't do an alignment on my car due to the new rims not having a big enough lip?? I guess my rims don't have a gap big enough to clamp something down in order to have the car aligned. Very odd....really don't know where else to go to get this done.

I have my new tires at 35 psi front and 32 psi rear...as recommended by Luke form tirerack...don't know what it is but the handling feels better.

 

If you can find a squeak or problem that will have the dealership taking apart the suspension to replace parts you can have the dealership do the alignment for you for free. I did this when I had the front thrust arm replaced under warranty.

not having lips on the rim should not affect the alignment process. most newer shops have the right alignment clamps. sounds like they just didn't want to try or didn't know what they are doing.

35 and 32 seems low. on my 19" I usually have them up around 38-39.

 

That is a good idea...maybe I can tell them that the car keeps pulling to the right (which it has always done since the 1st day) - and maybe I can get them to do a free alignment!

 

Thanks, me too...I have only heard positive things about this product, hopefully it won't be too harsh in the snow