depending if you have the ss model or not you'll want at least a 5mm spacer but it all depends on fitting the wheels and see if it hits the calipers since all wheels are different. the only probably with being lowered on 9" in front is making sure you dont hit the coilover spring. I learned the hard way by lowering it too much and not having large enough spacers and had some rubbing going on luckily i have a range of spacers in my tool drawers so I put larger spacers on and pulled the fender a bit more.

 

well what you should actually do is place the oem lug bolt in the oem wheel and measure how much it sticks out from the mounting point to see how much lug bolt you need to stick out the new wheel. Then using the same oem lug bolt place it in the new wheel and measure it, from that you'll have to add or subtract to get it to match how much it sticks out from the oem wheel. from there you'll have have the length bolt you'll need without spacers. From that you can add the additional length to accommodate the spacers. Also make sure whether the wheel takes ball seat or acorn. the wrong seat will end up in trouble.

What I have and other members like tommy and roland have is that we did a stud conversion. Its only about 100 for all the studs depending on what kind of studs you want and the length. 100 is more in the range of the race black zinc coated studs with bullet end, thats what I have. There are cheaper ones that are just basic zinc studs that sell for 1.75-2.00 a stud so around 40 or so then just get some nice lug nuts.

heres how mine look like

 

Wow that's another idea.

Two last questions and ill die happy. Do you think the 18's will look ridiculous at stock height?

Running different width spacers won't mess with the 4matic right? I only have to worry about the height of the rotational mass and different rotating rates that will damage the diff right? 15s in front and 20s in back won't hurt my driveline correct?

Thanks again for everything. Picked up the rims today, looking to buy the spacers tonight.

 

correct, as long as the wheel are rotating the same you'll be ok, so you can actually get staggered wheels you'll just have to calculate the tires so they have the same rotation. a lot of audi guys i know run staggered setups.

 

Thank you sir, ill order those spacers now. Think I should hold off on mounting them until I'm lowered?

 

its all up to you

 

I don't have the ss model, I appreciate your help man.

 

so you'll be ok with your offset but I'd push it down to +25 or so just to make sure your clear the suspension because if you dont plan to stretch tires then itll rub. also with 9" width in front you'll probably rub the liner depending how low you are.

 

+25 all around or just the fronts? What tire size do you recommend, with the slightest stretch?

 

dont know what the width is out back or are you doing 9" all around? my pic on my sig is when I had 225/40/18 in front you can see the stretch. I have 215/40/18 now because i'm so low i was rubbing the coilovers and rubbing the liner, but its all good now with that size. I wouldnt do more than 225 because if you do 235 on 9" and being lowered you're gonna rub quite a bit when you turn.

 

oh just read you're gonna do the square setup so you can +25 all around since youre fenders are rolled and out back you have about 12.7mm difference than most that run 9.5". so you can probably run close to +20 in back depending if you want to pull a little and grind some tabs down but +25 all around will be ok. I have 10" +20 in back but had to do a lot of rolling and pulling so with 9" in back with +20 you might be able to get away with it. but if you dont want to do that much work since the original offset is +35 you can do 10mm spacer in front and 12mm spacer in rear just to push the rear out just a hair more than the fronts to kind of even out the look.

 

Sounds good man thanks

 

For the rears should I run 225/40/18 or what do you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

Are you looking for the stretched look? For comfort and a mild stretch I'd do 225/40 front and 235/40 rear

 

Just finished mounting my kmc rockstars upfront with 15mm spacers. Factory lugs penetrate the factory hubs 15mm's and are 1.5" in shank length, that's 38.1mms. So, running 15mm spacers up front I need 5 more mm's with my rims and 10mm's in the rear on 20mm spacers. 43 and 48mm lugs needed respectively.

Am i ok running 50mm lugs out back and 45mm upfront? 2mm's over what's needed? Is that safe? Or am I better off running 3mm under what's needed?

I'm thinking under is safer for the e brake setup, but over is better for safety. Will 2mm over needed cause e brake damage?

I can get 20 shipped for around $43 will I be able to beat that anywhere?

 

Most OEM w203 shank length is 39.9 mm or 40mm rounded. So just round up and do 45 & 50 and you'll be ok.

 

If you have ballseat lugs I have 50 and 45mm lugs laying around I'll sell you. Just make sure the wheels accept those

 

Of course, it appears that the new rims are conical seat. I emailed the company to verify though.

 

You guys choose. I have a 2007 c230 ss. White, stock setup. Which rims do you guys like? What kind of spacers (if any) would I need for these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190818417922

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330865210951

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290881758980?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D290881758980%26_rdc%3D1
I'm a total noob. Any and all opinions will be greatly appreciated. I have to make my purchase tomorrow, and I'm lost.

 

Always been a fan of the matte black look.

 

the first wheel link you'll need at least 10mm spacers to get it into the +25-+38 offset range I recommend for those who dont want to roll their fenders or get spacers. since you have the larger calipers it all depends on the wheel design and how they designed the spokes and wheel hub to see if it clears the calipers. Some wheels you can get to clear with +35 offset in front and some you'll have to get spacers to clear the calipers like the CLS500 wheels. So what I recommend is getting the wheels you want then test fitting them to see if you need spacers or not.

ALSO... MAKE SURE THE LUG BOLTS ARE THE CORRECT LENGTH AND NOT TOO LONG OR IT'LL DAMAGE THE BRAKING SYSTEM. ALSO MAKE SURE THE WHEELS ACCEPT EITHER BALLSEAT (WHICH COME STANDARD ON OUR CARS) OR ACORN (TAPERED).

To do a proper measure place your OEM lug bolt in the OEM wheel and measure how much of the lug bolt sticks out the back side of the wheel. Then take the same lug bolt and place it in the new wheels and measure how much sticks out. You'll either have to add or substract to get it to the same amount as the oem lug sticks out the oem wheel. from there you can adjust it to the total shaft length of the oem lug which for our cars is 39.9mm shank length. So say you need and extra 5mm of lug to get it to stick out the proper amount you'll need a 45mm lug bolt or if you 5mm less then you'll want a 35mm shank length bolt. That'll give you the bolt length you need and if you add spacers just add the spacer size to the bolt length you need, so if you need 45mm length but add 10mm spacers then you'll need a 55mm shank length bolt.

I recommend members do a stud conversion which cost 100 or less depending on what studs you want, then you'll never have to worry about buying different length lug bolts and just need to get the correct lug nuts to fit the wheels. One of the easiest and best mods I did since I was changing wheels out so much. I have a pic of my conversion a couple of post above or on the previous page

 

19x9.5+20 225/35/19

19x9.5+5 235/35/19

I know it's a CLK. Only reason I'm posting is because we share the same suspension setup and the majority of the W209 people don't really care for this look I guess.

 

sweet jones, how is the ride of a 235/35/19 on a 9.5" wheel??? have you ever gone with a 255/30/19? If you have how would you compare the two???

Thanks!

 

Great news. The eBay seller sent my bolts 4mm longer than I needed. I need 45mm bolts and he sent me 48.9mm bolts. Is 4mm long enough to cause damage?!

Thanks for the help guys. I have no problem sending the set back for the proper length but if I can use them safely might as well keep them.

Thanks

 

The only real way to tell is to carefully install the bolts and turn the wheels by hand and see if you hear any noise from the bolt hitting the parking brake machanism. There is no problem on the front. Mine are way long on the front.