amdeutsch

Do you mean spacer when you are talking shim? If you do then from your description they may have put on the incorrect spacers. Pics?

Dog_Legg

yes spacer I have no pic. but the spacer holes are bigger then the bolt holes and I think that the rim is spining them and putting the rim in a bind

e1000

wow that sounds dangerous

amdeutsch

Sounds like a mismatch. If you bought the vehicle new, i.e. in the dealer took of the OEM wheels and installed aftermarket ones then you might have a point with them. Now, if 'new to you' is 'preowned to the dealer' then you will have to face other issues. GL

Dog_Legg

thats what I am going throught right now. They put them on the car that I bought new under the idea that it had benz rims that the car was straight from the factory. New car less then 10 miles on it. They will make it good but I want to know if its the spacer that needs to be the correct size or they need to give me the rim with the correct wheel spacing as I thought they gave me

amdeutsch

Ok, lets start over.

1) We need pics of the rims?
2) What is the tire size F & R
3) Did you ever see another c230 on their lot or other dealer's lot that had this combo?

You're talking generalities. Without the above real advice is a crapshoot.

Dog_Legg

well I know that its a crap shoot with out pics and I know that the offset should be the right one for this app. for it to work properly I guess my ? should have been should spacers fit the bolt size or can they be lager then the bolt. and I can't show the pic because the car is at the dear now that is where they towed it and took off the rims and I went to them to see the problem for myself. I was not aware of the spacers at all I know that if it had factory rims on it ( proper offset for the car ) I would not be asking any of these questions.

Dog_Legg

Has anyone had this problem? or heard of it? Not getting a warm fuzzy feeling about this car right now.

Dog_Legg

I am going to have a sit down meeting with the sales manager, service manager, and see what they are going to do to make the car that they sold to my family safe. I just want as much feedback from trusted pepole 1st so that I can go in prepared and not get snowed. Thanks for your time

iriefreek

When you meet with the dealer tell them you were under the impression that you were being given OEM Mercedes wheels and you want - require - nothing less. OEM wheels for your car come with the correct offset and will not have spacers, shims etc.... if all fails tell them you will bring this up with MBUSA.

Moviela

Mercedes wheels are "hub centric" unlike other cars that use the bolt circle of the wheel to center the assembly.
For this reason the center portion of the hub on the car must fully mesh with the wheel center socket. It is important that the wheel be machined so that the center socket is properly centered. It should be a tight fit.

Mercedes prohibits wheel spacers because they can cause the wheels to be eccentric, making your Benz a clown car. They also prevent full penetration of the threads on the hub.

Mercedes also uses a special shape head on the wheel bolts, and the style has changed over the years. There is a special anticorrosion coating on the bolts that eliminates the need for a friction modifier like anti-seize paste unnecessary. It is called Dacromet, and here is more info if interested:

http://www.metal-coatings.com/mcii/pdf/Dacromet.pdf

Now for my brilliant speculation, since I can't see the wheels, and don't know the dimensions of the products you are using. First thing I want to know about is the bolts. Are they Mercedes bolts, or the ones that came with the aftermarket wheels, from China? Does the dealer have a tire shop, or do they have a local shop send a boarder brother with a truck to do their tire work? If it is the tire shop guy, he probably uses what ever bolt he has with a spacer to attach the wheel. He probably uses an impact wrench set to 120 ft/lbs to attach the wheel, and over stretches the bolts. Cheap bolts with lower than the required tinsel strength will break soon after being installed that way. The wheel might be shifting around on the axial center of the hub banging into the side of the bolt, shearing them.

The correct wheel and bolts will center the wheel on the hub, and prevent the wheel from shifting while driving. The correct bolts will be the right length for the wheel. The correct torque varies by model, but generally should be in the 56 to 72 ft/lb range for aluminium wheels. The wheels should be placed on the car using a long smooth stud threaded into one bolt hole. The stud allows one to push the wheel onto the hub and be aligned to accept the bolts. After the other bolts are installed by hand, remove the stud and fill the last hole. Then use a click or dial style torque wrench tighten the wheels to 75% of their final value. Use a star pattern so the wheel is tightened evenly on the hub. Now is a good time to turn the wheel by hand and check clearances inside and outside. Then tighten the wheels to the final torque specification. Why two steps? Good question. When tightening a fastener you are actually stretching it. When you do that it heats up a bit, and becomes longer. If you turn the bolt to the final torque value in one stroke, the bolt gets hot from the stretching, and when it cools down, guess what? It shrinks, naturally, but now it is tighter than your specified torque. DOH! Now you can see how bolts get broken, especially when taken to 120 ft/lb as rapidly as an impact wrench does the job. The hand torque two step method allow the heat to equalize, and results in an applied torque much closer to the specification.

One more thing, if the dealer has a N2 generator, have them replace the air in the tires with nitrogen. The larger molecue does not sneak out as fast as that nasty old air, and since it is inert, it won't corrode the wheel or rust the steel belts in the tire. The tires will last longer, and you won't need to correct the inflation so often.

johnand

Moviela pretty much covered it as usual

But, I just wanted to point out that if your wheels require spacers to fit properly, you ABSOLUTELY need hubcentric spacers:



Notice how the holes are the right size (Not too big like the ones you have), and the raised portion in the center allows the hub of the wheel to support the load of the wheel and not the studs.

SeaCoupe

Something is HUGELY fishy here. I don't know if it is the info you are giving us, or what the "dealer" did to you.

What is the name of the dealer? Were you charged for these afterarket wheels. I assume yes. If all of this is true, the dealer is going to be shaking in his boots about all this. Think liability here. Especially if they sold other cars like this.

However, not knowing you, I think this is all BS. Reason being. if that rim was loose, the driver would have felt it, and heard it. I don't care if it is a new driver with little to know mechanical knowledge. A loose wheel vibrates and flaps against the hub. Especially at speed. You mention none of this.

If you are legite, I hope you get this fixed to your satisfaction. However, I' calling

E

FrankW

not necessary unless all the bolts are loose. i drove to SoCal Euro and back on without knowing with two stolen bolts from my rear driver side wheel and out of the 3 left there were only 1 that was really secure. It felt no different than having five bolts on, however it did send a chill up my spine when I was putting on the BBS spacers and found out.

SeaCoupe

Bump!

yeuchau

still no picture

Dog_Legg

sorry I was out of state and was unable to check this thread. sorry still no pic, still no car they still have it. I had a meeting with the general manager today and they say that the rims are AMG. but they have a spacer ( this means not the correct offset ) I will not take this car back without the rims being the correct offset I feel that the spacer is the problem and the above post confirms it and I thank you for it. I will try and keep you informed.

Dog_Legg

Yes the wheel did shake and feel "funny" this is my wifes car and she was driving. Moviela you make the most sense and it will help.

Dog_Legg

The info on the spacers from rouge is a big help and might solve this problem thanks again

DamonAnthony

Spacers are illegal in OZ and now i know why. I have spacers and I'm changing my wheels on the W203 after reading this. Insist on factory wheels, factory alloys OK only if they come on a W203 merc, from factory. If that wheel had come off......and they want to bodge it by putting a better spacer on??????

My 2 cents

Phil

ctC230K

bought the car new with aftermarket rims? say no more, I call right there. no dealership would sell a NEW car with AFTERMARKET rims.

in before the ban!

e1000

There are aftermarket wheels that fit perfectly on the car without spacers.

drexappeal

If the rims are AMG's, it should've stated it on your initial invoice. I don't know how you could pay for the car without it being listed.

If that truly is the case, that's cause for liability and law suit and possibly a car upgrade!

If you're leaving out important facts, then obviously I would have to fall in with the folks that call b.s.

ctC230K

^ drex, just ban and save us all the nonsense

Dog_Legg

called MBUSA went to dealer and got photos asked for model #"s for the rims.( I know that they are not oem ) they could not produce any mb serial #'s or model #'s. call it bs or what you want this forum has helped me. so if you want to ban me do it but thanks
Pics of the problemo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...heelspacer.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...spacerbolt.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8.../backofrim.jpg