W204

See attached file. What do you think?

I'll probably sell the 18" AMG wheels option as soon as I get the car (C350 Sport w/ 18" AMG wheels w/ performance tires). If you're interested, send me a PM. Prefer Norcal or Socal area buyers for easier transaction.

Thanks!

AsianML

I love BBS wheels, I actually want to get a set for the ML, but I don't think they work very well for the W204.

abqhudson

IMHO BBS are great wheels. But, the ones shown did not seem to work very well.

rb23lb

i dont know bunch about rims... but why pay all that money for replacement 18" wheels? not even sure they look better, so I assume you must get better handling or performance?

why replace 18's with 18's, unless they look wayyy better or perform wayyy better????

MiKeSSw203

18's too small why bother.

W204

Hi folks, thanks a bunch for the feedback. A few reasons for the wheel swap:

1) I don't want the staggered setup. I'd like to be able to rotate my tires front-to-back for longer life/wear. The C350 I'm getting will be my new daily driver.

2) Weight. The 18" AMG wheels weigh 26lbs/wheel & 28.7lbs/wheel, front & back, respectively. The 18" BBS REs weigh 19.9lbs/wheel and I'm sure handling will be improved to a certain degree (less unsprung weight).

3) Looks. I actually like how the REs look. I'm a big fan of the BBS "mesh" look that the company started. I know, "old school", right?

KIRA

get some BB5 instead of BBS

Shake

18" is way to small. I'd rather keep the 18" factory rims rather than spend the money for 18" BBS rims. 19" rims don't weigh that much more and you will have much better looks. It doesn't go with teh car for some reason in that picture?

angeloxnet

not feeling the rims, i like either 5 stars or straight multi-spokes

MBE50003

if you like the BBS mesh look, then go for the LM...thats the classic look and will never get old no matter what. get those in a diamond graphite color red centers = pure s e x ... or you can get reps, but reps arent my thing

W204

Hi MBE, unfortunately BBS doesn't have the fitment & offset for the W204

I agree, the LMs are classic!

spotless

+1 for LM.

Anything over 18", you are sacrificing too much of handling for looks, IMO. I'd never go over 17" unless the car was specifically designed by the manufacturer to run larger/wider rims. Unlike *****, bigger isn't always the better in this case.

W204

Thank you and LMAO at your last sentence

aowhaus

I've always love BBS wheels, very clean and classic looking.
I have a set of 17" BBS RK as my winter/snow tire set I will be putting on soon. At 17 lbs. per wheel it's nice and light.


If I had lots of money to drop I would like to get the RS-GT:

W204

Good choices, I've also put them on every car I've owned.

oblu

Had 19" CH's on my last car, not up to RE snuff, but I understand the mesh look. I'm with you there. Don't bother replacing 18" for 18", waste of time and money. Sure unsprung weight reduction is nice, but not $4k nice. Most BBS styles never really work, imo, with Mercs; they just look odd and out of place. Like wearing running shoes with a suit. REs would work for a w203, but they look strange on a w204.

Also, IMO, 225's on the rear of a 350 are too skinny. I already have traction problems in my 300 with the 255s. Rotating tires is neat and all I guess, but it's not high on my priority list.

oblu

Back in my day they used to say the same thing about 15" wheels ... and a lot of people said that tires on 17" wheels were 'rubber bands'. The size of choice was a 195/55 or a 205/50 ... which now look like toon tires, but back then they were way low profile. I can remember a lot of so called automotive experts claiming anything over 18" and a wheel would start to become structurally unsound.

Kind of like how back in the 1800s scientists claimed the human body could only take traveling at a velocity of 37mph.

It's really all about the rolling circumference that the car is geared for and the tolerances the suspension designers worked with. Anything over a +2 is for looks. Often times if you check the tire sizes, you can get some meaningful increase in rubber by going +1 or +2 without screwing with the rolling circum like you would if you changed tire sizes on the original wheels; often the right sidewall ratio isn't available.

W204

Thanks for the input - would you mind explaining the traction problems? I'm concerned because the C350 I'm ordering supposedly has all the latest traction control gizmos built-in. What tires are you running? What's your driving style? Thanks again.

W204

This is a continuation of https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=221405 - showed the pics of the BBS to the girlfriend and she was lukewarm to the BBS. Showed her the OZ wheels and she loved them.

Without further ado, see attached file. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

AsianML

I like these better.

Mr_Mojo

I had 18" OZ Superleggeras on a Honda S2000. Fantastic quality wheels! Would recommend.

AkaSigFreak

Congrads on the new car. It's just my opinion- but I liked BBS rims until the became a common option on Toyota Camrys and Subarus. I think they ruined the prestige of the wheels. Have you looked at Lowenharts, TSWs, Mandrus or HREs?

W204

Thanks, still working with the dealer on ordering the car. I'll look at the wheels you recommended. I don't like TSWs because I had them on an old car and they were too soft. I'll also be looking at Fikse, some buddies of mine who have BMWs love them.