huir

Hi everyone. I have been wanting to throw in a set of aftermarket 18 or 19'' wheels on my car since the first day I owned this car. But I am kinda worried about the quality of those aftermarket wheels. The main concern I have is the aftermarket wheels might be easy to crack or bent when I drive over some bad roads. The C63 replica rims look great but I can't judge its quality since I never had one.
I have seen many fellow W204 owners on this forum have many wonderful wheels on your cars. Also, is a four-wheel alignment necessary after changing the wheels?
Can anyone share your experience on the aftermarket wheels? Thanks.

ZeroSeVen

19's would look good on a C300... Im using 19's right now.

Make sure you buy a reputable brand that has a good solid history. Ill-fitting wheels can easily decrease the performance of your car or actually pose a safety threat to you and others on the road. A 4-wheel alignment is a must if you will be changing all 4 wheels and tires because it will change the overall configuration of the car.

I currently have 19's Petrol Faust paired with Nitto NT555, I have also used TSW's before and had zero complaints or problems.

There's plenty of sites such as tirerack.com, wheelsnext.com, wheelmax.com., wheelfire.com which offers a wheel configurator/ fitment guide. Don't skimp on quality

Sportstick

Replaced OE staggered (7.5" front/8.5" rear) 17" wheels with Powerwheelspro.com AMG style #810 17x8 at all four corners. Offset of 44 allowed for maintaining the same wheel to body relationship. I disagree that this changes the configuration of the car such that an alignment is needed. Experience has been excellent so far, with no change in directional stability. The reduced unsprung mass of keeping the same size wheel with this new design has actually reduced the already-good ride harshness even further.

omgitselaine

We've had our aftermarket amg replica's for about a year and a half now and thus far it's been good. We do try to avoid the NYC roads as best as possible but we've driven over a handful of potholes that may be check the rim the second we stopped and wheewwww it's held up ....... keeping my legs crossed oopppsss meant fingers crossed

BerBer63

I cracked factory 19s so I don't think it really matters as long as they are a quality brand.

Sportstick

....and this can be supported if the wheels or manufacturing plant show TUV, JWL, or ISO9001 qualification.

j0wa

i think this question depends on what type of rims you get. Forged vs Non forged. 1 piece vs 3 piece, the size of the rims and tires. Alignment isn't necessarily if you are switching to after market rims and tires that have a similar overall diameter as your stock rims and tires. Unless you lower the car, i think alignment is not mandatory.

huir

Thank you guys for all the input. So what wheel brand do you guys recommend ? And what's the price range for a set of good quality wheels+tires?

Sportstick

I paid $420 for my Powerwheels Pro 17", which I consider a very good value....that's for the set, not each wheel.
Go to tirerack.com for great tire deals on your preferred rubber!

huir

Nice price. I will go check it out. Wondering if I can still use the OEM tires if I go with 17''. The OEM tires only have 3K miles on it.

Sportstick

You can, but they are fairly poor tires...use the savings to get great tires! Wherever you purchase, be sure to get an appropriate offset!

huir

Thanks for the suggestion. I just don't know how to deal with the OEM wheels and tires if I replace them. I don't get any storage space for them. Maybe I will sell them to the wheel store if they want.

Amaxm

All depends on what you hit and how you hit it... This mishap got me last week. These are (were), Mille Miglia EV/S 17x8, not cheap in price or quality. I hit a rock about the size of a football doing 40mph. Tried to have them straightened, but they had a twist in them. I got $29.50 for them from the recyclers...

JimPap

Big ouch!!!

I am Jeff

Did you get the MB tire and wheel package?