Indifilmz

Hi all,

I just got a set of new rims put onto my car - rims that I thought would fit well, but unfortunately, they seem to stick out....

What I am wondering is:

1) are they sticking out too much? (i.e. is it illegal in Australia Qld)
2) what could be my options in 'fixing' the issue (i.e. not having them stick out).

I've heard that perhaps lowering the car could help sell that they are more flush with the guards?

Also, I might be able to 'machine' the wheels to get them flush... not an option I'd be too keen on as I am not sure of safety aspects (insurance etc).

Lastly, is it enough that i get some mud flaps (not sure if that is what they are called) for the rear and front - to 'fix' the issue?

The car in question is w204 2011 C200.

The OEM wheels on this vehicle are:

Front: 17x7.5 ET 47
Rear: 17x8.5 ET 58

The new rims are 19" AMG wheels

Front: 19x8.5 ET 35
Rear: 19x9.5 ET 38

Please see the pictures for how much they are sticking out.

Thanks

cashbrown8

I would be shocked if you were pulled over for that. I personally think they look nice. More aggressive but as for mud flaps..... Please don't do it

Indifilmz

wow yeah, mud flaps does sound bad when I re-read my post... but what I meant was something along the lines of what the member Sportstick did - which is you can see here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...g-17-reps.html

he calls them splash guards and says he bought them here: http://www.carmats4u.com.au/

I suppose I am just wondering if the offset is an issue on my car (i.e. legal) and if it is illegal, what my options are??

Splash/Mud Flap/Guards seem the least invasive way to fix the 'legality' of it... if it in fact does that!?

cashbrown8

Not bad looking... still think it looks great the way it is iMO

ChitownBabyBenz

They don't stick out too much. What I would do is to roll the fenders and drop the car just a bit to kill that wheel gap. This way you going to have nice aggressive stance with flush wheels but nothing crazy to scrape all over the place.

xaran

Your new rims dont have enough offset. From what Ive seen you need at least 45 to stay close to a correct fit. this is one of the reasons its hard to sell take off OEM rims because the amount of off set on our OEM is too much for most other cars and they need to use spacers to move them out.

But in your case you need to move them inward. You cant... do not even consider machining the wheels to move them in. Hopefully you could not find a machine shop that would do it anyway, its dangerous and will cause failure.

IMO your options are live with it, sell the rims and get the correct sizes or probably the least expensive is find a body shop that will "roll" your fenders a little to bring them out 0.5" to match the wheels/tires. Dont lower it unless you have the fenders done.

I just looked at your pictures again and IMO the wheels look to large as well with to much gap and out too far. At the least you need to lower it and roll the fenders or better yet Id just sell them and get the right size.

Baker250

Like xaran said to have a flush fitment a et 45 would be good. Thats what im running on mine. If your not a big fan of how it looks you could always shave the offset to a higher one. Ive had made wheels shaved to a higher offset and never had a problem with them

Baker250

*many not made

vic viper

If I was a cop id pull you over just to tell you that it looks horrible.

MDMercedesGuy

I'm pretty certain that he asked about the legality, not opinions on appearance. There are plenty of us who would say the same thing abut Vossens...

vic viper

I like the wheels, its the protruding part that looks bad, and it will most likely rub if lowered or loaded.

Indifilmz

I like the wheels, hence the thread & question re: legality of it and options on getting it 'flush'. Ideally Id like to know where it sits in AU QLD police book before taking any measures. Certainly, getting rid of the wheels and buying new once is not an ideal situation ....

Thank you MDMercedes Guy for keeping it on topic.

Rolling fenders was not something I was even aware of till now - so thanks for putting that into a mix ChitownBabyBenz!

Guys that fitted the tyres on, told me they felt this is 'border line legal' as it is... but they weren't sure. They reckon that by lowering the vehicle, the wheels would 'appear' to stick out less. Not sure of the theory behind this.... !?

Perhaps if in addition to lowering the car I was to roll the fenders, well, maybe that would do the job..

Does anyone know how much I can gain by rolling the fenders?

Has anyone had it done on their w204 that I can see some pictures off?

Ill contact some body shops and try and get a quote, from someone who wont do it with a hammer, and see where that lands. If anyone knows of a place to contact in Brisbane AU let me know.

Meantime, i tried to take another picture of the wheels last night.... its so hard to know if I am standing 100% behind - to see how much wheels stick out.... Its really no where near as much as what I've seen on this very same forum - https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-wheels-5.html but i suppose most of those cars are not in Australia and laws vary around the world?

Hence my main question - does anyone know if this is 'legal' or not in AU

vic viper

I would ask the Aussie equivalent of the MOT test, they should know if its legal or not.


On the other hand the risk of getting caught for such a thing should be very minimal.
Rolling you fenders that much will alter the shape of the fenders and it may look wierd, Worth knowing is that it would not be easy to undo.

timsvr

That would be a fender "pull" and it requires body work.

ChitownBabyBenz

Lowering changes your car's wheel alignment. Usually the car's "negative camber" and "toe-in" are increased. This way the top of the wheel/tire will slide in nicely under the fender. I don't think just shorter springs will do. You're most likely looking at coilovers purchase.

Now go to your car and look on the inside your fenders - there is an sharp edge on the inside. Rolling makes that edge flat/disappear preventing damage to sheet metal caused by the tire hitting it.

Here's a YouTube video to give you idea what it exactly is all about.
Rolling fenders
Pulling fenders

I hope it sheds some light on what options you have. Good luck.

Sentosa

Those splash guards only fit the AMG sport model which Sport has in that pic. By the look of your car it is a Luxury/Classic model.

IMO in Queensland they would be illegal if they stick out beyond the body of the car. The best way around it would be to get wheels with the proper offsets.

Indifilmz

thanks guys!

I've enquired with a guard rolling company here in Brisbane and this was their reply

"I probably wouldn’t recommend trying to flare the guards because the bumpers on both front and rear attach too high to the guard so you would just end up with the top section bulging out until it meets the bumpers."

Seems like that is not an option for me any more....

I've also been told to contact Koya Wheels - http://www.koya.com.au/ re: machining of the wheels back... as the only way to actually tuck them in. I've written to those guys and will need to see what (if anything) comes off that.

Sentosa, thanks for the info on the splash guards. I guess I was hoping that this may be the least invasive way to try and get the coverage from the wheel (from behind) so that it is deemed legal (i.e. if the police is worried about flying rocks).

Funnily enough, driving around, all I notice now is different offsets on people's cars. Couple of houses down from me, there are bunch of guys with cars from fast and furious - lol - skylines, 280sx, etc... now, they all got wheels sticking out, much more then mine... so I am just wondering if I ought to keep driving till I am told I need to do something...

The machining of the wheels is really not something I want to do... and taking these wheels off... not too keen on that either (i really like them)... seems im stuck a bit here. Ill try and get some advice on lowering suspension - see if that can help perception of it a bit as you mention ChitownBabyBenz.

Ive added couple of more pictures to the thread. I tried to photograph the wheels from 'above' - as direct as possible. The pic with red tape in background is front wheel... the other is rear.

ChitownBabyBenz

Lets do a little experiment. Put like 4 people in the back seats and let's say 2 more big dudes sitting in the trunk. That way you'll compress rear suspension - temporarily lowering the back of the car. Let's see if the rear wheels tuck in the wheel wells. Be careful though - remember that you didn't roll the fenders yet.

EuroJDMBenzo

you'll be fine.

Knightmare69

If MOT in Aus is anything like here in HK which was passed down from the British then technically they are illegal. However most of the time the MOT inspector probably won't fail you for it. It actually looks like it sticks further out in the 3rd pic than the 1st.

Glyn M Ruck

You should be OK. Aus has very similar road rules to SA & you would get away with that here.

BTW - to those who criticise mud flaps. In our countries they are highly practical & stop chipping the hell out of the paint. Sportstick has some very elegant ones on his car.

I just use the moulded genuine Benz ones.

Indifilmz

Koya Wheels have offered to look at the wheels and machine them back - if possible.... They doubt they could shave more then 2-3mm at max, but I got to get them the wheels to assess it. Trouble is, they won't warrant them and the insurance may have issues with this. Again, not an ideal situation.

ChitownBabyBenz, great suggestion. Ill try and get a few blokes to sit at the back and in the trunk - see what happens as the suspension goes lower. I didn't intent to lower the car initially, but seeing a few on this forum, I am very much tempted to do this now - if it is a possibility with these rims.

Otherwise, I reckon Ill keep driving as is - until I get pulled over (if i get pulled over) and hopefully I dont...

its good to know the options i have... or the lack of

tonyteetime

It doesn't look that bad and I would be surprised if you got pullover for something minor like this.

What ever you do , NO MUD FLAP !

Glyn M Ruck

Hmm! you would prefer no paint behind the wheels?

tonyteetime

I prefer wheels that are flushed evenly with the fenders.