green_IZ

When I picked up my c32 2004 in october of 2003 I had traded in my stock rims for the c55amg style rims 18inch...everything went smoothly until I drove my car off the lot. When you place 3-5 people in the car, the rear fender rubs against the tire. I have been advised to have the wheel-well trimmed off a bit to rectify the situation( this could all be doen under warranty). I am a little weiry of trimming off metal from the wheel-well, and so I have opted not to do it. I was advised from a colleague, that the problem is due to the shape of my tire wall. Some tires have a round wall and some have a square wall; that being said my tire has a square wall....What I want to know is, have any of the c32 owners been faced with such a situation when 18 amg upgrading rims?

s4iscool

what size rear tires? and brand?

CynCarvin32

Its all going to be ok

Just go down to a body shop and have them take a dremel and grind down the lip a bit. It will not hurt anything at all and it will never cause a warranty issue. What shocks me is that it does fit given it IS an OEM fitment. These cars have funny specs for build tolerances and yours (like mine was) is just a little to tight in the rear.

Don’t worry, It will take but 10 minutes to fix and you will never think twice about it. Once it no longer rubs take some black spray paint (use caution not to get it on the paint!) or black touch up paint and coat the sanded area to ensure the metal does not ever rust!

Enjoy the wheels for they look very nice. The car really needs 18's to look proper.

Do you have 255 tires in the rear? If so I really am shocked for it should take a 255 with no issue. My 265’s caused a tad bit of an issue but 255’s were ok so I thought. Then again AMG only uses a 245 rear tire with the 18’s so maybe they know a little something I don’t!

SLK55_AMG

dont worry, i'll give you the best advice in the world , leave your car damn stock!

i will guarantee you no problems!

W0n6_3d4n

Just rolled it, no need for sanding down or crap like that.

CynCarvin32

Rear fender lips on the W203 do not need rolling untill you go larger than 265 mm rear tires. At 275, you need some real major fender work but it can be done.

To make 255's and 265's work you normallly need to grind down the flange where the rear fender and bumper meet in the rear wheel well. Fender lip is fine as is being that I am sure his rear wheel has the correct off-set (OEM upgrade and all).

The front fenders are where you will need to roll the fender lips. 235 with a set of coil-overs will most likley casuse you some fairly serious rubbing issues and these are not easily fixed without cracking paint and re-spraying body pannels! But the front is a complete different story than the rear.

miroj

18 inch wheels have an advisory notice in the Mercedes workshop manual (WIS) - there are specific sections that need attention for these wheels to be fitted any AMG car.

You cant assume that such a massive wheel is a bolt on. There are in fact modifications to the body.

mhh

I upgraded to 18" AMG wheels nearly 18 months ago and have had no rubbing problems at all on the standard (Euro) suspension which seems to sit a little lower than US spec. I have 255 on the rear - as suggested by the AMG wheel selector. Assuming you have no wider than 255, I would have a dealer look at the car before doing any body mods. These wheels should fit without mods.

FrankW

I have 18s, and no rubbing issue w/ 5 people in the car. I use the recommanded tire size which are 255/35/18 in the rear.

Childish///AMG

Friends don't let friends drive "Stock"

smgC32

I am curious as to what the AMG/MB service manual says exactly about fitting 18" wheels on the car. There should be absolutely no difference between a 17" and 18" wheel as long as the tire's aspect ratio is reduced to provide the same diameter/rolling circumference. In the rear wheel/tire application on our cars a 245 40 17 tire has a diameter of 24.7", which is the same as a 245 35 18. In the front, a 225 45 17 has a diameter of 25.0" as does a 225 40 18. The problem lies with increasing the section width of the tire even though the diameter or circumference stays the same. 235's on the front, and 265's on the back, whether they are 17" or 18" have caused a considerable amount of problems with many owners. 225/255 on 18's is the safe bet and should cause no problems.