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Hello everyone it’s been years since I’ve been back on this with you guys! I am finally bringing my car back to life and I’m sure some of you remember it back in the day. I just changed my Brabus suspension to air ride and redid my Brembo GT breaks. I will put pictures below of where I’m at. I just did a bunch of modifications on my three piece HRE rims and I’m having problems so I want to get a back up set temporarily to get my car off jackstands and into the shop. My current rim size is 19 x 9 1/2 in the front and 19 x 10 1/2 in the rear. Yes I have shaved and rolled every ****ing piece that is possible. I still haven’t tested out this air ride system yet and don’t want to deal with any rubbing issues. My current tire sizes are front 235 35 19 and the rears are 265 30 19. I am even considering going back to 18s to have a little more rubber on the road. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. I am also selling my Brabus suspension.
2005 Mercedes Benz C55 AMG..1967 Lotus Europa..1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HCI..2020 Mercedes Benz E350
C55guy.
I'm running 245/35/18's front (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) and 275/35/18's rear with Michelin PS 4S, too. I've also rolled the front & rear fenders, too. Just recently upgraded to Bilstein B6 struts and shocks although I almost pulled the trigger in the B14 coilovers but bailed. Cost was not the issue as I didn't want to lower the car's stance as the B14s are actually shorter out of the box than oem shocks and struts.
Enclosed are a few pics.
Sounds like you're right on target with your setup.
Also if anybody else is rocking the Brembo GT kit I would love to know your offsets with 18’s or 19’s on the car. My previous issue with the 19s that I have was them not being hubsentric. I tried spacers and when I would hit the brakes it would give a little wobble. I’m trying to bring the car back to a nice tight lady. Once they go loose it’s really hard to get them back!!
2005 Mercedes Benz C55 AMG..1967 Lotus Europa..1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HCI..2020 Mercedes Benz E350
brauhaus313.....
Yes.....245/35/18 with no rubbing after fender roll/lip bending as well as for the rears with a new install of Bilstein B6's. However, I'm need to add a 17mm spring shim due to the fact that my Michelin Pilot Sport 4s 275/35/18 left rear tire caught a nail within 1" of the outside tread near the vertical wall and can't be repaired (no steel belt out there). So, America Tire ordered the same tire which, according to Michelin, is back-ordered for 3 months. Instead, while I'm waiting for the 275's, they installed two new Michelin Super Sports 265/40/18 which are 3/4" taller and do rub. Hence, the shim so I don't ruin their loaner tires.
Yes.....245/35/18 with no rubbing after fender roll/lip bending as well as for the rears with a new install of Bilstein B6's. However, I'm need to add a 17mm spring shim due to the fact that my Michelin Pilot Sport 4s 275/35/18 left rear tire caught a nail within 1" of the outside tread near the vertical wall and can't be repaired (no steel belt out there). So, America Tire ordered the same tire which, according to Michelin, is back-ordered for 3 months. Instead, while I'm waiting for the 275's, they installed two new Michelin Super Sports 265/40/18 which are 3/4" taller and do rub. Hence, the shim so I don't ruin their loaner tires.
The HPS is off the car. I had major problems with it and a lawsuit against the company. Can’t really talk about it much. I’m in the process of doing an E55 motor swap soon.
Yes.....245/35/18 with no rubbing after fender roll/lip bending as well as for the rears with a new install of Bilstein B6's. However, I'm need to add a 17mm spring shim due to the fact that my Michelin Pilot Sport 4s 275/35/18 left rear tire caught a nail within 1" of the outside tread near the vertical wall and can't be repaired (no steel belt out there). So, America Tire ordered the same tire which, according to Michelin, is back-ordered for 3 months. Instead, while I'm waiting for the 275's, they installed two new Michelin Super Sports 265/40/18 which are 3/4" taller and do rub. Hence, the shim so I don't ruin their loaner tires.
Rob
Rob,
Just to clarify, before you had your fender rolled you had rubbing in front with 245/35/18? What is your front wheel offset? Are you running wheel spacers in front?
Ok, so now you are rubbing in front with 245/35/18 even after doing a fender roll/lip bending? I guess the takeaway is 245/35/18's don't fit without rubbing on the fender?
2005 Mercedes Benz C55 AMG..1967 Lotus Europa..1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HCI..2020 Mercedes Benz E350
brauhaus313...
Just to be clear, the 245/35/18's only rubbed due to the fact the struts had a 129,000 miles on the clock. After installing the new Bilstein B6's struts and shocks, no more rubbing. Period. In addition, I returned the 265/40/18's to America's Tire as the 40's aspect ratio rubbed going over bumps even with new shocks....so they installed 255/35/18's on the rear while I waited for the 275/35/18's to come in. The 275/35/18's came in just 2 weeks ago after a 3.5 month wait and were installed on the rear. Hooray!!! No issues with them.
In addition, the store manager, who has known me since they opened in 1992, offered me a deal on the 255/35/18's that I couldn't turn down. Since my front 245/35/18's have 5/32nds tread remaining, we tried both 255/35/18's tires on the front and after a quick ride........guess what? they fit without any issues. The deal was under $300 for both "new" tires (less than 1,000 miles while waiting for the 275/35/18's) which included mounting, balancing, warranty certificates and sales tax which I paid on the spot. Since I still have 5/32nds of tread remaining, I took the new tires home and they will be installed when my 245/35/18's are worn out (probably in 10 to 12 months).
Ok, that's more like what I wanted to hear. Really want to try 245/35/18 up front in a squared setup. Since 245/35/18 has a smaller overall diameter than the stock front 225/40/18 size, even though it is 20mm wider overall, I think there's a window there with the right offset for 245/35/18 to fit in front without major work, and possibly not require any fender rolling.
2005 Mercedes Benz C55 AMG..1967 Lotus Europa..1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HCI..2020 Mercedes Benz E350
brauhaus313.....
The front fender rolling was really minimal but just enough to clear the wider 8.5" wide front rims. The OEM rims are 7.5" which, in my opinion, is too narrow and does contribute to the widely-known understeer of the C55 AMG.
Right on, thanks Rob. I previously ran 18x8.5" et28 up front with 235/40/18 without any rubbing whatsoever and significantly reduced understeer. Think I'll push it to 245/35/18 with et ~35mm and see where I land.
Last edited by brauhaus313; Jul 3, 2021 at 10:54 PM.
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