koich

Been reading other threads, but was wondering if the E55 wheels end up having a larger diameter? Reason why I ask is because my car sits fairly low and I'm wondering if that will help me with clearance (or rub inside the fenders)

BTW, does anyone have any for sale?

mbsickness

What are you running now? The E55 Mono's are larger in both diameter (18") and width than the OEM 17's. I did not have rubbing issues but I'm at stock ride height.

koich

I'm running stock AMG rims from the later C class model. I think it's the same wheel size and offset as the original 17inch monoblocks that came with the car. The car came with the wheels when I purchased it. Since the tires are almost gone, I figured it's time for me to get the 18inch monoblock 2s I always wanted. The coils that came with the car were pretty low too. So I'm wondering if I need to get a slightly higher set of coils when I run 18inch rims?

austinholloman

^ you will rub for sure if you don't roll your fenders. You car looks to be about as low as mine. Or you can go to a #4 pad up front and #6 in the rear. Its will look perfect and not rub at all. OP get them! If your on lower springs ie. H&Rs and stiffer shocks, you'll need the same pad setup. Post pics of your car! The pic in my sig is with #1 pads all around and I'm on all 18x5's and the front rubs. I am going to #4 fronts and #6 rears asap and might trade out for some mono II's also.

mbsickness

That's pretty low and you will most definitely rub with 18" Mono's. Not much else you can do to get clearance as the fenders are already rolled. I would second austin's recommendation to go with thicker pads and raise the car up a bit. Any idea of your current pads sizes and spring manufacturer? I want to lower my car just 1/2 to 3/4" and all the springs tend to give at least 1.5 inches of drop.

koich

Thanks guys. Haven't had a chance to find out what kind of coils the previous owner(s) threw in, or what pads are in now. I'll probably go with the pad recommendation though. Hopefully the low pads are in now...

Looking high and low for E55 wheels though. Can't find one available yet. Meanwhile my tires are getting pretty bald....

503C43 ////AMG

I don't think they have a #6 pad for the rear....

Saaboteur

It's not so much the wheel diameter that matters, but keeping the overall wheel/tire diameter the same, or very similar. See this link:

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

So if you go +1 on the wheels, you will have to adjust the tire size with lower profile rubber to ensure the same or similar diameter as before. Basically, that means using lower profile tires on up sizing wheels. Typically, you should get some better handling out of it, as the sidewalls have to be stiffer, but also that typically means decrease in ride comfort.

Regarding pads, having just gone through this all with my own lowering, ther largest pads you can get are #5s up front and #4s in the rear. I asked the dealer about #5s for the rear, but they do not exist.

I have a pair of #4 front pads available if anyone is interested. Used for exactly a week. The shop that did my alignment wanted me to use #5s up front to get a more optimal geometry for their preferred alignment specs.

koich

Yeah, I know what you mean. Just asking because I'll most likely end up buying from a E55 owner and running the tires that come with it for a while.

austinholloman

They don't.

For W202 mid 96-99
Front(W210 part number) :
210 321 01 84 pad#1 5 mm
210 321 02 84 pad#2 9 mm
210 321 03 84 pad#3 13 mm
210 321 04 84 pad#4 17 mm
210 321 05 84 pad#5 21 mm

Rear(W210 part number) :
210 325 01 84 pad#1 5 mm
210 325 02 84 pad#2 9 mm
210 325 03 84 pad#3 13 mm
210 325 04 84 pad#4 17 mm

I meant #3 front and #4 rear. Broke me knee last night and pain meds are getting the best of me.

mbsickness

Hate to break this to you but the e55 tire size won't work on the w202...much too much tire especially if you are already rubbing with your current set up.

503C43 ////AMG

I was thinking the same thing... Gonna have to get some low pro's to keep from rubbing.

austinholloman

Man, those low pro's with stiffer shocks and spring makes for a HELL of a ride... Like a bus going over bumps. Drives me freaking NUTS! However, Dallas streets suck anyway.

mbsickness

Forgot to ask if you were running the stock tire sizes (225/45 and 245/40)?

koich

Yup, same stock tire size.

koich

I know someone posted this before, but I can't find the thread. Can you run a 275 on the rear tires for the E55 rims? (assuming I raise my car a little with the pads)

Saaboteur

Hmm...I don't think the E55 tire sizes will work, at least not nicely (and therefore I think 275s are a bit much too). I seem to recall PJMak stating that his 265s in the rear would rub, and 235s in the front rub too, but his car is pretty low. I'm going to stay on the safe side and run 225s and 255s. On my car particularly too, I don't have much more room to roll in the front. While it's already rolled from the factory, on my replacement fenders I rolled the inner edge up, and then had the small gap filled with body filler to keep road crap out. On the rear I think I'm about the same situation too.

One could pull the fenders out too, but that requires a deft touch not to muck everything up.

That said...if you look at photos of TomLChu's car (formerly Tunerplayground), or PJMak's car, I think they might be able to get away with a 5mm spacer in the rear, to make the rear a bit more flush. Might be right on the limit though. A 3mm spacer might be a safer bet. I think I could run a 5mm spacers on the rears too, but I'm riding a bit higher than those guys.

koich

Thanks for the input. The wheels I'm thinking of buying have 245 in the front and 275 in the rear. So it sounds like a tough one. Hmmmm

503C43 ////AMG

245 in the front!! You will rub for sure as well with 275 in the rear....

mbsickness

Look for rims without tires (just don't pay more because of tires) as the E55 tires are useless to you. I have 225/40 and 255/35 in the rear and on a non lowered car it is tight.

koich

Thanks. I'm not rubbing with my current set up, but I think there is a high chance it might rub even if I raise the height with thicker pads.

austinholloman

I think I am running 225/40 up front and 225/35 in the rear with my 18x9.5s on all for corners. With the Mono II's tirerack says you would need to run 225/40 up front and 255/35 on the rears. If you change that up you may loose cruise control.

austinholloman

Now, you could always go with 225/35 up front and 255/30 on the rear but those are harder to find and that's a very lowpro tire.

DRBC43AMG

And as you were saying, if you have stiffer springs and shocks on top of that, you may end up loosing all your teeth on less than smooooooth roads

503C43 ////AMG

tell me about it 265/30 in the rear here... sometimes it feels like I have a fred flinstone car with stones for tires...