Dziner82

got my new wheels/tires...

first off let me say that i do think that the 18" monoblock II's are the best looking wheels on this car .
I may get them someday, but any ones i could find were running about $300 more for the set than these ones were (my 2nd choice) and these even with the bigger size and wider width keep me at the same weight as stock, with tires im 51lbs front and 54lbs rear (not the deciding factor, but paired with the price and the fact that quite a few people have the 18" monos already i went with the Prado wheels).

tires are cooper's new ultra high performance summer tire RS3-S, 225 up front and 255 rear. i read some reviews on these and they seem to be unbeatable performance for the price, they were meant to aim at pzeros and pilot sports, but priced with falken azenis and the cheapest potenza's, think the rears were $200/ea.

other visual mods are the euro springs and black painted grille.

503C43 ////AMG

Are the Euro spec springs installed? It still looks a little high. The grill looks good, it looks shiny so I am assuming it is not plastidip?

Dziner82

haha, everyone keeps saying that about the springs, you guys must not have seen a STOCK USA spec spring C43 in awhile! so yes those are the euro springs very happy with the stance and ride of it.

grille is painted, i ordered it online thinking it was a whole new grille, come to find out its just a used one off a regular 202 painted black , so was kind of disappointing, but really couldn't complain since the paint job on it was pretty good (wasn't painted completely on the backside, thats how i could tell it was a standard grille that had been painted). and was only $135 so figured thats a fair price for a used one nicely painted without having to do any of it myself.

503C43 ////AMG

Oh I remember how high my C43 was when I got it, looked like an SUV or tractor ready to plow the field. I never understood why they sit soooooo high from the factory

This was a pic from the first week I bought my C43, notice the cheesy red calipers and bubbles in the sidewall of the crappy Falkens. The rims were custom made 1 off WEDS and sold for a pretty penny though.




Replaced the rims and tires in this pic but still had the red calipers and still riding HIGH


Here is the best comparison of stock vs aftermarket suspension:





HUGE difference!

Dziner82

yea i dont mind the look of the bilstein/vogtland or eibach springs, but for me its too low, i dont like it when the gap on the sides of the tire is twice as much as in on the top, i like it equal all around.

plus being that low would be a PITA in at least 3 spots i drive my car on a daily basis!


...what do you think about the wheels though, you kinda jacked the thread talking about suspension.... haha.

ChampagneC

I don't mind the wheels, but I have learnt that it's always worth waiting a little and then trumping up to your 1st choice, as I guarantee you will end up getting them at some point in the future!

Keep going, car is looking clean!

503C43 ////AMG

LOL sorry about the thread jack

I am not a fan of the rims personally, but that is just my opinion. Not a fan of the studs, I never have been.

If you like the rims, that's all that matters

Dziner82

yea my first choice were some old school gold mesh euro style wheels, i even had some ordered and literally cancelled the order about a week before they came in. I thought the gold mesh would look better on a late 80's/early 90's car rather than my 99.
So these ones i felt were more appropriate. Plus i figure the monoblocks will always be around. Im not completely against getting my stock ones refinished and just putting them on when i get nostalgic

interesting thig is that when i first put the black grille on with the stock wheels i didnt care for it much (the grille), but adding these black wheels made the grille look much better on the car.

503C43 ////AMG

I really like the black grille on your car which is odd as I haven't really liked the black grilles in the past. I think it is because yours is shiny vs the matte black ones I have usually seen.

I was thinking about getting mine painted after seeing yours

Dziner82

yea if i had shown a pic of the black painted grille with the stock wheels you would probably still not like it that much (same as me), but with black wheels, yours are black too it would probably look good.

the only other appearance mod i have left on the list is tint.

KJI3jflarryfe93

Dziner82
can you take a good quality snapshot of your front grille for me?
a close up in daylight.

I'm dippin' my grille tomorrow and I want to compare if a matte look vs gloss looks better?

thanks

Dziner82

i wont be able to do it for a couple days, my car is trapped in my garage by a giant dumpster haha, im getting my roof redone today and tomorrow and i have the car safely in the garage from any flying debris, but i their dumpster is blocking it in.

I can get that pic for you probaby thursday. if you google C43 amg im sure a few will pop up, i know i looked at quite a few pics of C43's with black grilles before i ordered mine.

KJI3jflarryfe93

no prob bob I'll be waiting for that photo.
thanks

with your spring setup do you have 1½ finger gap front and 2 finger rear gap?

DRBC43AMG

Waited over two years before getting my 18" Monos....

KJI3jflarryfe93

there's no such thing as a long time waiting period
to do list takes time completing the car to your own taste.

Dziner82

in one of the more recent 'euro spring' threads i posted the measurements from center of wheel to top of fender on my car, that should give you a better idea since some peoples fingers are bigger than others!

KJI3jflarryfe93

my fingers are like thick french fries

make your hand look like a gun, place both fingers in the wheelarch you'll see how much it dropped.
I could put 2 fingers inside rear arches and 1½ fingers up front, my techguy swapped to new front pads #1 nib = 5mm car actually raised to a 2 finger gap.
Daem!
My old pads were perfectly sagged to get the front a bit lower and the rear a tad higher

ProjectC55

Man I would lower that car. It would do it more justice but that just my opinion.

KJI3jflarryfe93

check out my pics and then compare with your car which one you like more gloss or matte finish?

next time I will try gloss style

Dziner82

my opinion is raising yours about a half inch would do it more justice

but seriously, i just dont like the visual of having virtually no gap above the tire then 2, 3, 4, inches as the wheel well widens out to the bottom of the rockers and rear bumper.

i suppose i could have gotten the bilstein and vogtland setup then added pads to raise it a bit, but still wasnt sold that it would get me to where i want. only can get another 19mm max (?) from going stock to biggest pads, so it still would be too low for my taste.