TampaBayC63

So last week after golf, I had traction control completely off and ripped through a turn on the way home and lost it. Had to hop a curb (unfortunately right over a drainage area) and banged up my passenger side wheels and tires. I was at about 8500 miles on the vehicle from new so new tires were on my to-do list for Q1 2014. My first instinct was to call the dealership to order new wheels. After speaking with the parts manager, the stock 18" wheels (dual 5 spoke version) were going to cost upwards of $1,300 each with the rear being a little more pricey. To add to it, the rear had to be special ordered from Germany which would take about a month.

At this price, I debated just ordering forged aftermarket wheels all around since I was already planning on purchasing tires anyways. After speaking with a local european performance shop, they suggested not changing the stock wheel dimensions/offset at all since Merc has spent millions on developing the car exactly as it came from the factory. This made sense to me so I took the car to a locally renowned wheel repair shop to get their opinion on a repair job. To my surprise, the curb rash/small dents were easily repairable. Since I was already looking to wrap the roof in black vinyl and paint the front grill and side mirrors, I figured a gloss black powder coat on the wheels would look great. I took the plunge and am incredibly pleased with the results. The repair and the powder coat came out to way way way less than ordering new wheels from the factory. What do you guys think??

VaclavSV

Love them! Powdercoated my winter wheels gloss black too for the same look

jvanbrecht

Any before pictures of the damage?

Giedreb

Looks great!
I didn't even consider this option for updating the look to black wheels. If you can, please post any other images you have in better lighting to give a better feel for what these look like in person. Thx!

TampaBayC63

unfortunately, i didn't snap any pics of the damage. The front wheel had a quarter sized chip taken out of the edge and the back had almost the same. Both tires had significant rubber missing from impact on the sidewall.

Thanks for the great feedback. I was hesitant at first to mod the stock wheels (since they are pricey to replace) but couldn't be happier with the look. Colleagues were asking if I got a new car this morning.

TampaBayC63

I'll post some new pics after i get her washed up in a day or two.

H20 MRV

Looks great!!