phat-ho

i am thinking of upgrading to 20" wheels as soon as i purchase my CL in march. after much consideration, i am either going to leave them stock 18s or upgrade to 20s, with no other size considerations. i am really worried about damaging them (due to potholes, metal road construction plates, etc.). i mean i drive like an old lady but i know i cannot avoid EVERYTHING on the road. i live in atlanta so the roads are not as bad as when i used to live in nyc, boston, or nashville. any insight? it makes me sad when anything to do with my car gets damaged. i have never upgraded from stock before, what a rookie!

D2-AUTOSPORT

Go with a forged wheel, maintain the correct tire pressures and as you said drive with common sense and you will be just fine with 20" wheels

sped

I have 20's on mine and would like to change back to the fordged wheels. But in the mean time I purchased wheel and tire insurance, anything goes wrong with them they get replaced.
Ed

proform

I have about 5000 miles on my car in the last 7 months and have bent 3 wheels!...Bad Luck? Bad Wheels? Both?,,,,It is getting annoying thow.

phat-ho

i mean i get PISSED when i accidentally drive over a pothole on stock 18s just because it sounds and feels so damaging to the car. ah forget it i'll just go stock. #**#%%&#!!!

Chas Jr

Wise decision........

lexlyf

I understand and have had tire insuance in the past, but explain the details on your wheel insurance. Is it just an added option to your auto insurance? Do you have a deductible, etc, etc?

Sounds interesting.

tkracing

I agree with Derrick. My wife has 20" on her car and I know she isnt as careful as you and soo far 1 year and no damaged rims.

phat-ho

or not to 20"...that is the question. i visited a local wheel and tire specialty place and they told me that i shouldn't have any problems with damaging 20" inch wheels as long as i drive carefully and keep close maintenance. but they told me that i can only run 19s" because for 20s" i would have to shave my wheelwell and modify my suspension. i mean, will bigger rims for a CL make it look higher and worse? are these mods needed?
p.s. i looked at the the car with stock with 18s" and then the same car side-by-side with 20s and it makes the car look like 19s" should be stock size.

herzog racing

does it matter what kind tire you have on the effect of the rim bending

herzog racing

what wheels do you have

D2-AUTOSPORT

Welcome to the wonderful world of "rim spots", these local shops that are trying to sell what they stock and have more knowledge of "Escalades on 28's" than REAL automobile tuning.

Here's what a proper retailer would say:

You can mount 20" staggered wheels without a problem, you just need to go with a wheel and tire combo with the proper specs, and while you do not HAVE to lower the car, we highly recommend it. There are many here that use the washer method but we normally prefer lowering modules. The lowering yields improved aesthetics and handling.

Notice a difference in the 2 answers? Lol

Good luck bro

phat-ho

i am new to the 20" wheel game but, your input has been very helpful in shaping my decision. all this is truly new to me, but thanks!

herzog racing

what do you think about 19's in the front and 20's in the rear?

AMG2GO

I am not sure how that would look, or handle, but it can be done. So long as the outer diameter of all wheel/tire combinations are identical, it does not matter. having more sidewall on the fronts is better as those are usually the ones that take the brunt of a pothole.

AMG2GO

I agree, but a proper retailer should also mention that you will alter your car's performance in every category by increasing the weight, would know the weights of the wheels that he sells, he would warn you against changing offsets and trying to get too much lip through negative offset...

I have never heard anyone mention these things, although I have been persistent about it on this forum.

A proper dealer would warn you that any chrome wheel is a poor choice from a performance standpoint, and would know exactly what parts of which wheel are spun cast, forged, dyed or x-rayed, etc. But a lot of the chrome wheel makers don't even publish this info.

In general a proper dealer would warn you of going for looks and forgetting about performance on a $100,000+ car.

No offense to anyone, but honestly, I have yet to meet a "proper" wheel retailer. Its mostly about sales and money. Personally I think a 20" is a compromise on the CL... no matter what you get.

AMG2GO

yes, it most certainly does. The harder the sidewall the worse, and some are definitely worse than others. This is often an overlooked thing.

AMG2GO

Guys if I may make a point here, if you are hitting potholes with enough force to bend a rim, you are damaging a lot more than your rim. The entire suspension system absorbs that shock. Everything in the car all the way to the mounts and the body get rattled. Your alignment is almost always thrown off. Over time you will start to hear the car literraly start to complain with squeaks and groans emenating from various places. So wheel insurance is not the end solution.

D2-AUTOSPORT

I hear you man, and have noted your posts in the past, you are obviously very well versed on these cars. The thing about it is also that when it comes to supporting clients in sales you need to supply them with the best parts and satisfy THEIR wants and needs. So yes some guys do want chrome, so in many cases we steer them to hi-polished (same weight and strength as any other color, same luster as chrome) or we will provide the lightest, strongest chrome wheel availible (lighter and stronger than some silver or brushed aluminum wheels). Also I agree with you on the lip size thing, we dont play those games with the wheels sticking out past the fenders just to get a extra inch of lip and crap like that I totally agree there. I will honestly say that you can have a good all around package and satisfy looks and performance (of course every person is different, ie you are HEAVILY skewed towards the performance and no aesthics side).

Trust me man, no offense taken in your statement, but there are good wheel dealers out there, (you bought those Renntech's from SOMEWHERE! LOL).

If you want to chit-chat man, feel free to shoot me a PM or email anytime.

-Derrick

D2-AUTOSPORT

Hey not a problem at all man, I understand that everyone is at different levels of understanding when it comes to this wheel stuff.

Feel free to shoot me an email and we can put a pacakge together for you.

SALES@D2AUTOSPORT.com

AMG2GO

what are you saying Derrick? my wheels are ugly? :p Well you sound like a good dealer and anyone that is a sponsor on the forum is cool with me. I know what you mean, people want things to look a certain way. I just think most of the time they don't realize what its doing to the car.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Nah I was saying you are 100% devout form follows function, whereas others may be a little more skewed towards aesthetics.

You car looks great although I have to 'fess up that I have a weakness for the w215 chassis with larger diamter wheels and aggressive lowering.

herzog racing

What is a good tire for 20'S that are cheap ?

doo951

im new here i own a 2002 cl 500 i need to know if 22 will fit on the car...

Austinite

I have 20's and I really like them. The tires are not cheap, around 1900 for a set