abrahizzle

Im a noob in need of lowering help!! My 98' 320 was lowered when I bought it and now my tires scrape n hit the inside fender or sumthin goin over bumps or dips way too easy, especially with a passenger or two. It warps the tires and there pricey for 19's and the sound of them scraping makes me wanna cry. The fender covers a little of the top back tires now and I'm guessing it just needs a new part in the suspension? I read around on the forums and people talk about pads, springs, shocks, control arms and I'm just confused. I would like it to stay low (fender lip at tires or no more than an inch above) and its on 19'' rims. I wouldn't mind spending money on the best stuff but the less pocketbook damage the better. I'd like to know what parts I would need to keep it low but not scrape, the cheaper ones compared to the more high end ones, and what parts are more significant than the others. Also which companies make parts that ride nice? I heard of Bilstein, H&R, Vogtland and Eibach. Please and Thank You!!

dlbehrns

I don't believe you have a parts malfunction I just think your tires and wheels are too big. First I would find a wheel calculator online and find out how much bigger(in diameter)the wheels you have on the car now are compared to the oem wheels. Do you have any ideal what springs are on the car? Also, since you don't have the original wheels see if you can find what the offset is on your wheels. The number could be stamped on the inside of the rim. Oem should be 35mm. If the offset on yours is lower like 32 or 30 mm then the wheels are moved OUT however many mm less than 35m and, if the rims are wider that would add to the total problem. Do you have a coupe or a conv?

I have a 99/320 w/Vogtland springs, Bilstein sport shocks, 8" wide rims all around(oem is 7) w/32mm offset however, my wheels and tires remain the same diameter as the oem. H&R has two different springs sets available, I think Eibach has one, and Vogtland has one which dropped my car about an inch all around. The front is perfect IMO but will scrape the fender if I am turning when I go over a bump or come out of a parking lot onto the street too fast. the rear could have gone a bit lower and could have gone to bigger tires. I have had the car on a road course track pushing the hell out of it and no scrapping or bottoming.

abrahizzle

Thanks for the reply! My front tire reads 235/35 and the back reads 265/30. Recalculating into inches I guess the front is 9.25 inches wide and the back is 10.4. So I guess tire width is the cause of the scraping problem? Also I took off the front wheel and idk what the description of the offset would look like. Off Topic but how many horses r u pushing seeing you got sum upgrades? I've been dreaming of making mine faster. Thanks again!

mint

Offset is probably too low if you're hitting the inner plastic fender liner.

If you can, push the wheels out with spacers -- make sure you're not going to be rubbing the outer metal fender if you decide to go this route.

It's setup specific, but I'd rub with 265s on the rear. I just barely clear the inner liner with 255s -- could be tire width as well.

dlbehrns

abrahizzle, are you talking about the fronts rubbing too? or just the back or both? if you are thinking of adding spacers in either place would make the problem even worse. spacers move the tires even further out. You can't really tell from the tire size what the rim width is but you might be able to see some numbers on the inside of the rim. If you can figure out the rim width and offset try this calculator. http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp.
your original wheels and tires were 205x55x16 on 7"wide and 35mm offset and you now have front 235/35 and the back reads 265/30. Lets just say you have 9"wide by 35mm offset. Plug in the numbers and you will see how much bigger the tires you have on now are from the originals. They are freaking huge. I think your rubber is just too big and that is causing the rubbing. Did you ever figure out if you have different springs. I would bet you don't. Deal with the rubber first.

abrahizzle

Well the front tires scrape only if I hit a gnarly dip on the freeway. On the street its mainly the back ones and I feel like its mostly the right back. All four tires r having the wires coming out on the inside edges which really sucks cuz the tires r only about half way thru the tread. Im looking for new rims cuz my front left has a split spoke n looks dangerous. You think 19'' 8.5front/ 9.5rear staggered would fix the rubbing? Its about an inch off the width for both front and back. Idk if I have different springs but its so low I think it does. I think I need a visit to a good garage thats knows their stuff about suspensions and lowering, any recommendations in the Orange County So Cal area?

Williams707

Guess some pictures would help.

What are your

Front tire size =
Rear tire size =

Front rim size =
Rear rim size =

Front rim offset =
Rear rim offset =

Front rubber spring pad =
Rear rubber spring pad =

Guess it would also help to know if your shocks or springs where changed out to aftermarket ones and if so what brand.

abrahizzle

heres sum pics, I'll take of my rim n see the size along with the info on the shocks n springs n stuff.

jersey32

nice looking w208

abrahizzle

Thanks man! Can you believe I bought it like that for only $6k 114k miles. Take a look at the sound system in my trunk that came with it along with a Clarion touch screen dvd player head unit. Theres 2-way crossovers on the left but you cant see it here.

Soundstream van gogh amp and another Soundstream amp(bottom)... Soundstream big capacitator (right), Soundsstream acoustic power(right), 2 three way crossover networks(left cant see) and 12'' Pheonix gold titanium elite sub :p

abrahizzle

k despite a mild hangover I managed to see waddup with the rear springs n rear struts (or shocks?) this morning. I took off the back rim and there was sum type of spacer disc thing between the rim and rotor (pic below) and there wasn't one on the front.

@Williams707
Front tire size = 235/35/zr19
Rear tire size = 265/30/zr19

Front rim size = 19'' diameter/ 9.25'' wide (according to tire width conversion from mm. to in.)
Rear rim size = 19'' diameter / 10.4'' wide (according to tire width conversion from mm. to in.)

Idk how to check the rim offsets

Couldn't tell the spring pads either. Can I see it from just taking off the wheel?

The rear springs were Blue H&R's with this written on them, D/S 29 749HA.

The rear struts (or shocks?) were Bilstein

Heres a picture of the spacer thing and the toll my tires take from the scrapes which is on the inside of all four tires.

dlbehrns

That spacer is pushing the rim & tire to the outside. If all four tires are wearing through the steel cords on the inside I go back to my original statement the rims and tires are too big for the car. do like you said, get new tires and rims and call one of the online dealers like discountiredirect.com for sizing advice before you buy. I had excellent advice and service from them. did you get the car from a dealer or buy it from a private party. If the later contact him/her and see if they put lowering springs on.

Pancho

Tirerack.com is another good source. I've bought my tires and rims from them for many years. Never a problem. If you buy tires and rims together, then they will mount and balance for free. Also, check with them on the lug bolts so that you get the correct length for the new rims. If lugs too long on the rears, then can damage parking brake. Get your new rims/tires shipped to your house and bolt them right on. Put the old rims on ebay or Craigslist, and recoup some of your expenses.

Their website has a cool feature where you can select your actual car model and color, and it will produce an image with the wheels mounted on the vehicle so that you can get an idea of what the package will look like.

abrahizzle

I'm getting my tires off tirerack but they don't have the amg rims I'm getting for $595 elsewhere. I'm paying an extra bill to get them non staggered so my clk will be sitting on 19''/8.5 all around to help the scraping and allow me to rotate tires. Total for all four rims will be $695. I have a tiny crack going all around one spoke on my front left rim which is why I'm getting new ones, you think I can sell it as is or fix the little crack? Sum ppl have told me I can get it fixed.

abrahizzle

Wouldn't the offset be too high? My understanding of offset is that a higher offset moves the bolt hub further out from the center of the rim leaving more of the rim width to go deeper in the wheel well. My tire is hitting the inner side of the wheel well

Pancho

From my notes:
Stock Offset is 35mm Lug Pattern 5 x 112 mm
The lower the #mm the further OUT the tire moves.
The higher the #mm the further IN the tire moves..

dlbehrns

Poncho is CORRECTO!

abrahizzle

so if I get 20" rims that r 8.5wide should I decrease the offset and by how much?

mint

wheel diameter doesn't matter.

the width is what would change what offset you need.

Pancho

20" rims. Looks like you are moving from one problem to another.

abrahizzle

But they're a whole 2 inches off the width which I think is the problem. I'll just take it it to a shop if it still scrapes, which I think it wont, and tell them do what you must to make these dubs work!! then ill like this

Richard75

From my own point of view, 18" are probably the best compromise for a W208

Pancho

I agree. That's what I drive.