E420White

Yup, I am joining the club of 210 E owners who try out 18 inch wheels, then go back to 17's. The car is a daily driver, I put in about 18k freeway miles/year.

First, I started with 16 inch stock wheels...
No problems, but I didn't like the look.

Then, I upgraded to 17 inch clone 2002 E430 sport wheels
Looked better, but after lowering I wanted AMG wheels instead.

Then, I upgraded to 18 inch monoblocks...
Look awesome, but the ride is a shade harsher, and the rear 9 inch tires only lasted 3 months, 8k miles...

I just picked up four Mercedes E320 17 Alhena wheels (7 1/2 inch wide) in excellent condition for $300 dollars. Now I am going back to these 17's for my daily driver benz...
Damm, having 18's on their was fun while it lasted...

http://www.evozine.com/benz

ghaffar23

I'm sure ohlord would've hit this guy up, but yeah, the 18x9's on the rear AND lowered...no way those tires would last beyond your 8K miles. You needed camber arms. You had too much negative camber, despite what the alignment guys may have told you. I have 18x9.5 on mine and the wear is terrible. I expect it, so I am not disappointed. I have a set of 19's in my basement, but I dare not put them on until I have everything, i.e. lowering springs, camber arms, and eccentric bolts, to put on and do the right way. Even after all of that, I still won't put my 19's on until I have let the springs settle for a few months. I am really not in the mood for burning through a set of Pirelli PZero Rosso's because of wanting to rush into a good look. At the end of the day, to each is his/her own.

ohlord

is what I say
Not only that. It is not tire size that affects negative camber on the rear,it is the lowering of the car in relation to the wheel geometry.The lower you go the more the top of the rim and thus the tire is pulled in.Making the inner edge of the tire wear out faster.Even with 17's and lowered suspension you should still get camber eccentrics installed on the front and speedybenz links or k-mac bushings for the rear and then a proper alignment job on the hunter.
That way you won't be saying a nice set of 17's wore out in 10k miles
You can sell the 18 monos for good money to someone who has lowered it,shocked it,and suspensioned it,properly.

E420White

ghaffar23..,

How many miles are you getting on your rear 18 x 9.5 tires?
How do they wear, in the center, outsides, etc...?
What brand tires are you using...?

I had cheap Sumitomo tires, although the rear wore out, the fronts still have 50 percent of tread on them.

Actually I did install rear camber arms right after putting the 18s on, the camber is just about dead on. The rear tires did wear out quite evenly. See photo:

After driving the car today 50 miles with the 17inch wheels, I am glad I returned to 17's. The car runs smoother at higher speeds, and as one driver told me, it seems to accelerate faster now. I don't seem to feel the bumps as much anymore...

ghaffar23

I'm running 245/40/18's all around. They're Yokohama Avid W4S; not the best tire around, but I didn't buy them. Anyhow, since my wheels are staggered, I can't readily rotate them. In either case, I get surprisingly decent wear on them. It's pretty even on the rears; the fronts wear out pretty fast on the outside. No more than 10K before I hit the wear line. I'm assuming due to the lack of eccentric bolts. The rears, on the other hand, give me about 12K to 13K miles; It's relatively good, considering we're talking about 'horrible' wear. My factory 235/45/17's last 30K miles when rotated properly. Since our cars don't have LSD, my right tire wears out faster. I loved the Yokohama Advan Sports. They rode very smooth, all the way up to 20" diameter, as in my friend's Lexus (don't ask why, LOL). However, they wore out in 10K miles due to my suspension set-up.

I have a set of camber arms sitting in my closet but haven't gotten around to putting them in. I've been waiting on my lowering springs. The eccentric bolts will go in as well. As ohlord may say, do it right, or don't do it at all.

martz

How different is the suspension set up on the 210 e55's to regular E cars?
The E55'S roll on 18 inch wheels. Is it just the ride height(springs) that's different? had no idea the 210s had the same problem the 202s have when going lowered on 18s

E420White

I don't know how the E55's are setup, but I've seen a few E55 owners who have removed their 18's and put 17's on, which I now fully comprehend having done the same on my E420....

ohlord

is the same ride height as the E55.The E55 weighs about 150 lbs more,heavier engine,heavier coils and heavier sway bar,taken into account.it is the the wide tires that require the 31et offset and the amg shop rolled fenders.
Both cars stock ride at 56.7 inches.
Camber changes to the neg. whether you drop a E430 E320 E420 or an E55.
If you drop a 420 on 17's and don't install the proper parts or at least get a larger diameter sway bar for each end,it will still ride better than a w210 with 18's and 19's forget about it,my little Mg midget could spank a w210 on 19's

Ricco

Very informative thread, as I am planning to get 18" monoblocks. So in order for 18s to work smoothly I'd have to change the whole suspension setup from stock?

ohlord

if you want to go to 18's and leave it at stock ride height,you just need to live with the harsher ride quality and be careful about hitting large pot holes

If you go with 235 and 265 staggered instead of 245 and 275 amg specs you won't have anything else to do.You will not even need to get it aligned.

It is when you drop the car down to either give you a lower CG,or to make the thin side walls look more proportional that you need to play to play.
I don't understand the guys that accept spending tire money every 8-12 k miles,instead of doing the job the right way the first time.

gqmagic

Do you know of anyone here who has 235 & 265 without any lowering?
Any pictures?

tris1969

lowered my '01 E430 with H&R / Bilstein Sports..i do want to go up to 18" wheels, but i need the camber arms or kmac kit...the front isn't so tough (repair bolts), it's the rear, as there is no adjustment possible without aftermarket kit. anyway, with the new springs/shocks, the ride is incredible! much, much better. myE430 has 77k miles, not too much for the old shocks/springs, but wow, what a difference.
ANYONE GOT CAMBER ARMS / KMAC BUSHINGS TO SELL?
i'm on stock 17's now, lowered it about a week ago, and am going in for the $150 dealer 4 wheel alignment, but will wait if i can get the kit to go to 18's....

ghaffar23

You can go check out mymbonline.com. They got some rear camber kits for sale there.

Ricco

Thanks for the info! much appreciated

hassmakki

I have a 01 430 sport w/ 245/45/17 and I am planning to install 19's staggered 235/35/19 and 275/30/19. I have been told from several wheel manufactures that it would fit. My wheels now are 8x17 with a 37mm offset, new wheels will be 8.5x19 35mm and 9.5x19 35mm offset. The company that I purchased them from has also told me that they sold these several time on these vehicles and would be happy to return them if they dont fit.

ejsheltra

[QUOTE=E420White;3422120]Yup, I am joining the club of 210 E owners who try out 18 inch wheels, then go back to 17's. The car is a daily driver, I put in about 18k freeway miles/year.

If you have lowered your car then you need to change out your rear camber arms for adjustable units. there are several different varieties out there. Ebay has a blue anodized set for sale. Otherwise you will burn out the tires on the inside edge prematurely. If you have had a front alignment by the dealer then they should have replaced the front camber bolts with adjustable units already.

ejsheltra

[QUOTE=E420White;3423157]ghaffar23..,



The quicker speed is as a result of lighter unsprung weight in the wheel/tire package. As in one of my previous posts on this, the 18 inch package is about 67 Lbs versus the 16 inch stock package at 47 lbs. It makes a big difference in perceived power on launch.