bmroxm5

Hey all,

First up, I've got a '98 E320 with 18inch AMG E63 (replicas) wheels.
18 x 8.5 in the front, 18 x 9.5 in the rear.

I want to add a spacer to the rear to give it a fatter look... thinking maybe 15mm, 10mm if I were being conservative.

I am assuming I will need longer lug bolts for this?

The way I have worked it out is to just add 15mm to the shank length?

Can anyone confirm whether the above is correct, and whether these would be suitable:
http://www.ezaccessory.com/Lug_Bolt_...hank_p/968.htm

Cheers.

bmroxm5

No one has spacers?

raymond g-

it shouldn't be that challenging. if you have bolt which you know are sized
properly, then increase it by whatever the spacer is. no more. if you get
a 15mm over stock bolt, but only use 10mm spacer, you really need to be
sure that you're not left with enough excess bolt protruding out the rear
having it mess up the parking mechanism, etc.

i'm guessing no one really wants to chime in is because using spacers isn't
the cleanest, proper, nor wise method of securing rim to hub. as you
continue to extend the rim beyond OEM specs, you also begin to stress
the suspension beyond what was designed. so just be clear you take some
risks with this move......for want of "aggressive" look.

you'll also need to ensure that the spacer is properly designed to co-exist
with the MB wheel and hub.

better thing, of course, is to buy the rims with the correct offset in the
first place.....rather than to ghetto (though this term may be harshly
applied here) a fit based on aesthetic reasons.

then, there is the tire selection. depending on rim vs offset specs vs adding
spacers vs tire profile, it is possible to push the extremes in terms of tire
clearance to the lip of the wheel opening.

blah blah....it just isn't as simplistic as you may be inclined to believe.

good luck with the project. try to connect with someone who knows about
tire/wheel/suspension combos.

bmroxm5

Yep will definitely do that next time now that I have an understanding of offset, however in my situation I'm just trying to get the best out of it.

I can probably run anywhere from a 10mm-20mm spacer in the rear, depending on how aggessive I want to go. This will also give me more clearance on the inner rear wheel arch where I get some rubbing at the moment anyway.

What I wanted to know is if our cars use bolts that are '12 x 1.5', 'ball seat' or whatever - those terms I'm unfamiliar with.

raymond g-

out of curiousity, what the heck is the ET on those rims right now where you
are rubbing on the inside? something in the 40s?

when you're asking for soliciting for advice, what folks need to do is to include
as much of the specifications on hand, ie the 'givens'. from that, more ex-
perienced folks can derive and extrapolate from that.

come here with just the skeleton of facts and your question sits because folks
hate asking you, so you can answer them, so they can ask you for more info,
and you respond....etc etc. it's like playing tug of war....or a fencing match

so with your situation, you should provide
rims (make/model)
specs (diameter, width, offset)
tire size (make/model if you can)

so, back to you to fill in a few more bits of info

(it's not the car which determines ball seat size/design, it's the wheel)

bmroxm5

thanks for the info on that, I always thought it was the car.

offset is 35 front and rear. Yeh I was quite surprised I was getting rubbing in the rear aswell... Probably cause it's lowered a little too much, causing some camber... tyre sizes are 245/265, F&R... probably going to change to 235 or even 225 on the front because 245 is just a little too wide for me.

Sits like this: