JYO

I ended up buying a used set of 5 spoke 17" wheels and tires(conti2's) from a 2004 E500 but heard from soem of you guys that the bolt size is different. is it just the bolt length that is different. Does anyone know what length I will now need? Should NTB or discount tire carry these? Any idea what they cost? I'm clueless as you can see. Thanks for all your help so far.

Whitey

The bolt length may be different but the killers are also different bolt diameter (the W211 uses 14mm whilst our cars use 12mm) with differing bolt seats (i.e. the shape of the "ball joint" that sits in the holes). If you see the pic below you'll understand......the 14mm has shallower lug seats.



Nonetheless, if you can find some 12mm bolts that are shorter to allow for a shallower seat (hence more length after machining) and machine the seat to similar to the 14mm (need not be your original ones), then it will work - my bud has put W211 E55's wheels on a CLK W209....with exactly the same bolt specs as ours.



As for length, make sure you get enough thread going into the hub ( best way is to check the protrusion on the back of your original setup, count the threads) but make sure after machining you don't have more thread as they will rub, if not be obstructed, by the brakes/rotor (whatever - there's someting inside that doesn't allow a long bolt), Remember, different lug seats in the holes and different thickness of the wheel (centre) will affect the length that you need. Good luck!

JYO

this sounds like a major pain in the a$%.

will most tire shops understand what to do if i hand over my car to them with the new wheels. do they typically have the right equipment and materials to get the job done and is this something that's going to cost much>

rob_fed

The cost will depend on how much the shop will charge for each lug bolt. Also, you will need someone or shop that deals with MBZ cars. I have ATItalia rims from the TireRack. My rear fitment required a slight shorter lug bolt than the front. The parking brake assembly inside the rear rotor hub is very close to the lug bolts. Anything longer than stock will interfere with the internals. For a 12mm lug bolt, you need at least 6 full turns of threads.

Whitey

Chances are, they need to be close to a machine shop(i.e. know) .....not many will keep a metal lathe in their shop. they also need to know what they are doing (or at least have the 14mm bolt head there to replcate on the 12mm bolt) and know how to make all 20 of them the same - that probably takes an exoperienced metal worker (blacksmith?). Anyways, Zam2000 seems to have a lead for that, why not give him a try?

zam2000

JYO,

Did you happen to get your wheels from Nitrousgarage ?

JYO

Actually I was going to bid on a set of theirs and they pulled the auction. Why do you ask?
I've been trying to email you to ask details about getting the righ bolts for these wheels. If you could please reply here with details or email me at drjyothi@airmail.net I would really appreciate some help. Whitey has given me a lot of good info but I need to discuss with someone like yourself or your mechanic. I'm not exactly who to call here in the Dallas area or what exactly to tell them. I was really hoping these wheels would bolt right on without all the fuss.

Please reply me. Thanks.

zam2000

JYO

The key is to get the right bolts: 12mm bolts that have similar seating area as the 14mm ones.
This is a little tricky: if you use your 12mm bolt on the W211 wheels, then it will be to long, therefore, won't hold the wheels tighly (disaster waiting to happen), not to mention damage the parking brake. If you use the W211 14mm bolt, then it won't fit your car.

Lot of shop, for convenient, just use the 12mm bolt, but either put a thin spacer between the wheel and the hub, or cut the bolt (dangerous solution, since there will be less thread to hold the wheel to the hub, may cause collapse of wheel or wheel fall off).

The W211 rims has thiner bolt pass-through area than the W210 rims, much thiner.

What you need is the 12mm bolt that was designed to work with w211 wheels. It carry same number of thread as the OEM one, but has shorter straight (non-thread) section (as Whitey's picture depicted), and as large face arear as the 14mm.

I stopped by nitrousgarage, and they have bolt that made for this situation. Try to contact them from their web site info.

The wheels will look very nice on your car.

Whitey

Too right.....if lucky, just a cracked wheel, if not a complete wheel collapse as zam says.

I'm not sure but I'm guessing different wheels will also have different thickness in the bolt-pass through (even if they're built for the same model car) so I would still suggest physically passing the bolt through the wheel and checking the amount of available thread before installing (regardless of whether its claimed to be for this application or not). Its a critical safety issue here. I don't wish to sound discouraging but this kind of mod freaks a lot of people (including Luke from Tirerack).......just be extra careful and take the advice of the shop "experts" with great caution........the last thing I wish to see is another one of those "goodbye threads"...just my word of warning folks - hope it all works out for the both of you and do post pics when done.

JYO

Zam, Have you already had yours installed? If you don't mind, may I ask if getting these custom bolts is expensive? How much would all 20 bolts cost?
I'd like to know today because I haven't paid for the wheels yet and the seller is being very accomodating to let me find out if I really want to complete the purchase of the wheels/tires. His shop thinks I probably shouldn't install the wheels. One of the bif reasons I am shopping for new wheels is that my current ones use spacers and have caused me some trouble, aside from being kind of bent. I like a lot of the wheels Whitey has shown and had on his car, but would rather pay as little $$$ as I can and still have a decent product.
BTW, I think the W211 wheels we're talking about are made in Italy, not Germany.

jimmydagreek

I am also interested in this info. as I might be aquiring a set of stocks off an '03 E500 and it would be nice to be able to using whenever I need to.

Whitey

JYO, honestly speaking since you haven't paid for them, I would consider other options first. As I said before, I still wouldn't be comfortable knowing the bolts are actually smaller than the holes, regardless of whether the bolt seat fits nicely. My friend really didn't have much choice when he got those W211 wheels for his CLK (long story) and we had to make real sure that it works and was done properly. Remember, its a couple of tonnes, travelling up to 100mph+ at times- why risk it when you still have a chance? Is that really the ONLY look you want? There are few good quality, value for money and attractive brands like Rondell, ASAs, ATPs....

Strange, my previous AMG's were made in Belgium (or it might have been Austria) but certainly not Italy or Germany.

Jimmy, what's the final verdict on your "friend's" ride?

Whitey

Here, these are all made in Germany and x-rayed for integrity and Rondell is the manufacturer of some of the tuners' rims that these replicate (honestly tho, I'm not sure about pricing of them but I understand they are fairly priced):

Rondell #80 (Lorinser LM5 look) 18"x8.5":


Rondell #73 (Carlsson 1/5 look) 17"x7.5":


Rondell #55 (Brabus Monoblock IV, 2 pc look) 18"x8.5":


Rondell #23 (AMG Monoblock Style IV look) 17"x8":


Rondell #59 (AMG Monoblock style I look) 17"x8":


Rondell #69 17"x8":


That covers the top 4 tuner's wheels and these all look good on the E. Another alternative is to get some used ones, there's always some good condition used wheels for sale.

Whitey

My bad, some also available with staggered set ups too.

JYO

No, I'm not married to that particular wheel, but I thought that design would look good on the W210 body as it does on the W211.
How do you like this Rondell model?

http://thewheelexchange.com/auc_imgs...ll_55_side.jpg

These are $860 with MB center caps and $90 more for 18" size. I think Bekkers has the 17s for less.

I used one of those simulators to see how it would look on W210 and for some reason it looked smaller than other 17" wheels I simulated. Do you think wheels with deep lip and/or rivets cause that illusion?

Whitey

I think they are a great value and look good too. I would invest in 18" for better performance and looks. The Brabus IV style is a classic, if not legend for the E. Those wheels were on the (once) fastest sedan in the world. Check these out:

jimmydagreek

She still hasn't made up here mind, just like a woman. As soon as she does though, I'm jacking those stocks...

Whitey

Keep it in the family dude:

jimmydagreek

Woah, that's tight...

Whitey

Some better ones:

jimmydagreek

Those look tight although I'm not too sure of the third pic. down. That rear wheel is a bit to wide and sticks out too far for my liking, which makes the car look a bit like a hot rod...

Whitey

Remember dude, it don't matter what you like, its what she likes, LOL! I like the kinda aggresive look. IMO tho, the BBS LMs (chromed) still look the best on the W211.....

jimmydagreek

True, true but I still get to pimp the car so it's gotta look good, lol. I also like the BBS LMs but chrome on a silver car??? I thought you were against this...

Whitey

Ya, I was but looking at the 1/16's and these, it looks fine maybe cuz the spokes are thinner (but still better on a darker car):

Dema

It looks like in shoes from other feet.