jimmydagreek

I agree with the 10mm spacers for the rear with longer bolts. You also need to hurry up with the suspension upgrade and your car is too high, lol.

Now to answer your question about the tint, my favorite combo is as follows, 20% on the rear section which includes the rear window and back doors and then 35% on the front doors only. It's a great blend with not a lot of contrast and helps you see better at night that 20% in the front. There are a lot of different types of tint out there so be sure you're not getting some cheap stuff. For basic smoked tint, Madico is one of the best tint mfr's out there IMHO. There is also platinum tint as well but it's slighly reflective and I don't think it would look that good with black.

Good luck mang and keep the mods. coming!

Rossi430

How do you get the old shift *** off ?

007

rossi, to get knob off,

turn at base of shift knob the ring counterclockwise. that will release the lock,then just pull the entire knob up. and its out.

to put in knob, do the opposite of above.

sbarsap

Thanks Jimmy,

I am getting my suspension mods done tomorrow, finally found a place that has reasonable prices. I will post pics later in the weel. I also ordered some 10mm H&R spacers hopefully should recieve them this week too.

Thanks to all for your advice.

jimmydagreek

Good luck brotha. Can't wait to see her lowered...

clco

Get the exhaust done. It adds some elegant power to your look. Also get your calipers painted.

Rossi430

Love the look of the wheels. !

I have seen them on Tirerack - seem to be very reasonably priced. I am also going to lower mine - bilstein / eiback as Sbarsap talked about above. I looked on tirerack for those as well. Are there any other good site to compate prices ?

Lastly ... E55 side skirts - where can I find those ? Approxiamte costs ? Installation ?

Thanks for your feed back ....

MikeyE430

Nice wheels.....similar the new AMGs. Do you know how much your 18s weigh? Same deal with aftermarket installers here in TN.

sbarsap

Rossi, I got the AMG body kit with the car as it was the Sport version of the E430. Try this place called ritepart.com, they had the E55 bumper's they might have the side skirts.

sbarsap

The AMG versions doesn't fit our cars so I went with these.

18"x8" offset +37mm 24.3lbs
18"x9" offset +32mm 26.5lbs

I did not get the staggered setup.

Whitey

That IS a staggered set up

sbarsap

Whitey,

I know, I was giving Mikey the the weight for the two sizes in 18". I got 4 x 18x8.

Fast55

Looks dayum good. Staggerd setup looks better, but not being able to rotate is a biatch.

sbarsap

Just got my suspension work done (Bilstein SP and Eibach Springs with # pads all around). Whitey do you still think I need spacers? If so please let me know what size and if they are for the front and rear, etc. The guy who installed the suspension told me he doesn't think I need them. I was pretty happy with the drop since it got rid of the ugly space. Also the initial testing of the ride seems good, it's as comfortable as stock with better handling. However it has been raining like crazy here so I couldn't test cornering. Do you think I will need an alignment? The car drives straight from what I can tell.

Here are the pics.

Whitey

It looks 200% better with the lowering

As for whether or not sapcers are needed, its really up to you. If you don't see anything wrong in the way the wheels sit, then don't worry. That last pic seems to demonstrate exactly what I've been saying all along but at the end of the day, its really more personal preference and budget.......I thought u'd ordered the spacers already?

why_not

It looks great with the lowering !!!!
(cant wait to my car low again)

sbarsap

Thanks Whitey for all your advice. I did order the spacers but the place has it backordered so I haven't received it yet, I am in two minds on whether to cancel the order.

Whitey

Sorry bro, forgot to respond....:p

I'd say it depends on how much more you have to dish out for those spacers and bolts.

Just look at how far your rear wheels are sitting behind the fender in that last pic vs my sig pic - although I'm sure it's an improvement over the stock rims already, mine looks just a tad more aggressive, doesn't it? I'm also sure the rear's look like they're kinda sitting in further than the front ones when you look at the car from the rear, right? Also, the wider spread with the spacer will give you noticeably better handling. Just my $0.02 - good luck on your decision.

stemags

I notice you're using F1GSD3's ,,,I like mine very much,,really smooth responsive tire,,great in the rain.Thanks for the look re: wheels.Im torn,,tufffff decision.

f-rod

Re: Tinting. I've heard/read that tinting the rear window is problematic. Any commments on this?

MikeyE430

Mine has been tinted for almost 5 years without any problems. The only problems I have had is with front side windows. Tint shop didn't use felt and they now have slight vertical scratches.

Fast55

Metallic based tints on the rear window will destroy your radio reception. Had that problem in my E430. Different tint and the problem was solved.

C240-Merc

I know that this is an old post, but I need to know which shop here in Houston did the work for you. I have just been quoted $1,500 for the same work that you described cost you $540.00! Are you happy with the work?

Air Marshall Eldritch

I paid $400 for an indie to do it. Straight labor for the 4 shocks and springs.