Brav

Good job on deleting the Star - I think its knidof annoying, especially when going for a more sporty look. Dont really need it to remind you its an MB, its quite clear. Congrats on the swap

CE750

Amazing how polarizing that star is... some love it (me) and some hate it! none seem indifferent to it.

chenry

I'm kinda neutral on it...so because I dont care much one way or the other...I figured I would be a bit different and go with the flat badge...at the same time I've never had a car with a hood badge that "stood up" so it was easy for me to go with what I'm familiar with.

rockyfeller

Guess I'm a 80s old man. Always had hood ornaments and I'm too used to them. Some sunny mornings when I pull out of driveway it gives me that "I'm so lucky" feeling. Flat badge is so BMW....Not a bad thing though.

ruykava

yeah man, i'm a hood ornament kind of guy. when jag decided to delete the hood ornament in the X-type i cried foul - unsurprisingly all jags in asian countries have the hood ornaments back on :P

btw that is a hot, hot, hot looking E350 - love it! love the lighting as well, very nice photography there. could have come out of the merc catalogue.

hehe, having driven both E and 5, yeah the 5 has better steering but the E is definitely more solid (some would say stolid) both in terms of interior material and in the ride. and i think the E is faster as well - the 5 feels japanese (i.e. quick off the line) but the E catches up real quickly. hey, if you really want great steering, go CLS instead - agree that sometimes the E steering doesn't inspire that much confidence through really challenging twists

CE750

Chris.. thanks for the new set of 17"... I can't wait now! The 16" were just too small for a W211..

Now to find a home for a set of clean 4000 mile 16's on French Rubber!

Edude

Just gorgeous. Those are the rims that I want when I grow up What did you use to lower the car?

Also, please someone fill me in, what the hell are the Euro bumper strips?

Edude

One more question. Are those brabus or replica rims? thanks!

Barry45RPM

European front bumper strips do not have the USA D.O.T. required amber marker lights on the sides.

Edude

thanks .. i can see it on the sig in this thread now looks nice.. how much are they? i do have parktronics on my car.

Brav

See my sig - no amber marker.

And to answer your other Q - they are about 200 bucks painted (and installed if Steve is in town). I have park distance control. Cheap considering marker covers or clears are half that. Looks 100x better than clears or covers

Edude

Brav, why are you in vialotation of mbworld? or its a joke? anyway, how much did you pay for you strips?

Brav

Joke, kinda.. long story.

As I said, about 200. www.mbenznl.com - Steve is a great guy.

Edude

Oops.. sorry, i missed the price. I agree, for 200 you cannot bit it. Im a big fan of keeping cars clean, and that is clean. Now the only question isare the rims in the original post real Brabus or replicas. I found the monoblock VI replicas in 19 for 2000 shipped w tires.

fake brabus rims on ebay

chenry

Edude-
Just got your pm as well...here is a copy of my response

Wheels are by a company here in Huntington Beach called Monet Wheels and yes they are a copy of the Brabus…about $290 each…19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear. I’ve had Monet wheels on a couple of my cars and have always been happy with them…if you saw the pics of my 545 those were Monet as well. Granted the Monets are not a two-piece and they are not forged…but for how I drive and what I need from a wheel…those things just don’t bother me.

Also for me (and you’re not too far away)…the Monet warehouse is here in Huntington Beach…and for me that’s great! So when my wife curbs them or something happens to them…I don’t have to deal with some company a long way away…and/or have to deal with getting a wheel fixed….for $290…I’ll just grab another one.

Tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S…I’ve had the Pilot Sport 2 in the past and while the Pilot Sport 2 is a bit quieter and handles a bit better…I get more life out of the A/S tire and at the same time I like how they look vs. the Pilot Sport 2

Car is airmatic…lowered it using a notch in the back and a recalibrated bracket in the front (work done at TWS). There are modules and ways to reprogram the ECU to get the same effect….to each their own…for me I didn’t want anything electronic…and preferred to go with a mechanical method (moving the sensors) to lower the car.

Monetwheels.com

Tires 275/30/19 and 245/35/19

Hope this helps…happy to answer any additional questions

Chris

chenry

Yeah those 17's will make a big difference....I'm sure you'll be pleased / They should be one their way as of today

Brav

Hey Chris.... My name is Chris too - I grew up in HB, and we nearly have the same car. Now if you are 6'3, blonde and have an ex-gf andrea.. we need to talk.

chenry

Oh My God...I am in fact 6'3 blonde and have an ex-gf andrea...what does this all mean...I'm confused

Brav

oh ****.

well. hopefully we never run into each other or the world might implode upon itself. unless I can fix my flux-capacitor in time..

Edude

I know.. you guys are evil twins separated at birth :-)

Here is idea while one of you wants to take a vacation, the other one can step in as the replacement. Wasn't there a movie like that with batman in it :p

Edude

Thanks for the reply. Much gracias. I sent ya another pm asking how much you end up paying for the whole setup. I was quoted 2100 out the door shipped to San Francisco. I am thinking about getting same rims, but with black middle. I then plan to paint the front grill all black. Any thoughts?

chenry

Black would look great...go for it! As long as the lip is left silver and that's what you are talking about sooo

As for the price...
Wow $2100 is an exceptionally good price…I’m hard pressed to believe that is with Michelin Pilot Sport tires…but you tell me…what type/size tires are included?

Edude

You are correcto.. Not with Pilots, but with Nitto 555s. I had Michelins on my e36 M3 and displeased witht them, to hard for mt tast and they are loud when broken in. I am a huge fan of Pzero yellow or rosso. But for this setup willing to go with any tire. I dont think that I can get enough power out of this car in order to push the tires to the limits. So anything that will last me for long time is good with me. I've heard good things about 555. Any input on that? Also, have you seen the black version of your rims in perso, How are they, do they look bad/good? Quality of the worksmanship? Would you mind taking closer shapshots of your rims? I know I am a pain in the *** But I will buy you a beer if you ever over in San Francisco