valentinasmj

I purchased an E-450 wagon in December, it came equipped with the sport package and 19” AMG wheels. I have since bent 4 rims. None were bad enough to leak air but all bad enough to make the care shake at all speeds. I did purchase the tire & wheel warranty but it won’t cover repair unless the wheels are leaking. The first time my dealer covered the
repair (2 rims were replaced, the third was repaired) but I had to spend hours on the phone fighting for that.

I have since bent another rim. I know this is a common tale from searching this forum. We drive carefully, but potholes happen and the 19” package simply can’t handle them.

Does anyone have experience making this change?

I asked my dealer about swapping to an 18” package, but they have been totally unhelpful and their answers have been all over the place. They are not sure 18s will fit over the perforated disc brake (which is apparently larger).

Hindsight I guess I should have looked for one with luxury styling but honestly the wheel size is the last thing I think about when purchasing a care.

Replacing a $1000 rim every 2000 miles sucks.

rraisley

I've meant to ask my auto insurance company: I presume they do not cover bent rims? I mean, if you hit a pothole hard enough to damage the suspension, I would certainly think it would cover that. If so, why not the rims? I can see it not covering tires, which are a wearable item and I usually have a tire warranty.

valentinasmj

perhaps, but trust me you don’t want to make small claims. your auto insurance will double before you know it.

estark

I have a 2018 E400 luxury and a 2019 E450 coupe, boy have 18 inch. Wheels with the perforated disk brakes. Looking at cars with the 19 inch wheels in my opinion the brake rotors are the same size. To confirm this I would go to the parts counter and ask if the brake rotors are the same whether you have 18 or 19 inch wheels. On both of my cars there is almost no space between the brake calipers and the wheel and when I look at one with 19 inches there is more space.

2thfxr

I have Sport package E300 with 18" wheels and perforated brake disks. I hit a pot hole last winter and bottomed the suspension but did not bend the wheel and car still drives smoothly. No guarantee you sill have same luck but there is more compression room in the larger tires. I had a Porsche Panamera with 20" wheels and I worried about hitting potholes so much, it was one reason for trading it in plus all the new safety self driving features with the Premium #3 package.

suby01

My E300 has the AMG BBK and it came stock with 18" AMG wheels.
It boggles my mind when dealers flat out dont know or decide to lie so they can gain an advantage on customers.

valentinasmj

Here is the kicker, they had a used E400 wagon with 18” wheels on the lot. I asked them to see if those would fit; they would only do so if I agreed to pay the labor if they did not. Ridiculous considering I spent $75k on a car there just 7 months ago.

JTK44

Just my $.02:

Why not go directly to the service manager where you bought the car and ask him to take an 18" wheel from a car they are servicing and see it fits on your car?

If it does your problem is solved.

BTW, I have a 2019 E 450 Luxury Styling. I wanted the extra ground clearance and "smaller" wheels with the larger aspect ratio which gives a bigger sidewall and so far, my present car and also my previous, a 2016 E450 also Luxury, no problems with the wheels and I live on Long Island and drive in NYC, which is the land of the potholes, plus go to Vermont in the winter for skiing.

mercedes.fan

The e450 has the perforated disks with 18 inch rims as standard, so should fit without problem.

valentinasmj

I wish it were that simple. The Service department has been a roadblock on this issue from day 1. First they said it would void my warranty to switch to 18" wheels, I called BS and pushed back and then he quoted me $6000 for wheels and tires. I called BS on that and then he "found" some accessory wheels that might work that were $2400 for a set. Then he changed his mind and said they wouldn't fit. I asked for them to take an 18" wheel from another car (like you suggested) and he said they would need to install 4 wheels and take it for a test drive to "make sure nothing rubbed" and they wouldn't do it with another customer's wheels. Then I suggested they borrow them from one of their used cars and he said they would be would charge for labor if they didn't fit or if I didn't order the $6000 wheels. Unbelievable. There is a wheel shop near by that specializes in straightening and selling refurbed OEM wheels so I might go down that path. Or just go to a different dealer. The problem is all of this is a huge time suck.

madtrader

I have a 2019 e450 wagon with the sport/AMG styling and the larger perforated disks and 18” wheels. What I wonder is if I can get 17” wheels for winter. Clearances look too tight.

valentinasmj

Thanks everyone for the replies. I dropped the car off at an independent rim repair/refinish shop. He also deals in OEM rims and refurbs. The guy there was much more knowledgeable and helpful than the mercedes service adviser. He did say that the front brake caliper (6 piston?) makes rim fitment more difficult, but usually AMG 18s will fit (because AMG wheels are designed to work with the large disc and caliper). He said if it was his car, he would just repair the rim and switch to non-run flat tires. His experience is the RFTs transmit a lot more shock to the the wheel, and once people switch they get fewer bends. That said, he is going to price out a set of 18" AMG wheels today for me. We also discussed switching to a taller sidewall on my 19s (there is plenty of clearance), but he said it can cause problems with the air suspension (which I think my car has). As you might expect, he said 90% of his rim repair business is MB and BMW.... "The combination of crap roads, low profile tires and heavy cars keeps me busy." His shop is conveniently located about 5 minutes from all the high-end european car dealers....

https://www.rimrepaircenter.com/serv...straightening/

rraisley

I'd be more concerned with the ride height, handling, and things related to the speed (speedometer, etc.). I'm assuming you have 245/40 R19 tires. Keeping the same 245 section, and going to a 45 aspect ratio raises the car about 1/2", a 50 about 1" (and reduces indicated speed, etc. by 7%). Going to a smaller 235/45 R19 raises the car only .3", while 225/45 raises it only 1/8", but I'm not sure you will feel that much difference. With 18" wheels, you could go to 245/45 to be right on or 235/50 to be only 1/4" higher. IMHO, with air suspension, I would worry about increased size & height less: It already raises the car about an inch (I think) in Comfort mode, so you could run with another mode for suspension and keep it lower.

threeMBs

OP, read the following thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...clearance.html. You may find it very helpful both to your car and your wallet. If you will switch from run flats, do not forget spare wheel/tire (many threads on the subject, use search).

valentinasmj

awesome, thanks. i called Tire Rack and placed my order already!

jl199986

Was just about to post. but 3Mb's hit the old thread. Very happy with my Rial 18 inches on nRFTs winter (michelin Xice). I've not yet replaced the factory set for my summer set yet, but may soon with same Rial's with summer non-RFT's. (I've been sidetracked looking at Porsche 911's )

Good Luck with yours- Let us know which tire you get and what you think of them ride/ sound wise.

valentinasmj

I went with Continentals. Sam at tire rack thinks they are as good/better than the Michelins but $50 less each. This is a much better combo than the 19” RFTs. With the 19s, any tiny bump was jarring. Car still handles great, and now minor road defects almost disappear.

I need to swap out the generic caps for the MB caps. The repair shop still has the old wheels, he is going to straighten the bent one and I will be ebaying the set....

jhpmbusa

Hard to tell from the pictures, did you go with non run flats?

valentinasmj

Correct. They are not run flats. It is my wife’s car and we have AAA, state farm roadside assistance and tire rack offers their own. So if there is a problem she will just dial for help

CarFan1

After a couple days now, what's your assessment?

valentinasmj

I am extremely happy. We had it at our lake house over the weekend so I was able to open it up on some country roads (which are in much better condition than the urban roads I normally drive on). They felt great at speed, seem quieter than the RFTs that came on the car, and absorb bumps much much better.

I am just shocked that my MB service department turned this into such a headache. I dealt with the service manager, service advisor and GM and they all had no idea if 18s would work and wouldn’t work with me to find out. One call to tire rack and 48 hours later my new wheels were delivered and installed.

threeMBs

TireRack offers only "Road Hazard Protection" which means they will pay for tire's repair (or replacement if unrepairable) only, not any other service, which is very different from roadside assistance. Speaking of which, roadside assistance is only good if you have a spare in your wagon's trunk and then you're on your way, otherwise they will tow.

valentinasmj

Thanks for the clarification. I guess for now I will just order the mobility kit and hope that covers any problems. I am ok with towing if that doesn't work. It doesn't seem there is a practical way to store a spare in this car, without giving up too much cargo space (although I need to spend more time searching the forum for other solutions).

jhpmbusa

Will AAA come and plug your tire for you or bring you a spare?

valentinasmj

AAA will install your spare or tow you to a repair shop. I don't think they bring their own spares or plugs.