bosgl

I'm brand new here - just picked up a 2012 GL550 and love it, but have a question about switching out the factory wheels to a set of smaller snows. I am hoping someone here is a wheel guru and can help me out.

The stock wheels are 21 x 10 ET37. My winter wheels are from a GL450, 19 x 8.5 ET 56.

My questions is, to make my winter wheels run flush to the wheel well like my stock wheels, how wide of a spacer do I need to run? Thanks in advance for any information. I'll post up pics as soon as I figure out how!

bosgl

So I did some research and using a wheel offset calculator, I get an offset difference of a whopping 38mm between the 21x10 et 37 and the 19 x 8.5 et 56. Is there a wheel guru that could double check my math and confirm?

This seems like a huge difference - wondering if has anyone mounted 8.5 inch rims with a 56 offset on their 550 and noticed that the rims were set inboard by about 1.5 inches? It seems like a dramatic difference to not notice.

I'm going to order the 30mm DRA H&R spacers and hope my math isn't wrong....

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

wlee69

38mm difference...with the 30mm spacer you'll still be set in, but only by 8mm from the stock wheels

BlownV8

Math is correct. You will need a 38 mm spacer if you want the exact same fit. I would rather go with a 40 mm spacer than a 30 mm for this application.

bosgl

wlee and blownv8 - Thanks for the confirmation - I agree 40mm would be optimal, but I can't find one. The only thing I could find from Eibach or H&R was a 30mm DRA where the spacer bolts onto the factory holes, then the wheels bolt onto the spacer using the OEM hardware.

I'm going to see how the 30mm looks, and if it's still too far inboard, I guess I could get a 10mm spacer to add to the setup, or I'll just live with is for the Winter.

I'm still amazed at how far off the offset is between the two wheels. Do the flares on the 550 really add over 1.5 inches of offset? Because the flares really don't look that dramatic.

ejpoulsen

8.5" wide wheels on the gl450.
10" wide wheels on the gl550 so seems reasonable.

cyclrder

25-30 mm is what I used on my GL 550 running ML63 amg wheels 20 inch

anything more would be too much if using MB wheels... check my previous posts.. cant put up more pics for some reason

lotuni

Hey bosgl,

How did yours turn out with the spacers? I am in the same situation with the winter 19 on mine (wife's). She says she doesn't mind that they are inset with the big arches. I tend to notice it a bit more

Did you find it worth while to put spacers on?

bosgl

Yes, I thought it was worth it. the spacers made the OEM 19" wheels wheels flush with the arches giving it the OEM look. I bought H&R 30 mm spacers that bolt onto the wheel hub, and then the wheel bolts onto the prethreaded holes in the spacers. No vibrations or shimmy.

I believe these spacers are referred to as DRA
spacers, bit I'm not totally sure.

Hope this helps.

xxGenericSNxx

Yes those are DRA spacers.

Did you buy a kit made specifically for the GL? I need 20mm DRA for my R, but H&R only sell 25mm and 30mm for my car, however, they do sell 20mm DRA for other MBs which have the same lug nut pattern and center bore as my car... Think it's OK to get the 20mm DRA for another Benz for my car provided that they both share the same bolt pattern and center bore?

bosgl

My spacers are not a kit specifically for the GL, just a standard H&R 30mm DRA adaptor.

I do not think there is any reason a standard spacer will not work as long as the specs match OEM hub bore, etc.

xxGenericSNxx

Cool. Can you tell me where you got it from?

Jason B

So if I'm going with a 22x10.50 wheel with +40 offset, and 285 tires on GL350/gl450 should look pretty wide and flush?