New wheels for an old gentleman:

Factory 140 401 01 02 18" AMG Monoblocks. Part# changed in 2010 as the part is end-of-life, will post if anyone is looking. AMG only manufactured these for one car, in one year, that I know of - the 1999 S500 Grand Edition [and MAY have been standard on the 99 S600 - can someone help me verify that?]. This was the final prod release of the 140. All 98-99 140's were made in one production run from Nov 1997 to Feb 1998 (4 months).

Replaces the old 16" 235/60s which were stock for 140s I believe, although the 300's may have had different rims.

New tires: 4x 255/45 ZR18s, Continental ContiProContact. I was about to order Bridgestone Serenity's, at this size best price I could find was $1300 delivered/tax. Friend had the tires (Conti's) off a Mustang, had ~1k miles on them. Still had rubber ticks and ink on the treads. Manufacture date DOT3410 (34th week in 2010)

I sold my Grand a while back, and after a 4 yr search found the wheels at a chop shop in California on a wrecked 99 Grand last month. They were pretty mangled up, and really didn't know if they'd withstand a rebuild. Some tungsten had to be welded to one of the outer edges from a nick. Clearcoat had faded to a yellow, and wheels generally looked awful. Like the driver had purposely run them along concrete curbing. But [and this is good] the seller described them to a T, and he considered them junk. Thus the low price.

Had the wheels rebuilt to literally new condition using "Wheel Wizard" facility in Atlanta, Ga. Not the cheapest in town ($650 total), but the best. Confirmed they do most of the work for the other wheel shops which I found hilarious. ~9 or 10 estimates from LA to NY ran from $50/wheel (kids w/pickup truck) to $750/wheel for rebuild. I'm not going to go on and on doing an ad for WheelWizard, but believe me - they really do the trick. Shop is enormous - typical filthy, crazy busy, with workers bumping into each other etc. Paint booths, autoclave ovens, stripping centers, welding stations, rounding lathes, micro balancers etc. This place is amazing - and they're reasonable. Yes, I'd recommend them. If you're interested do your googling, talk to them, and take it from there. [note: I saw some of the ugliest ghetto wheels on the planet in there, for instance one set had alternating colors w/glitter on each spoke on 22" rims lol, and another $8k set of rims had a spiral painted from the center out - but they'll do whatEVER you tell them to do].

I HAD to replace both old wheels and tires (Michelin M4s), as old 16" factory wheels would not have withstood another set of tires. They were corroded, air seeped through micro holes throughout rims, would not hold balance etc. Worse, the guy I bought it from in NY (very well known sports announcer) in 2002 had had them chromed. Water gets between the chrome and the aluminum and all hell breaks loose.

Cost(s):

Wheel cores $500 total (all 4) shipped. He was glad to get rid of them. I didn't believe he'd ship until they actually showed up lol.
Rebuild wheels to new: $650 total (all 4)
Tires: $200 total (all 4)
Total investment for wheels/tires, mounted and balanced: $1350

I could have purchased new AMG Monoblock wheels from MB, only available in Germany nowadays. Cost: $2945.00 USD per wheel + import/taxes. You can sometimes find them on Craigslist and Ebay good condition in the $1500/ea range. Sometimes available in used condition, some out of round or otherwise unusable.

Replaced both front wheel bearings, all 4 rotors and pads, all 4 sway bar bushings, upper and lower CA bushings, CA links, both spheres, hi pressure steering lines, knuckles etc while I was in there.

Ride changed significantly - went from a couch/sofa ride to something more like my CLK550, just not nearly as stiff. Feels much like a model 221 S550 w/active hydraulic suspension, almost like an S63 or something - but not as tight. Some of this may change when/if I put on a softer tire like the Serenity's. Car responds to slightest touch of wheel now. No slew in curves, no more yaw bouncing and float. It seems suspension was made for this wheel/tire combo (actually it is as this is a factory setup). No change in mileage, no change in acceleration. Braking is much more pronounced (could be new pads, bled fluid etc).

Car does not wander, requires you stay on it. Will go where you point it. Side wind loads seem a little more pronounced surprisingly. Potholes, bridge joints etc are more noticeable, but not bad at all. They don't jar fillings loose like I thought they would. Another surprise is they are MUCH quieter. Could be the old M4's were about to give up.

What do you think?





https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...1&d=1354930137

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...1&d=1354941526

 

Very nice, I like them a lot as they really keep the class of the vehicle.

 

Nice. I'm loving that jade green paint too. Is that a MB factory color?

I have ContiProContacts on my W124. They let you feel every sharp break in the pavement, but make it up in the corners and have fantastic feedback at speed. Useless when cold though.

 

Yea, that's a factory green. I looked for years before I found one in that color with a beige interior. The Grand Edition was only available in black also. Probably why you don't see these wheels on other colors.

Thanks for the info RE the Conti's - yep that's what I'm feeling alright! Conti makes another 255/45 model (can't think of the name) that's even stiffer - boy I could only imagine

 

Thanks for the compliment - very nice.

BTW - your avatar gave me a startle there for a sec. I really like the way you put the vertical line in it etc

 

This is the W140 I have searched for, for years, never could find one. Lovely car.

M

 

Thanks for the compliment, M. Yea, the staff at about every MB dealer in the SE knows about this car. I'm always reminded that most deem it the "best 120k mile 140" on the East coast, usually with the comment "Just drive it another 200k miles". I've done a lot of preventative maintenance on it over the years, in other words stuff that gets replaced before failure. Just last week I put in new driveshaft flex joints etc even though they had a ways to go.

Thinking seriously of getting into a 2010 S63, but finding one @ the right price is proving frustrating. But just since Nov they've come down almost 15%, so we'll see. If I do that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my last 140 - this green one. May keep it as a spare, may sell it. I notice of late that 140's have no middle-price; they're either worthless or $20k so I don't know what to do lol

All the best -

 

If you decide to sell it, please PM me! Do you have more pics of it??


M

 

Not trying to hijack the thread, but germancar1, I am considering selling my 1994 S420 in a similar green color...It has 161k miles, body has a couple of dents, but good beige interior. Only thinking about selling, at this point, though.. Honestly, I didn't even know people liked the green on these cars (except me )! Here are a couple of pictures.

 

DAT GREEN it's growing on me

-Z

 

More routine stuff - replaced all 8 brake lines (flex), but not the steel. Replaced power steering return hoses, and re-gasketed the reservoir. Also bled the suspension hydraulics but didn't completely flush it, just enough to see some of the newer fluid start to come from the rear struts. Cleaned the magnet in the tank etc. It continuously pumps fluid in in circles around the car anyway so not sure if you'd ever get it all out. Spheres are fairly new and in good shape. I keep 2 in the trunk just in case, as they'll usually pop at the worst time (like 1k miles from home lol). Also keep new serp belt in trunk, as that WILL strand you, and of course a spare of the much-talked-about "T" connector - which will both strand you AND let everyone know about it as it looks like your car just exploded.

Oh - and that stupid cup holder on the center console - $300 is about as cheap as you'll find them. Even the true MB part only lasts about a year before somebody puts a big gulp in there a stretches it, springs fly everywhere and the process starts again.

Yes, I get a lot of people asking me if I'll sell it, but so far no-one has put their money where their mouth is. I'm not really all that excited about selling it anyway, but you did ask.