estrain_ny

Hi Guys,
I took a small step in trying to modify my S500 and choose to start by upgrading the wheels. I got these from a family member of mine who's a MB authorized machanic. He came accross these from another MB owner and i'm interested in them but i'm not sure about a couple of things.

After I mount them onto my MB S500 here are some of the issues I incounter the following.

(1) The rear wheels were jammed against the caliper
(2) There are noticable vibration/rattling when driven at speed over 40 mph
(3) The car pulls in either direction when driving
(4) The rear wheels rubbed againt the fender when going over a bump fast

The Specs for the wheels are a staggered set of 18x8 245-45-18 front and 18x9 275-40-18 rear. I was able to somewhat fix the issue with the rear wheel touching the caliper by adding a spacer. I'm not sure if they are the right wheels for my car but I would like to have them, any help would be greately appreciated.

If they are not the right wheels I will be force to sell them so offers are welcome.

stevedel

1.) Sounds like you solved the caliper issue by using a spacer
2.) Are the wheels/spacers hubcentric or do you have hubcentric rings mounted? Were the tires mounted/balanced properly? Are the wheels true and round? A slight imperfection in the roundness of the wheel can cause vibration issues.
3.) Are the front tires worn evenly?
4.) Maybe the spacers that you used are too big.

Gondon

What Wheels/RIMS did you get?'

isnt your family member a Mechanic? so he can do it for you.

estrain_ny

No the spacers are not hubcentric but I believe the whele is, I will have to double check and I did not mount any hub rings, I will have to get them balanced just to give you a more accurate accessment of the problem. The wheels are true and round. The front tires are brand new that i had purchased a few months prior for my BMW but opted to go stock. There are no spacers on the front wheel only the rear.

Should I add the hub rings to eliminate any mismatch in the diameter of the hub opening?

estrain_ny

He a mechanic not a tire shop repair person and i will post pic later tonight.

stevedel

Yes.

MB (like VW/Audi) uses lug bolts to hold the wheel to the hub with the load being supported by the center bore. The center bore of the wheel needs to properly match the size of the hub. This is likely to be the culprit of your vibration issues.

Gondon

really looking forward to it

estrain_ny

stevedel,

I was able to track down the exact source of my problems, the first being:
(1) These wheels are for a CLK so the offset does not match that of the S500
(2) I need to balance all four of the wheels
(3) Hub rings must be added (your assumption were correct) thx

ZedStyle

if you're using spacers, remember that you'll probably need longer lug bolts, otherwise you're new wheel wil be bouncing down the highway while your hub slices a line in the road

stevedel

glad to know you figured it out.

are you still going to use the wheels? i'd love to see them on your car

estrain_ny

No i'm going to change them, I dont need any future problems with this monster of a machine so i will change them this weekend to something more specific for the S500.