Nevada Jack

CL and I have been beating "the dead horse" for a long time...and this subject will be beat to death until stock inventory is more unique than mod inventory....which is getting close.... I am sure CL appreciates my feeling on this subject

nielsll

Larger diameter wheels are necessary only to degree needed to accommodate the brake rotor/caliper. Increasing size beyond that which is necessary will most probably result in reduced performance in ride, handling, acceleration, and braking. A magazine did a comparison test for +1,+2,+3 fitments a while ago and found the best performance at 17" wheel diameters. The improved response at turn in for the larger diameter wheels was the only positive factor. Even this was overshadowed by the cornering force generated by the 17" combination.

epj1906

Just my two cents, but I say if you are going to mod the car for aestetic value, then 22's are not out of the question. I have seen several cars with 22's in Atlanta and IMHO, they looked very nice.

But if you are concerned with performance, then stick with stock wheels and put your money in the engine.

CLFREAK

I love it, J, baby! You always make forum life more of a challenge and put some real spark into this debate which, I agree, will go on till one of us drops dead and is buried in our 100% stock or 100% tricked-out Benz! Perhaps one day our rides of opposition will run into each other on one of our great "freeway" systems out here like the 215 (what a JOKE with 2 lanes) and after the wreckage a new form of a perfect compromise will be born!

All I will add, having my turn to retort, is that you really shouldn't comment on something you've never experienced (in, I'm assuming, never driving/owning a tricked-out Benz or any other customized car for that matter), whereas I've driven both a stock Benz and tricked-out one, and I will swear under oath that the differences in appeal to BOTH the crowds and me speak for themselves; a tastefully done aftermarket look will definitely garner more looks of admiration from young and old alike and give an owner way more satisfaction as well as ownership privileges and prestige than a stock car which anyone who can afford it can drive around in. But then taste is relative to the eye of the beholder. Let's just say - a look within reason? Every owner of a customized ride from minor aftermarket mods to major, will swear by that, otherwise they wouldn't have gone through the hassle, time, and expense!

Here'a a little story to add to what I'm talking about: As I was driving down to the SEMA show last week, I just saw my old S-class I sold 4 years ago driving not more than a couple blocks from where I reside; the guy driving it still left all my signature "marks" on it - and that is how I recognized it was mine. That was a supreme joy to me to know that something I created endured the test of time - and now someone else is enjoying something I created - and that someone paid me top dollar for because it was tasteful. All I can say is that it's a feeling that neither simple words nor trying to explain in this forum can convey. It's almost like seeing an old friend.

Would you even be able to tell it was your car after you offed it? It betcha it probably wouldn't even matter to you, and that's the difference between us and the difference between owning a disposable assembly line item that takes no imagination to own/drive vs. owning something in which you put something of yourself into. It's that passion of owning something in which YOU call the shots and YOU have control over how you want it to look rather than be forced to accept only what the manufacturer provides that you evidently have no concept of. Now, if we're talking about a Rolls Royce Phantom, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Bentley, or other exotic, limited production car, the MOST I would do is rims - because just the fact you own something that is already and most likely destined to become a collector's CLASSIC - you don't want to mess with it. It's exclusive enough as is, although I have seen some nice kits for the Gallardo and 430

In any case, it's no different than customizing your residence, your clothes, shoes, everything.

Again, bottom line, since I'm assuming you've never experienced the joys of owning something unique (which I have) nor care to - that's your right and decision and I respect that. But don't make statements that "Mods are so common now days that they are just another glitzy car which no one really notices...except for the owner maybe". That simply is an untrue statement. Respect goes both ways.

And J, what're you doing in a glitzy, overtly image-conscious haven like Vegas anyway? Your car and you belong in Iowa!

Nevada Jack

You and carsinamerica should get together and rewrite "War and Peace"...Tolstoy would be proud. I had to take a break and check my corn plants on the patio....

You unlike many posters of mods on these forums take the time to design and create something that reflects your personal interpretation of what the car means to you. You are right on my approach. I do not become emotionally attached to a specific automobile. While I own it I am enthusiastic and emote my feelings, but I do not think it represents some part of my personality other than liking nice cars. I believe you take a serious approach to your mods and make sure the individual parts blend with each other and produce a unified impression. Some of these posters with their mod S 550's must wear red ties with orange shirts and brown shoes with a grey suit. I would love to see some pictures of your CL that you sold to see the labors of your work.

But the mod makers are getting out of the box for sure when they produce a transparent plastic full wheel showing not only the brake rotors and callipers but the entire front end content. And in a video the designer when asked about brake dust said you just take it to your mechanic and have him blow it out every three weeks or so...he has never owned a MB!

Anyway...another chapter in this ongoing saga. BTW...the reason I came to glitzy Las Vegas was to enjoy the nature and the desert and also try out my gambling system that allows me to buy a new S Class. If you are interested I can sell you a confidential copy of my system for an unknown sum of cash. It comes with a chrome cover and gold lettering...you would love it...

Safe driving CL...see you next time...

Doctodd33

post pics of your CL......the one point that merits repeating....these are just cars. Some guy in a suit created a marketting strategy to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about his company's combination of plastic, steel, glass, leather etc. It is just a ****ing car. It means nothing except for the good times you enjoy in it. If you enjoy it after modding it, then props.

T

reelestates

So I just got my new Capri Blue/AMG and of course want to replace the wheels with the 20" that come on the S65. However, as you guys may know the AMG catalog has some new wheels that are the S%#$! I am a purist so going strictly AMG is the way for me. Furthermore, every vehicle I have ever rigged with wheels that are out of spec are just a pain and ultimately create more problems then the benefits.

TeutonicCarFan

I agree with putting the AMG rims on, and it is hard to choose which ones. When you go to the AMG website they give you some to look at however they only show the rim and not the rim on the car so it is hard to tell what they would look like. Hard choices ahead!

CLFREAK

Where's your passion? That's where you and I differ. They are not just cars to me. I don't know what society you live in, but in most U.S. cities of significance, and especially to a man, they are more of a statement about who he is, what he is, and moreover, works of art if a classic or a custom that he put his blood, seat and tears into. There's no getting around what society has deemed a status symbol, and so what if I've fallen victim to that. It's my right and I enjoy that one part of society's stigma placed upon a machine. It goes back to the days of chariots and horses and a valiant knight in shining armour wouldn't be caught dead in the yugo-of-the-day going to see his princess!

It is not just about the good times you enjoy in it, but the car itslef that provides pride of ownership. If it is just a car and nothing more that a mode of transportation, then why spend $100K on a Benz and get something that will do the basics instead??? Why even be on this forum? After all, you're supposed to be an enthusiast! No one influenced me to do or buy anything. If anything, I am the one who inspires others. Perhaps there are just too many Merc owners lurking on this forum who still think their car's just another run-of-the-mill car. If that's the case, there's really no room for them because I don't see what they have to be enthusiastic about. Why even bother visiting this forum?

A car's lines are just as significant as those on a beautiful woman; they are one of the the things that inspire and give me the will to get up to face another day! That's why SEMA is such "torture" - gorgeous women and gorgeous cars. Ahhhh - Vanity is my favorite sin!

I will soon post all pics of all my rides when I get the chance!

CLFREAK

I agree about the see-through rims. Even I thought - how absolutely ridiculous! I hate spinners with a passion too!

Love your sense of humor & everything you say about me is right on, J! Chrome with gold - yummy!


Some of these posters with their mod S 550's must wear red ties with orange shirts and brown shoes with a grey suit.

Your wish is my command; I couldn't help but think of this statement and had to post this photo of one of those posters!

Doctodd33

CLFreak....i was once you. Dont get me wrong...i love cars. I had TOO MUCH passion when i was younger. Im only 37 now so im not that old, so it wasnt long ago. I loved my 2nd car ever at 19 years old which was a 1986 Mustang GT....then back in residency the first SEMIEXCLUSIVE car i ever bought was a 1999 Mustang Cobra(first day they arrived at the dealerships) and put alot of effort into modding them, cleaning them, etc. But all that time on cars i thought were "special" was BS. It was a waste of time and energy. I could have been doing so much more with that time and energy. These MB's are the same story!!!! They are not special...they are mass produced combinations of assembled parts. I could say alot on this.....if these cars were classics or one-of-a-kinds, then maybe i would say "time well spent modding your ride". And if you say YOU MADE IT ONE OF A KIND, ill beat you to the punch.....i dont agree. I have passion for other things, but maintaining a car or modding a mass produced car is a waste of my passion. Im considering buying a Cobra replica, and maybe that will fit your bill of passion for a car. But the passion will be in driving it, not how it looks.

T

edit: the reason i drive my X5 and am considering an s550 is because i feel safe in them and they fullfill my desire for escapism from the current world if i ever want it. There are many other reasons, but those 2 are relevant to what you posted. And this will sound snobish, but i dont need a car to tell people who i am or what ive accomplished in today's society.

CLFREAK

It sounds like you never really reached a pinnacle of passion when it came to your customization experience, otherwise, you would know what that passion is and means. Perhaps the moderator of this Benz forum should create another section for customized Mercs only! Then I will share with others who speak my language.

I will soon be age 47 in numbers, but I am only 23 when it comes to life and attitude, as an age means nothing more than what I just said - numbers. My heart still pounds and adrenalin shoots up whenever I catch a glimpse of a tricked-out Benz positioned for all to see in valet, or the site of a Lambo whizzing by, or a gleaming white Rolls Royce Phanton pulling up to the restaurant. That still impresses me and I hope to never lose that enthusiasm and become a jaded, blinded, uninspiring robot with zero passion.

Maybe for you the passion is solely in the driving experience; for me it is both in the look as well as the drive. There's a strong feeling of pride and supremacy which lies in experiencing both. The look defines who I am to a world of strangers on the road without me having to say a word. It's definitely an attitude - and, as a result, commoners with "lesser" modes of transport simply make way for my oncoming mechanical thrust, their innocent faces plastered against the window peering in awe and pointing as I race by without me having to honk or flash my headlights- - get the #$%^ outta my way, so to speak. How's that for snobbery!

Like it or not, we do live in a car culture where, as superficial as it sounds, what you drive is who you are - and you are judged by that as well. It is evident everwhere I turn. To me, I don't get caught up in wanting a nice ride just to keep up with the Joneses so much as it is the fact that I'm taking, be that as it may, an assembly-line non-collector production Benz, such as a CL or S, which are already the uber class flagships models, and bumping it one step further by stamping my look on it, thereby making it unique and putting it in the exotic category. One friend long ago said to me - why not just get a Ferrari which is already exotic, than take a Benz and put all that stuff on it? My answer - because I want to take something that is already unattainable to the average person and make it even more unique and individualized with a look that matches my personality. Now, I have changed since those days, and to a lesser degree, would still trick out my Benz, but with more subtlety and restraint.

We spend a good deal of our lives driving in our cars, caring for them, etc. Why should that piece of machinery, as insignificant as you made it sound, be any different than what you live in and what you wear???

It's an extension of you no less than that of your residence, the clothes you wear, jewelry, hair style, etc, etc. With something more visible to society at large on a daily basis than anything else you could possibly own, how could you possibly discount its significance?

Of course, none of this matters to the person who doesn't care about how he looks.

But then, that's just me. I'm into all that stuff. I've customized everything from my cars to my clothes, to jewelry, to shoes, to my home. I'm not into astrology, but funny as it is, one of my sign's personality traits were - "very concerned about image and how others view him", so, there you go.

You bring up exotics and collector cars and tricking out those - those are the ones you wouldn't want to mod, as that would tend to devalue them!

Again, this is not a debate about right or wrong or what's logical or not; it's about personal preferences and what works for each individual and makes him happy. As the saying goes, one man's food is another man's poison. From an economic standpoint, it is a total loser when it comes to aftermarket anything. You will most likely always lose your *** on resale on A/M rims, kits, sound systems, etc. In addition, you limit your market for buyers. I have been lucky in my resales for every one of my customized Mercs because of my marketing techniques and have found buyers to pay me top dollar because they loved the look and appreciated all the work that went into it. My "customized" hands-on approach goes all the way to end; when it stops paying me back in spades with the joy and passion of seeing my ride sit gleaming in the top valet spot at my favorite hot spot and hearing comments from envious onlookers like "damn, that's the nicest f**king car I've ever seen", it then pays me back in healthy dollars and the torch of passion is then passed off onto the next owner for them to enjoy - and on it goes till it turns to dust...

And you're wrong - all my cars are one of a kind. No one else will ever have the same identical look, maybe variations, but each look is unique, just like the individual who created it.

Too bad you used to have "too much passion". Maybe it's because you've lost it that it doesn't matter anymore which I find sad. That is something no one will ever take away from me or that I'll ever let go of because the day I stop looking at hot cars and women is the DAY I DIE!

In another life, I would've been an automotive designer. I rest my case.

reelestates

So far availability seems like next quarter...

Nevada Jack

ROTFLMAO CT....this is the perfect analogy I was trying to make....

Jon@Jlevi SW

I agree, let's talk 20" rivetless..


JL

Doctodd33

wow CLFreak...you certainly have alot to say. I admire your passion, but just think it is misplaced. I hope you put in the time and energy into your family and other things truly important as much as you say you do to cars. I do have passion for other things. I think you misinterpreted me.

T

PurpleHaze

That's a sweet looking rim, would you happen to have a pic of that wheel on a W221?

TeutonicCarFan

IMO these look like a knock off of the SL55 AMG 030 package two piece rims, except they are chromed...not a fan

TeutonicCarFan

your car is always in mint condition and CLEAN...IMO the most beautiful w221, s600 black/savanna

PurpleHaze

Well I finally saw a W221 with a set of 22's on it yesterday when i went to the dealership. A white S550 sitting on 22's, well I have to admit it was simply beautiful and it looked nice, I must also state that as i got up on it and looked at the tires it almost looked like the front rim was touching the ground. It was absolutely no meat on those tires at all. While it looked really nice, the ride on those supper low profile tires has to suck, and from the looks of those tire I think you would be lucky to get 4-5k out of them.
So i feel the 22's are nice if your going for looks alone, but if you plan to do lots of traveling in it and have a nice comfortable ride I think the 22's are a bit much.

Jon@Jlevi SW

For those of you asking about the DPE Wheels...
Check out the full lineup here:
http://jlevistreetwerks.com/store/index.php?cPath=57_79

They are fully customizable, you can get them in any finish, with or without rivets, any offset or size... you get the idea

The pricing on our website is Retail... we offer 15% off and only require 50% up front on the wheels. You can check out pricing by going to "checkout" and entering in the coupon code b732cd

Contact us for pricing etc, we are your source for DPEngineering Wheels

Thanks for your time!
JL

reelestates

While I am a slave to fashion!!! Putting wheels that are out of spec on an S is just criminal. Yeah, it looks hot!!! but having a $100k car hitting the wells and bottoming out is just out!!! The S has an elegance that when pimpt just loses it's real super class performance mistique. I do sometimes get a little arogant when I see a car (S) that has been taken to far... I just laugh some of the mods. While i love hottness, it must perform!

Someone on one of these forums stated- "I am surprised at what some Americans will do to their Mercs". So True!