Been thinking about getting new wheels, want to go staggered and 18. I am currently looking at mandrus, especially Otto and Atlas or Arrow.
Only pics i could find are in one of these wheel configuration thingies.

Would like to see a real life example.

​​​​​​I'm on the fence about the Atlas bc of that profiled detail on each spoke.

Anyone has any pics of either, ideally on their R129?
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PS: I have a black 99

 

Did some basic Photoshopping and think I like the black Otto best. Followed by gunmetal otto. Basically the ones on the right

 

You are going to fix the bashed in quarter panel first, right?

 

Oh, that was an unfortunate reflection...
Car is ok all around

 

LMAO!

 

LOL. Actually took me a second and had to read your comment twice before I understood what you were talking about
Then I saw. Well, remind me to not use this one in a 'for sale' ad....

 

Just placed an order for Otto in black.
will attach pics when everything is here, new tires are on and installed.

 

This is turning into a bigger thing ..
the rears in black are on nationwide backorder.
After considering other wheels just to find them unavailable as well, i decided to get the rears in silver and get them powder coated.
The rears just arrived. Gonna test fit them later today. Also need to figure out the lug bolt length bc the seat is different and nobody could give me a clear answer on what length to use with these wheels. But Phil at otis LA has been great so far guiding me through the process.

 

Fronts in black arrived. New lug bolts ordered.
Test fitted rears on Friday and looked good. Just have to see how it looks with tires on and and car actually on the ground. If all goes well i have the set up installed on Thursday.

 

Looks great! Keep 'em clean

 

Got the powder coated wheels back and had tires mounted and balanced.
Now all I'm missing are the new lug bolts which should be here on Thursday.

 

I would assume that to ensure sure my new lug bolts are the correct length, i can just measure how far the originals stick out from the OEM wheel (how much thread is visible) and make sure the same applies to the aftermarket wheels and bolts?

 

Ok, finally get them installed
not sure yet what to think. Maybe a bit too sporty looking for this car.
But stance is much better. Just installed them and have not taken for spin yet. Fronts don't rub. Thinking about running 5mm spacers in rear.

Mandrus Otto, 18x8.5, ET22, 245x40x18
18x9.5, ET25, 275x35x18
bolts: cone, 12x1.5.
First i used 28mm shank length but experienced a grinding noise. After adding 5 mm spacers the noise went away.
I'd suggest you check how much room you have into the rotors and before hitting something on the inside. Also possible my car had too long bolts from a previous owner based on which I decided on the 28mm ones. (I measured how far the original bolts stuck out from backside of wheel and made sure i have about the same on the new wheel)

 

@hyperion667 no dents in this car that need attention

 

Looks like a great fit Saftie! The hard part will be keeping them fresh and minty! I had a black E class years ago: never again!!

Congrats on the great look

 

Yeah, it's constantly dirty.
I will get a paint correction and ceramic coating in a few weeks. Will probably make things worse but oh well.

Think I'll look into lowering the car a bit.
Need to do something anyway, i am not impressed by the current handling. Not as planted as I would expect from a Mercedes.
Already checked the steering damper but seemed ok and no difference to a brand new one. Maybe shocks. Dunno yet
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Well, that didn't go as expected.
wanted to go for a quick drive. Pulled out of the driveway and heard a rubbing / grinding noise coming from drivers side rear.
I'd say once per wheel rotation.

I read about too long bolts effin up your e brake, which does not work now. Not sure though if it did when I got the car.
This being said, i measured how much thread i have sticking out of backside of wheel on stock wheel. About 3/4 of an inch. On the new wheels is was about 1 mm longer. Don't think that should make a big difference.

Going to pull the wheel now and see what's going on. Also have 5mm spacers that I could try with same bolts, but that would make them 4mm shorter than what my stock measurement was. Let's see what I find out.
Maybe i just disturbed something when putting the wheel on.

 

Ok, pulled wheel and checked everything. This time i measured how far into the rotor the bolt could go. Not that much before hitting something on the inside.
fixed the issue by adding 5mm spacers.

Going to fix the previous thread that clearly states a wrong mm shank length. 28mm is too long.

E Brake still works if i step on it hard. Possible it's always been like that and I just never noticed and only assumed it worked.

 

On a day trip today. Ride quality has improved dramatically.
Happy to report that the sloppy handling went away. Maybe it was related to my old tires.
And running on 18s is just so much nicer.

Only issue with new setup now is that the car starts to vibrate at 60mph.
My guess is that the tire balance is not great as it has not done it before with old wheels/tires.

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I'd highly recommend Discount Tire if you have one. Everything I know about wheels and tires is because of them! Awesome! Good luck!

 

I'll go to the tire shop that mounted the tires first. Since I already paid them, they might check/fix for free.

 

One front tire was completely out of balance. Had that fixed plus wheel alignment and car now goes straight and smoothly down the road.