neilshannon27

Hi there,

I am new to the world of Mercedes and I have always had a soft spot for the SL55's so I have finally bit the bullet and decided to get one.

I am off to see this one tomorrow afternoon.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...47ns?logcode=p

but the first thing I will be doing is changing the wheels - I need some advise and help on this - I have seen these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1111235731...84.m1438.l2649

but I need to know:

Are they the correct fitment?

what are the best tyre sizes to get so that the traction control and speedo all work correctly - as well as best size for comfort without any rubbing?



any help and advise will be gratefully received

Thanks in advance

Neil

V12TTenthusiast

If i remember right 20x9.5 is the max the fronts can take and 20x11 for the backs, seeing that these ar 19x8.5 in the front and 19x9.5 in the back you should be ok

I have 19x8.5 in the front and 19x10 in the back of my SL and no problems here

sound 8

Looks good, but I would go for a newer car with warranty. It's at that age where things go wrong, very expensive things trust me I have had
SL55, SL63 2009, Sl65 2007 and now a SL63 2013. Keep them until the
warranty runs out

neilshannon27

Are they really that bad?

hilld

2003 was the first year. It had some teething problems. If you don't have bank for a five digit repair. Stay far away.

neilshannon27

So what kind of year should I be looking at then? Did every 2002/2003 car have issues?

pdjv

The offset is wrong - standard SL55 wheels are 19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear but the correct offset is 30mm. Can't say for sure, but there's a good chance you'll run into interference/rubbing problems.

The 22 spoke wheels are just not that good looking and they're a pain to clean. Keep looking - you'll find some nicer wheels.

hilld

The 03 had gas tank failures and more suspension failures then later ones.
As mentione above get something with a warranty. As a rule of thumb I never buy the first year of any model from any manufacturer. With the one exception of extemely limited production (1-500).

neilshannon27

Can anyone confirm if 45mm of set will rub? What about 35mm?

What about tyre sizes too?

So confused!!

neilshannon27

What about these ones - will they fit?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/vie...id=01901723944

pdjv

These are a better fit. I'd give them a try.

falconsprint

Since you are from the UK..., Jeremy Clarkson bought a first year SL55. On the show it was a running joke about how much time it spent in the shop. He didn't keep it very long.

In general avoid all Mercedes made from 2000-2005.

mark_hk

I bought a 2003 SL55, and aside from the typical ABC issues, its been pretty problem free!!!!

Gene Gorman

I have a 2005 SL55 and a 2003 C32 both have never given me any problems. That said they are both very low mileage cars. The SL55 now has 6000 and the C32 just hit 20000.

sound 8

At 6k I shouldn't think it would give any problems.

V12TTenthusiast

If you want to play it safe, you should get a full plat. bumper to bumper warranty, sooner or later something will go wrong with the ABC from my exp with the last 2 SLs I owned. Fixing the ABC is very costly, aside from that I if you don't mind carrying the keycards for the keyless entry (2003 models only) or the annoying command dial for the 03-04 models, then I'd say your good to go, but I did hear as well to avoid the 2003 since it was the first yr they made the R230s and they were prone to problems