GarciaE55

Hi guys,

I am new to the board and looking for wheels for my e55. I've seen the 19" versions, but not the 20s. I'm guessing the 20's would look hot and have more visual impact. Would handling be affected much between 19s and 20s?

Has anyone here put the new 20" Monolites on their car?

Pics would be great to see. Thanks

ThrottleJunkie

The bigger you go, the more trouble you're going to have. This is due to the sidewall on larger rims being smaller, therefore being less stiff comprimising it's handling capabilities. I would say if you still want some performance out of your car, go with the 19's. If you are just gonna cruise around and look good then the 20's will be just fine.

BMWEATR

dude almost everyonene sells there 20's after a bit. they look S I C! but the B.S you have to go through to have them just isn't worth it. 19's are the way to go.

ThrottleJunkie

QFT and because I love your avatar.

jdj27x

Hey bro...

I was on the same street as you, i was looking for wheels, liked the renntech's as well. I thought the same exact thing! 19s looked a little weak and the 20's would look better.


I actually saw the 20's and found a deal on semi brand new 20" BLACK renntech 20's with tires and did my research.

20's will set your e55 apart. I liked the idea of 20s in the renntech wheel because of the light wheel, so its a raced out sporty wheel. The renntech wheel is one of the strongest wheels you will see on the market. They are made by the company who makes champion racing wheels, and this is a amazing wheel used for racing on porsches.

I ended up getting 20" HRE 840s. These are the sickest wheels on the market in my view. Ive loved the wheels since i saw them on a m3 (mteej) for those of you who have seen his car.

I got them black with a polished lip and when i shine up the wheel lip it looks like glass, with a black powder coated lip, tire dressing, tint and wow it looos so hott its amazing.


I must warn you however, you will need to drive around like your looking for penny's on the street!

I drive slow and and keep the lookout because im literately driving around on wheels and tires that i could of kept and bought a rolex with.... HRE wheels are extremely baller and is something you wont see often, well maybe if you live in CALI or FL.


I have a perfect set of stock 18" wheels with brand new Pilot Sport PS2's that i drive if i got to track or drag, or even go on a trip where i feel the HRE's arent gonna be necessary.


(HRE will charge ~300 bucks to repair your wheel if you screw it up tho)

jdj27x

Sunny55

I love those wheels....

sdsilverm3

I laugh when I hear people on forums say 19" wheels are the way to go on the W211 or 18" wheels are the way to go on the W203.

I hear a lot of buyer's remorse from people I've personally talked to at shows and events who took that conservative advice only to find out the conservative approach cost them more money in the long run when they end up selling the smaller sized wheels for the larger ones they were going to purchase in the first place.

Imagine you spend $5000 on HRE's or Renntech Monolites for the W211 only to find out you came up one inch short. How much money do you pay to mount and balance those 19's? How much time do you spend to unmount the wheels? How much time does it take to sell them and how much money do you lose for the one week experiment?

In the end it'll be the OP's time and money but there have been many others who have been down this road.

JDM_SXE-10

This is true. It's like when women get implants. They always regret going with the smaller size.

III II I I AMG

yup, absolutely right.. i put 18s on mine, bought brand new set of tires, blah blah, spacers, so much trouble, and not much later, im in the market for 19s or 20s now.. man forget about performance, put 20s and look good, if you want to go to the track, simply put on your stock wheels

CynCarvin32

I agree 20 inch wheels look better that is for sure. But some people are not all about looking hot. I personally dont look at the car to be amazing looking. In the end these are 4 door cars based on a car designed for a 60 year old man.

If I put wheels on my E55 they would have been 19's just because 20's get to big and the tire looks uselessly small (sidewall). In addition to that you run a high risk of dented wheels, blown out tires, and the car will lose performance as well. For me those items make it a simple choice.

I just got a set of 19 inch Monolite wheels for my SL55 and I don't at all regret skipping out on that set of 20's I as looking at. I think 19 is as big as I would want to go. The car rides better than stock since the 19 inch wheel still weighs less that the stock wheel and it feels quicker. For me 19 was a great upgrade.

Its all personal choice but for every person who regrets not getting 20's there is a person who regrets getting 20's and goes back to 18 and 19 inch wheels.

OXOJE55

20's Looks sick

sdsilverm3

It is personal choice but I disagree with your ratio and it is not nearly as high as you suggest.

You may or may not agree with my ratio but I'd say about 95% of people get aftermarket wheels for the looks. For those people, if they went 19's on the W211, there'd be a serious amount of remorse with more to be desired.

Many of these same opinions have come from respected people on this E55 forum who have voiced the same opinion privately but have chosen not to say anything publicly.

A nicely done car with wheels proportional to body size are automatic head turners (instant gratification). No offense to anyone but there are very few W211's with 19's that are in that category IMO.

BenzoBoi

20's FTMFW!~!

You just reminded me how Sick Jay's ride is...jdx...we gotta meet up sometime brother!!! I haven't run into you in a while Well not like I'm in yer hood anyways but still...

Sunny55

HAHA...I actually know a lot of ppl like that....

Sunny55

My Renntech Monolites are on the way.....got 20s.....I'll take pis whenever it gets to my warehouse

jdj27x

U actually have Jay's wheels on my car now. My car now looks uber sick

LateBrakeU2

If you check in the classifieds I have my E63 for sale with 20" Monolites-there are a few pics but you will have to dig back a few weeks to find it.
One of the best looking wheels avaliable for these cars IMO.

GarciaE55

jdj27x,

Thanks for posting the pics. I like the brushed finish Renntech Monolites a lot. Do you have pics of 19s as well?

How much of a weight difference is there between the 19s and 20s?

The 840r's look hot. How much do they weigh?

Thanks.

GarciaE55

I found your thread. Your wheels look great. Are you interested in selling them and putting your stockers back on when you sell your 63? Please send me a PM. Thanks

GarciaE55

I'm with you on this. I originally wanted an e60 M5, but chose the E55 due to lower acquisition cost. However, I do have some anxiety over my decision. I traded in my 2003 M5 for my E55 and was very impressed by the torque and mods available for the 55. However, after researching the parts cost and labor to bump power by 100hp and the mandatory cooling mods required I became a little bummed.

Most of all I miss the handling of my M5, so I decided i want to do whatever will improve the handling of my E55 (lightweight wheels, lightweight 2-pc brakes, lowering module and sticky tires).

However, will this be enough? Is it impossible to make the E55 handle like an M5?

sdsilverm3

As Jrocket would say: "Pigs can't dance no matter what type of shoes you strap onto its feet."

GarciaE55

Would adding a Quaife LSD help the pig dance? What can we do to improve the handling substantially?

I read a test on the E63 in Car an Driver and they said it handled very well and actually beat the M5 overall. Are there differences between the E55 and E63 in handling?

Thanks

tommy25000

19" Renntechs...

GarciaE55

Damn! Your car is slammed. Do you have any clearance issues?

Thanks for posting the pics.