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cool. 18s or 19s? are the forgestars expensive? OEM 63 front bumper or suvneer?
They are 19", Forgestars arnt that expensive its a good wheel for the money.
My bumper is suvneer's, I kinda messed it up a few weeks ago on Houstons POS streets so its sagging a little Gotta get to the body shop and get her fixed up!
If you haven't already done it , you should make and bond in some metal at the inner side of the fenders at the top of the wheel openings on each side . The aluminum fenders are infamous for bowing out then eventually cracking from the occasional tire rubbing. No matter how careful you are , sometimes your only options are to turn off of a main road faster than you want to or get hit in the *** from some clown behind you. I had issues when I first got mine and it really wasn't even that low. I'm sure almost everyone on here has seen E55's with bowed or cracked fenders . Just a suggestion to be proactive .
If you haven't already done it , you should make and bond in some metal at the inner side of the fenders at the top of the wheel openings on each side . The aluminum fenders are infamous for bowing out then eventually cracking from the occasional tire rubbing. No matter how careful you are , sometimes your only options are to turn off of a main road faster than you want to or get hit in the *** from some clown behind you. I had issues when I first got mine and it really wasn't even that low. I'm sure almost everyone on here has seen E55's with bowed or cracked fenders . Just a suggestion to be proactive .
thanks for the tip.. front or rear? got a pic of what youre talking about?
It's the front fenders . The rear quarter panels are fine . The fenders are made out of thin aluminum. They bend easy and are brittle and will crack. Here are a few pics of mine before I broke it down and painted it . The pics on the Vossens. We're first , the I went to the Niche wheels.
You can see the bowing at the top center of the fender arch. If you look closely you can see the splits in the aluminum. The passenger side was the worst.
damn... definitely don't want that... repainting means the badges will never go back on right LOL. got any tips on how to perform the solution?
I cut two pieces of metal that are about 6 inches long that I cut to fit the contour of the curve of the fender that basically look like little arches. Probably a little over half of a inch tall and the whole piece is like 6 inches long . I didn't have to be careful doing mine because I was already painting the car but doing it to a undamaged fender , you obviously want to be careful. I would jack the car up and pull the front wheels off. I used panel bonding adhesive that is used in body shops to glue new outer door skins to the door and stuff like that. That stuff is really pricey though . You could actually use something like JB Weld or the JB Quick and would be fine. I'd scuff the back side of the fender with 80 grit sandpaper where your going to glue the piece in and sand both sides of the piece of metal then mix the 2 part JB weld and apply it to the piece of metal and the sanded area of the fender and stick it in place. You can wipe off any excess with a little lacquer thinner on a rag .i actually doubled mine up by grinding that smooth once it dried the repeated the process and glued on a second layer. The only reason I did that is I used aluminum to make the pieces and the material was a bit thin so I wanted to be damn sure it wasn't going bend again . If you use thicker material one layer will be fine . You don't have to use aluminum , I only did because ii already had it and if the tire ever rubs enough to rub through the paint on the inside it won't rust. Then you can sand it with the 80 grit to smooth it out . The edge of that fender has a little lip that sticks out and is what snags the tire .I rolled that lip around the edge of the pieces I made . I did mine while the glue was wet so it's all bonded together but you shouldn't try that on a undamaged fender that you aren't painting .i would roll that lip in so it doesn't grab and snag the tire though but doing that on a undamaged fender can be a little tricky . You may want to get someone from a body shop to handle that part if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself . I wouldn't want you to mess your car up doing this as that would suck. Anyway , the E classes are really bad about this . I've had multiple lowered cars over the years and this is the only car I've had an issue with. I had two Supras and a Lexus GS that were all way lower than my E55 and had no issues . A lot of it is because the E55 fenders are thin aluminum and once it bows a couple of times it then cracks . A buddy from the gym has a G37 that the tire bowed the fender out on and I fixed it 90% of the way the other night pushing it back with my thumb but his fenders are steel not aluminum . I tried that on my E55 years ago when the first one bowed out and as I was pushing on it (with my damn thumb mind you) and it made. A pop noise and cracked. So, it's definitely worth spending the time to prevent problems down the road. Btw, I forgot to mention after you smooth the glue out with 80 grit , gradually work you way down to 400 or 600 grit then tape a clean line an spray the area you worked. I'd just use black spray can primer . It'll give decent adhesion and if you use black you won't have to paint over it .
03-12-2015, 01:27 PM
Gotta get to the body shop and get her fixed up!
LOL. got any tips on how to perform the solution?
