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Hello, and welcome to the 5,000th wheel thread on mbworld. I hadn’t planned on modding my car at all but after repairing a cracked rim to the tune of $180 and getting a $5-600 quote to have all 4 refinished I started thinking – why not just upgrade? I was on the lookout for cls55 or sl65 wheels but after searching a bit on the forum it turns out that amg wheels are cast aluminum(easily bend/crack) and quite heavy. I’ve begun searching carid & fitment industries for an eventual replacement and have some questions…
1. Fitment – planning to go with 19x8.5 et 28-32 with 245/35/19 tires & 19x9.5 et 30-34 with 275/30/19 tires. Seems most people with cls55 wheels which have et 25/28 say they fit with no rubbing but I’d like to play it safe. Does this seem good? I’d strongly prefer to avoid spacers
2. Material – I’m in the northeast where potholes are prevalent so I’ve pretty much ruled out cast aluminum. And my pockets aren’t deep enough for forged so I’m mainly looking at flow-formed right now. in my brief search I’ve found most companies offer a decent warranty. Has anyone successfully had a rim covered by warranty?
3. Style – I honestly prefer the stock cls55 & sl65 wheel over any aftermarket wheel I’ve come across. Does anyone know of similar styled wheels? So far I like the TSW chrono in matte black the best but the rear offset is 39 & they seem to be the only company that says you’re sol if you hit a pothole and they crack
I’m in no rush as I have fairly new tires right now and am not keen on completely wasting money. I’d just like to be prepared to hop on a screaming deal if I see one. Any input is appreciated.
Wheels designs are a personal preference and everyone will have a brand or design they favour. I too started out with a cracked wheel and ended up looking for a replacement wheel and ended up buying a fairly new set of wheels from a friend.
I got the Carlsson 1/16 19 inch wheels and they have been on my radar for a while and think it compliments the W211 as a very elegant look. Mine was painted black, looks good on my car but should have liked the original polished finish. The plus is they are lighter (about 12kg) and of high quality.
I've seen a few good deals on eBay. Have a look at the unpainted ones, they look brilliant.
This was my choice of wheels ,hope other member will chip in with good suggestions.
Sorry I can't remember the name but assuming you are in the US I remember a legit street cars where Alex got new oem style wheels from a large well known company. I had a look and thought it was pretty awesome. Unfortunately international shipping would kill it but they had some nice conservative styles.
Otherwise I quite like the TSW range. They are about the only aftermarket ones I like, nurburgring and interlagos.
Sorry I can't remember the name but assuming you are in the US I remember a legit street cars where Alex got new oem style wheels from a large well known company. I had a look and thought it was pretty awesome. Unfortunately international shipping would kill it but they had some nice conservative styles.
Otherwise I quite like the TSW range. They are about the only aftermarket ones I like, nurburgring and interlagos.
He has mentioned USA Rim (https://www.usarim.com/19-inch-mercedes-wheels/) and OE Wheels (https://www.oewheelsllc.com/). I think he's gotten a few sets of OEM style reps from those companies, including his 211 CDI, Corvette, and Trans AM. They seem to be holding up well. I agree that the CLS55 and two piece 65 wheels are two of the best looking sets on the 211 chassis
1).I have done several different sets and have come up with some pretty good specs. Front 19x8.5 ET 28, I would go 24mm in the future 245/35/19 Rear 19x10 ET 36. perfect fitment 275/30/19
Currently I am on CLS500 wheels and extremely happy with the look. Front 18X8.5 ET 25mm 245/40/18 Rear 18X9.5 ET 28mm 275/35/18
2). None of the wheel manufacturers are going to warranty against pothole damage. They will offer a structure warranty that will cover limited things, and a finish warranty if you were to have the finish come off with normal use. Flow formed is a great alternative to forged and are very strong. I have owned a couple sets of Stance wheels and they are very nice. Although I did hit a pot hole with one of them, that held air and never went down , but I cratered pretty well.
3). If going to be pretty hard to get close to OEM style wheel without being a heavy cast knock off. There are tons of flow formed wheels out there today if you look and just pick a style you like.
Thanks for all the info guys. I had seen the companies that legit streetcars uses but I’m thinking those are likely cheap cast aluminum and will eventually crack just like the oem ones.
im liking the looks of some Rohana wheels. Like the cls55 I really like the flush front/concave rear spokes.
well the timeline for my wheel purchase moved up considerably. as i was under my car changing the oil & trans fluid i noticed a hairline crack on the inside of one of my front rims and decided it was time. hopped on one of these black friday deals and placed an order yesterday. I'm just kicking myself for dropping a grand on new tires/wheel repair 7 months/5k miles ago but at the time I didn't really know how fragile these oem wheels really were. the tire seems to hold air fine but i didn't want something to happen on one of my road trips and be scrambling to find a replacement.
I haven't decided if i'll sell the oem ones or just keep and possibly try my hand at refurbishing them. not sure if the market for used tires/wheels makes it worth it. i always hated that these cars came with no spare so i'm thinking i'll keep one of the fronts in the trunk in case of emergency. does anyone know if the front wheel would work as a spare in the back in a pinch?
the next step is convincing my family that this was a maintenance item and for my safety i absolutely needed to buy myself these wheels weeks before christmas...all while enrolling them in the jelly of the month club. wish me luck!
well the timeline for my wheel purchase moved up considerably. as i was under my car changing the oil & trans fluid i noticed a hairline crack on the inside of one of my front rims and decided it was time. hopped on one of these black friday deals and placed an order yesterday. I'm just kicking myself for dropping a grand on new tires/wheel repair 7 months/5k miles ago but at the time I didn't really know how fragile these oem wheels really were. the tire seems to hold air fine but i didn't want something to happen on one of my road trips and be scrambling to find a replacement.
I haven't decided if i'll sell the oem ones or just keep and possibly try my hand at refurbishing them. not sure if the market for used tires/wheels makes it worth it. i always hated that these cars came with no spare so i'm thinking i'll keep one of the fronts in the trunk in case of emergency. does anyone know if the front wheel would work as a spare in the back in a pinch?
the next step is convincing my family that this was a maintenance item and for my safety i absolutely needed to buy myself these wheels weeks before christmas...all while enrolling them in the jelly of the month club. wish me luck!
Nice! I was looking all over for an e55/63 with them but didn’t have any luck. What were your impressions of stance? I’m guessing the pothole that cratered one of your rims would’ve shattered an oem one.
they have a rotary forged line that should have a strength rating somewhere between cast and forged. whether they're closer to cast or forged strength i couldn't tell you. i briefly considered the rfx7 but they didn't have 19s in bronze. do you have experience with rohana?
they have a rotary forged line that should have a strength rating somewhere between cast and forged. whether they're closer to cast or forged strength i couldn't tell you. i briefly considered the rfx7 but they didn't have 19s in bronze. do you have experience with rohana?
I've never had any Rohana's........my journey started off with Mandrus, then Vossen and finally then to HRE where I've found contentment
Nice! I was looking all over for an e55/63 with them but didn’t have any luck. What were your impressions of stance? I’m guessing the pothole that cratered one of your rims would’ve shattered an oem one.
They are a great wheel. I also owned a set of the SF03 in 19". And one was damaged by a pothole and it just bent the outer lip and was still smooth. Yea an OEM wheel would have been toast.
Tossed these on today and love them so far. Wasn’t sure if bronze was going to look good but I like it. As I suspected another 2 stock rims were cracked - making it 3 cracked in 7 months . Weights with tires are 46lb front & 47 lb rear. Stock with tires were about 54lb so about 30lb total unsprung weight savings
Close - New Jersey! I guess it’s possible they were cracked when I got the car last October but I figured the tire place would’ve let me know when I installed new ones.
Tossed these on today and love them so far. Wasn’t sure if bronze was going to look good but I like it. As I suspected another 2 stock rims were cracked - making it 3 cracked in 7 months . Weights with tires are 46lb front & 47 lb rear. Stock with tires were about 54lb so about 30lb total unsprung weight savings
looks really great. Similar to my old car. Such a great choice.
@b16gsr - thanks, after seeing yours I was a lot more confident that I made the right choice
the wheels/tires came road force balanced and the highway ride is much smoother. After getting my stock set balanced for a 2nd time I convinced myself that the dull vibration at hwy speeds was normal. Now I see there must’ve been an issue with one of the wheels or standard balancing just wasn’t cutting it
11-22-2019, 10:56 AM
. Weights with tires are 46lb front & 47 lb rear. Stock with tires were about 54lb so about 30lb total unsprung weight savings
