Hi guys, I've just purchased a set of 19" from our forum sponsor and had those installed on my car (2001 S500) with Nitto Invo from Discount Tire.

[Wheel: AMG Style]
Front: 19x8.5 ET 35
Rear: 19x9.5 ET 35

[Tire]
Front: 245/40/19
Rear: 275/35/19

After installation, I noticed some rubbing at the rear everytime I drove over dips or went through corners with some speed (around 40km/hr).

First, I contacted our forum sponsor and confirmed that the wheel specs are correct and was told rubbing should not occur with the correct tire sizes. Since he said he had installed this wheel on many of his S-class customers, I believed him and moved on to suspect if the suspensions were leaking.

So I brought my car to the dealership and performed a $150 CAD inspection on airmatic. Surprisingly, the air suspensions are in good condition. However, the service advisor said the suspensions aren't functioning properly. The sensors at the rear could not pick up any value for wheel rotation (an error code w/ rotation speed); thus, the air suspensions are spitting out too much air once they're compressed (when driving over dips or cornering).

Now I have a clue with what's going on, I contacted Discount Tire to see if anything went wrong on their part. The assistant manager did some search in their database and confirmed the tire sizes are correct as well as the offset. He suggested me I can either roll up the fender or change the chamber angle.

I think I will go with rolling the fender (same suggestion by our forum sponsor too). But I would like to ask if there is an alternative solution like changing the tire size or wheel size so that I don't have to do any modification to the car?

Here's the wheel that I bought:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/19-RS...Q5fAccessories

And some pictures too.

 

i think a higher offset in the back is needed.

i've had 9.5 rear wheels with a 275 tire with an Et46 and when the back suspension is compressed, there is minimal clearance with the top of the fender so i don't know how a wheel with Et35 could "fit"...but who am i to say if the vendor and assistant manager says it does.

based on pics that i've seen of various W220s with different wheels and offsets, it seems to me that et35 and up is OK in the front but needs to be closer to OEM spec in the back to work...that is, no rubbing issues. i don't know what spec is for a non-sport package car but i suspect something in the 40s will work.

i'm not a wheel expert nor is this professional advice but i like to think i know a little something about the model i own, so when you're told you have to have your fenders rolled for wheels that supposedly fit, you're better off getting a set that fits well.