I thought W124 OEM wheels fit W123s, but NO!

[PackerEdgerton]

Hi guys,

I've been planning to upgrade my wheels/tires, and I purchased some W124 stock rims (from a 1988 E300). I understood from some PMs with other forum members that the wheels were supposed to fit "no problem" on my 83 240D W123.

Foolish me, I bought the wheels off Craigslist, filed down the curb rash, cleaned up the wheels, polished and waxed them, took them to the tire dealer, and had them mount some new Michelins and stick them on the 240D. They looked GREAT!

Problem. The wheels WON'T CLEAR THE STEERING ASSEMBLY! i.e. the front wheels won't turn! AUGH!

So, what are my choices, dear reader? Wheel spacers? Sell 'em off and try something else?

I'm very frustrated. I should have done a test fit before even buying these things. Augh.

Sincerely,

PE

P.S. Attached are the W124 wheels in question (the ones without the tires on 'em), as well as the stock wheels on the W123 now, and a shot of my car.

[pawoSD]

Those are not W124 rims. Those look more like W210 rims. Stock for a 1988 300E would be the flat faced 15 hole wheels.

[colincoon]

Yeah, even the later w124's don't look like that.

[lorainfurniture]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Those are not W124 rims. Those look more like W210 rims. Stock for a 1988 300E would be the flat faced 15 hole wheels.

Those are e400/ e500 rims. I have a set of those on my 300e.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by lorainfurniture

Those are e400/ e500 rims. I have a set of those on my 300e.

ditto. only it's my 87TD...

[DeliveryValve]

Are those 15 or 16 inch wheels. In any event, I think the offset on those are ET 42. You will need at least a 15 mm spacer to make it work. But the problem is once you go to that large of a spacer, vibrations will start to happen.


.

[vstech]

16
and the fronts are 8" the rears are 9" at least mine are.
actually, now that I look closer at the picture... mine are 7 hole, not 8

[Can't Know]

What is the offset on them? Should be stamped in the back. Then you will know the spacer you'd need.

Those could be 124 as noted; a similar design was also used on the 202.

If you can make them work, they are great looking and should look terrific on the 123.

Good luck.

[davidlee]

If they are 15" they are off of a 94-95 W124 E320 or E420
If they are 16" they could be off of an w124 500,or a R129 SL or a w140 S class
and that's about it.
they made a very similar wheel on the w202 C class
but It was only in a 15" wheel, and it had kind of a outside dish to it,
where as the E class or S class wheels where pretty flat faced.
yours looks to be flat faced. I like yours better,
I hope you find a way to make them fit, if they were 16" I think they would fit
so my guess is you have the 15"rs
Good luck to you, I hope you get them to work.

[PackerEdgerton]

Originally Posted by davidlee

If they are 15" they are off of a 94-95 W124 E320 or E420
If they are 16" they could be off of an w124 500,or a R129 SL or a w140 S class
and that's about it.
they made a very similar wheel on the w202 C class
but It was only in a 15" wheel, and it had kind of a outside dish to it,
where as the E class or S class wheels where pretty flat faced.
yours looks to be flat faced. I like yours better,
I hope you find a way to make them fit, if they were 16" I think they would fit
so my guess is you have the 15"rs
Good luck to you, I hope you get them to work.

Thanks for all the input and advice guys. These are definitely 15" wheels. I assume I would need to put spacers in to keep them. I would also say they look great on the car, they are simply too narrow in diameter to clear the steering components.

Sincerely,

PE

[Johnt49]

I'd resell them & get some with the correct offset like these:

ASA Type 8 Silver Painted

Why spend any more trying to adapt a square peg to a round hole

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by PackerEdgerton

Thanks for all the input and advice guys. These are definitely 15" wheels. I assume I would need to put spacers in to keep them. I would also say they look great on the car, they are simply too narrow in diameter to clear the steering components.

I have a set of spacers (brand new in box) and a set of hub adapters that will allow you to use those wheels on your car. Please PM me for details if interested.

[davidlee]

Originally Posted by Johnt49

I'd resell them & get some with the correct offset like these:

ASA Type 8 Silver Painted

Why spend any more trying to adapt a square peg to a round hole

Thats what I would do too.
I didnt know they made those wheels aftermarket with a diff. backspacing
COOL!!!!!!!!

[davidlee]

I tried to put 16" 500E wheels (same style as what you have just a 16") on my 87 300D and the backspacing was wrong. The w124 500E cam with w140 S class front susp. Diff than the normal W124so I ended up using 16" 190E 16V 15 hole wheels and those fit.
which is weird because they used the same wheels from the 16V on the early 90's R129 SL. But the wheels I orig. bought, the 500E/500SE/500SL wheels didnt fit, so they must have changed the suspension on the R129 mid way through the build or something. I know that the 16" 8 hole wheels came in diff. offsets I tried 2 diff offsets and neither one worked.
Thats OK though because I like the 16" 15 holes alot too.

[PackerEdgerton]

Originally Posted by Johnt49

I'd resell them & get some with the correct offset like these:

ASA Type 8 Silver Painted

Why spend any more trying to adapt a square peg to a round hole

Yes, that is the perfect solution for me.

I have already sold the W124 wheels (that didn't take long!) and I'm up for getting these.

OK, what do you guys think? Should I get 15" or 16"?

In other words, what would be better - 205/60/15, or 205/55/16. Of course the 16" would be a bit more, but would it be worth the difference in price?

What do you guys think? Overkill on a W123, or worth it?

Thanks,

PE