Wheel swap give illusion of changing ride height - spring pads?
 

I replaced the classic-looking 15 inchers for some AMG split-spoke 17s (SLK32 and C32) to improve my stability and steering response. It worked, but there is a noticeably smaller gap between the rear fender and tire. I would think there would be a smaller gap in the front and larger in the rear, but oddly, it's the opposite. I did noting to the springs pr shocks, so why would this happen? I'm wondering if spring pads would help, and if so, what are your recommendations for sizes?

What size tires were on it before & what's on it now ?
How many " ribs " are on your rear spring pads? ;)

Not sure about the current spring pads, or if there are any ( I assume all 202s would have them from the factory?). The upgrade was an exact plus-2, 195/65/15 on 15x6.5s to 225/45/17 on 17x7.5s (OEM AMG front wheels, rears are not "staggered")

Okay, your tires are fine.
Take a look here: http://mercedes.mienert.com/mercedes/forum/thread.php?threadid=22177&sid=5858c70187464e1ace34f83093340d26
to see what the springpads & " ribs " look like.
Then have a look & see what YOU got.
Even though all 202's have them, sometimes you have to " fine tune " the ride heights, as I did.
Changing the rear pads is pretty simple. ;)