Well, here goes more money down the drain. I was just told today that one of the used 16" chrome wheels I purchased has a terrible wobble and is bent all over and thus can't be straightened. That explains all the vibrations I was experiencing at highway speeds. To think I have barely used these wheels so I'm out all that money as that wheel was bent when I purchased them, and to make matters worse the guys at the tire place didn't even bother to tell me one of them was bent when they were mounting the tires and balancing them. At least if they told me so I would have returned the wheels right away to the guy I bought them from and gotten my money back on those grounds. That type of wheel can't seem to be found anywhere on this planet so I can't just purchase a replacement for the badly deformed wheel. The worst aspect of it all is that my car looked sharp with the wheels (pic attached) and now I can't even find any 16" wheels that look as good.

I've checked tirerack's collection of wheels and there really isn't anything impressive in the 16" size. I don't want to go to 18" wheels because in order to maintain my speedometer's accuracy, I'd have to use 245/40/18s (to keep the tire diameter within 3% of the stock ones) and I don't think the car will ride nicely with such low profile tires.

So I was wondering if anyone here knew a source of sharp looking 16" wheels that are of high quality and would fit on a W126. All help would be greatly appreciated.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Looks like there might be some on E bay,,

item no. 7964498784

let me know if they are the ones. I might be interested in buying the tires from you, if so, maybe the guy could ship you the rims and me the tires to save on shipping,

ron

Hey I appreciate your efforts.

Unfortunately, those are wheels from a W140 and they won't fit on a W126.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Well since my rims are pretty much useless now, let me know if you want the tires and I can sell them to you. They are Continental 225/50/16 all season tires with less than 500 miles on them.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

have you looked at local rim shops? i've seen afternarket MB rims that are copies of that sytle, myabe you could get one of those?

I'd also try a local rim rebuilder/refinsher for a second opinion.

Have you checked out the shops that straighten wheels? They advertise in the Star (I thnk) Roundel and Panorama. I have had good luck with starightened wheels, no problems at all. It does not take much runout to cause very nioticble vibration.

Good Luck, Juergen

I knew of two local rim shops and for some strange reason, each of them is closed and out of business!! I'd have to search further, but I already consulted another repair shop. I sent the wheels to an award winning shop that straightens wheels and they declared one of them as being too bent to be well repaired. They said they could repair the second one that was slightly bent.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

I think those are stock W210 E420 rims, dealer carries them (if not elsewhere) and you can have it chromed, voila, new rim. The 17" version came stock on the later E430 models. Much better looking IMO.

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

I think you are talking about the e430 "Sport" edition rims. Those are my favorite. Do they make them with a et of 23 or less? I like the lip to have some depth.

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Mercedes Fleet:
2004 CL600 Designo Espresso SPORT
2004 S600 Designo Espresso SPORT/Lorinser Pkg.
1999 S320
1988 300TE
1972 280SEL 4.5
Diesel Fleet:
2014 GL350 Blutec
1987 300SDL Blk/Blk 4 place seating #18 head
1987 300SDL Smk Slv/Burgangy #17 head
1986 300SDL Blk Pearl/Palomino #14 head w/ 280K
1984 Lincoln Mark VII Fact BMW Turbo Diesel

You could try this place if you want the wheel straightened and rechromed...
http://www.wheelcollision.com/
They aren't super cheap (thinking around $175 per wheel), but I've heard they do pretty good work.
They are local to me here in eastern PA; I have never used them as of yet.
I have seen some other places like this advertising in the classified sections of AutoWeek magazine...
Hope this helps, Bob

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

Robert,

What a coincidence! The shop I sent the wheels to is the same shop you recommended in your e-mail. Thanks!

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Wow, it's a small world.
Let me know if you want me to visit your wheel
This place is about a mile from my workplace.
Like I said, I've never had occasion to use their services, but one of my co-workers used them to refinish his Mustang wheels "before they got big" (read: expensive), and he had positive results. (and this guy is pretty picky)

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic