Just bought '99 CLK wheels for my 124, tires/lugs? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

AlexTheSeal · #1 01-21-2006, 10:07 PM

I just picked up a set of the lightweight aluminum 7-spoke wheels from a '99 CLK to put on my 124. (See picture below if you don't know what these look like.) These are size 16x7 ET37. Two questions:

Do I need special lugbolts or can I use the ones I already have for my stock 15s?

What's the widest I can safely go on tires for these, without rubbing or getting a lowrider look from the tires sticking out past the fenders?

(My car's not lowered and I don't want to have to roll the fenders.) 205/55R16 is what they came with, but 215s or 225s would be nice if they'll fit and look right. Or are 205s right at the limit already with these wheels because of the different offset?

Thanks!

Luke@tirerack · #2 01-25-2006, 03:03 PM

I would not recommend anything wider than a 215/55-16 tire size

try the lugbolts you currently have since they have the correct seat configuration and make sure you get atleast 6 full turns of engagement

dieseldiehard · #3 01-25-2006, 04:54 PM

I use a set like these on my '87 300D turbo.
These are forged alloys and look really nice on the 124 chassis, one member in England has them on a 124 and posted a picture here on the SHopforum, that is where I got the idea of buying them. I finally found a set on CL at a great price considering these are incredible wheels compared to the OE flat face variety.

I like the fact that they are easy to clean what with the hard anodized treatment. And I discovered improved handling characteristics when used with Yokohama dB S2 tires (205-55-16 work fine for me.) they are a little twitchy so you can dodge chuckholes (and errant drivers) very easily with them

I did however have to order shorter lug bolts, the OE 15 in wheels use a longer bolt and they bottomed out on the shoulder.
I believe the bolts for the steel wheels on the 124 work fine. Watch out for the dealer parts list that shows a different wheel in the '99 CLK data base. They turned out to be too long. Only when the optional alloy wheels are found will the right bolt size be specified and the threaded shaft is only about an inch long.

dakota · #4 01-25-2006, 09:08 PM

I have 225/50x16s Nokian tires on my 16x7 ET37 '99 CLK wheels on my 1992 300CE Sportline. Absolutely no rubbing.

AlexTheSeal · #5 01-25-2006, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakota

I have 225/50x16s Nokian tires on my 16x7 ET37 '99 CLK wheels on my 1992 300CE Sportline. Absolutely no rubbing.

That's good to know. Am I right in thinking that if anything there should be more clearance issues with a Sportline car since it rides a bit lower? If so then I have nothing to worry about... as soon as I get the right &^%# bolts.

dakota · #6 01-26-2006, 12:16 AM

I think it is hard to say for sure if the Sportline suspension makes a certain tire/wheel combo more susceptible or not. It seems logical, but I have no empirical experience to confirm.

Also, I have only the one data point to go by. There are a lot of tolerance combinations that can make rather large variations. One car might not rub, whereas an "identical" type car might.

Luke has vastly greater experience (more data points) and undoubtably knows of what he speaks. It's one thing if you were getting tires from your local store and could try a wider set out to see if they fit and return them if they didn't. But if you were ordering from cross country, I'd maybe think twice.

gsxr · #7 11-03-2008, 05:25 PM

Just curious, does anyone know for sure if the forged CLK wheels will clear the 4-piston, 294mm or 295mm brakes used on the late W124 with M104 engine (also the 400E / E420)? I know they do NOT clear the 4-piston, 300mm brakes used on the early 500E and early 500SL. They work fine on all M103 and diesel powered 124's, which have the smaller 284mm brakes, but I can't find any specific info about the 294/295 brakes. My sister has a 1994 E320 (with the 294x25 brakes) and I'd like to verify fitment before they buy a set of CLK wheels that may not work!

Side note... the proper tire size for a 16x7.0 wheel is 205/55/16, and the proper lug bolts are M12 x 1.50 thread with a 27mm shaft length. Putting a 225 tire on a 7-inch wheel is not the optimum setup. A 215/55 or 225/50 tire would be correct for a 16x7.5 wheel. Remember, wider is not always better...!

dakota · #8 11-03-2008, 09:28 PM

What? Bigger is not better? But, this is America!

Actually, the Nokian WR 225/50x16 on the 7 x 16 were not too bad; very good in fact. But I only got about 31K miles out of them.

I have since changed them to the 205/55x16 Nokian WRs and they also are very good. I'm hoping to get more miles out of them, as they are more properly matched, as you say, Dave.

Dee8go · #9 11-04-2008, 08:14 AM

I don't know. I have the AMG wheels from a CLK on my 560 SEC and they fit fine, but I was under the impression that these would not also fit a 124.

Luke@tirerack · #10 11-04-2008, 12:42 PM

124 and 126 applications are not even remotely similar

gsxr · #11 11-05-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack

124 and 126 applications are not even remotely similar

Correct. The offsets are very different.

Also, most S/SL class vehicles have M14 lug bolts. While this doesn't sound like a big deal, the ball seats are different size & shape. Which means that any S/SL class wheel with M14 bolt holes/seats, if mounted on a car that needs M12 lug bolts, would have a poor fitment between the small lug bolt and the larger wheel seat. You can buy custom bolts which have M12 threads and M14 ball seats to correct this problem... but ONLY if the wheel size/offset is correct for the car, which if often is not when trying to fit S/SL wheels on a non-S/SL car.

The vast majority of the wheels from the following chassis will usually bolt up to the 124 chassis: 170, 202, 203, 208, 209, 210 (and possibly a couple of others as well).

babymog · #12 11-09-2008, 11:13 PM

I'm going to look at a set of winter wheels/tires (used). They are 15-hole wheels that the owner was running on his '94 E 320 wagon.

So, I'm thinking that the brakes must not take much more space on the '94 or the early wheels wouldn't fit?

BTW, the early 124 15-hole wheels with the oval holes are slightly different than the later 15-hole rectangular hole wheels, I suspect the offset was changed either for brake clearance or strut clearance.

gsxr · #13 11-10-2008, 07:47 PM

Update... we took a gamble, and the forged CLK wheels do indeed clear the 294x25mm calipers used on the 124.032 (E320). The lug bolts are awfully short, around 22mm, but they're just long enough to work. I'd prefer them to be about 3-5mm longer though.

I think all the stock 124 wheels, both 15-hole and 8-hole, are interchangeable across all 124's (except the 500E). However I'm not 100% sure what the difference is between the very early 15 holers. I do have a couple of photos of them, though...

babymog · #14 11-10-2008, 08:25 PM

Those are the late 15hole wheels. The early ones look like 126 15-hole wheels with the ends of the slots rounded and ET49. I think that the 8-hole are ET42.

gsxr · #15 11-10-2008, 08:31 PM

Hmmmm. I have a set of 1995 8-hole wheels, I'll take a peek at the offset when I install them next week (they have snow tires on them, and it's that time of year again in Idaho!)