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  #1  
Old 09-06-2001, 11:33 AM
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Location: Milton MA
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Question E500 Wheel size vote

17" versus 18"

While waiting for my car to be brought around by a Service Advisor last night I observed a new S class Benz with 18" Monoblocks and low profile tires -35MMs I think. I commented to the SA that it looked like a set of wheels with a car attached as opposed to the other way around. He laughed and said that that set up would look even bigger on my smaller E class.

Little did he know that I was about to order the OZ Opera II Modular wheels for my vehicle in 18X8.5 and 18X10 staggered.

http://www.ozwheels.com/r22.html

My quandry! There is no O.Z. dealer in my immediate locale here in the Boston area where I can try the "look" on before I buy.

Solution!

Some of you 500E/E500 owners have the original 16" wheels Some of you 500E/E500 owners have upgraded to 17" wheels.
Some of you 500E/E500 owners have upgraded to 18" wheels.

Question?

To the 17 inch owners - Do you wish you had gotten 18 inch instead now that they are mounted on your beast?

To the 18 inch owners - Do you wish you had gotten 17 inch instead now that they are mounted on your beast?

All answers would be greatly appreciated.

TOM

OBTW - Italianbenz - I really like those Silver Arrows but the OZ Opera Mods are half the price for about the same look(5 holes verses six)

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  #2  
Old 09-06-2001, 01:44 PM
Michael's Avatar
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17s the way to go

I for one am very happy with a 17" X 8.5" setup (at all 4 corners) and wouldn't change it. Stayed away from a staggered setup to be able to continue to rotate my tires for greater treadlife. And given that no testing has been done (that I've seen, anyway) that demonstrates any quantifiable superiority of an 18" setup, I'll stick with 17s and avoid pothole-ruined rims.
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  #3  
Old 09-06-2001, 01:58 PM
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Nice wheels! Kinda looks like either Carlsson or Lorinser, I forget which.

Anyway, I've had both the 18s and 17s. When I purchased my car earlier this year, they came with staggered AMG Monoblock IIs. I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't harsh riding. I guess that's partially due to the 500E's hydraulic suspension. Anyway, I saw the EVO IIs and felt they looked better on the car. The Evo IIs were narrower wheels though (8.25 width).

The differences are, in my opinion:

17s ride marginally better due to the increased sidewall
17s have, say, 80% of the grip of the 18s
17 inch tires are cheaper
17s engages ASR more often

18s have better traction (because rear tires were wider) and handle high speed corners better
18s were slightly stiffer but not at all harsh riding.
18s look more aggressive.

Part of the reason (aka rationalization) for buying the 17s was the fear of denting the 18s in potholes, which aren't uncommon in these parts.

After I put on the EVOs, I began wishing that they were offered staggered. Moreso, if the EVO IIs were offered in staggered 18s, that would probably have been my choice.

Hope that helps...
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93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)

Last edited by rainmaker; 09-06-2001 at 02:04 PM.
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  #4  
Old 09-06-2001, 05:50 PM
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happy with the 17" evos. might go to 2 piece, 18" staggered AMG SL composites in the future, but for now, the evos are fine.
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'94 W124.036 249/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'93 W124.036 199/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs, up in flames...LITERALLY!
'93 W124.036 481/040 leder; euro delivery; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'88 R107.048 441/409 leder; Euro lights
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  #5  
Old 09-06-2001, 06:32 PM
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There is a balance / compromise between looks and practically.

18" wheels are not suitable for less than smooth roads

The DEEP dish lip of the 10" wide rear is so B E A U T I F U L that I would vote for 18" (lower side wall exaggerates the lip)

Let your car usage decide...daily driver on bad roads then 17".

Good luck. Either choice will be better than stock.
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  #6  
Old 09-07-2001, 07:27 PM
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In Santa Barbara the roads are fairly smooth, but the driveways are too steep causing a pothole effect.

The freeways in Southern California, however, are not as nice.

Daily Driver= 17-inches
Show Car= 18-inches
Track Car= 17 or 16-inches with RACE TIRES (less weight, and stiff enough sidewall, and very little tread-block height.

If you're lighting up the ASR with 17-inch tires, you just need to go to wider 17-inch tires (and wheels).

18-inches just gives you less side-wall flex, however, with a V or higher rated tire, esp. like the Nokian NRZi which are an "extra load" W-rated tire, my 17-inch sidewalls are STIFF. Moreover, 18-inch tires are just too expensive.

Brabus USA HQ in Newport Beach gets twice as many returns on bent rims over 17-inches. Brabus engineers believe the super low-profile phenomenon is a USA and Asian thing.

Note- that when a car manufacture has a 18-inch or bigger diameter wheel, they normally are either doing a plus 1-inch, which doesn't adversely affect the suspension/ride versus a plus 2 or plus 3, or plus 4 on a car originally designed for 15 or 16-inch wheels (20-inch wheels on a W124). In short, more compliance is generally engineered into cars with 17+ stock wheels.

In terms of strength, OEM specifications for wheels (esp. Mercedes, and BMW) is actually more stringent than TUV approved wheels for impact resistance, corrosion resistance, etc.

My three tire manufacture contacts (e.g., Ronal, OZ, and BBS) say it is so much harder to make wheels for the original car manufacture, esp. Mercedes.

Best of luck,
:-)neil
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  #7  
Old 09-07-2001, 10:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by ke6dcj
...My three tire manufacture contacts (e.g., Ronal, OZ, and BBS)...
Neil,

Would you be able to find out more about OZ Wheels' "F1 Racing Cup" used by RENNtech for their E7.4RS? I'm especially interested in these wheels available applications for the E500/500E as well as the newer W210 sedans and wagons.

Thanks!
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93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)
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  #8  
Old 09-07-2001, 11:17 PM
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I'll call them Monday and see what happens.

Do you have an OZ part number and scan of this wheel?

Thanks,
:-) neil
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  #9  
Old 09-07-2001, 11:24 PM
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17 inch wheels seem to be the way to go.

I have read all the pros and cons.

New England roads are not what I would call "smooooth" even in the Spring/Summer/Fall months(This baby is bubble wrapped in the Winter months)

One final concern on the 17" O.Z. Opera II Modular Wheel. The front offset is 20MM running a 17X8.5 and a "spacer kit" and 19MM on the rears running a 17X10 with no spacer kit (direct bolt on)

Some of you seem to feel spacers are an accident waiting to happen which concerns me.

Comments ??

TIA

Tom

Neil - just saw your query and thought I would add this link
http://www.ozwheels.com/wheels.html

you can email Bob Herrer at rherrera@ozwheels.com
He has been mentoring me on the part numbers to order and spacer kit numbers to assure me of accuracy as it seems the distributors are not as up to date with their code books as OZ is. Please do not use my name as I am sure he is tired of communicating with me at this point. (I think he would prefer I order my wheels from Saddam Hussein as long as I dont ask him any more questions.^)

Last edited by TomE500; 09-07-2001 at 11:33 PM.
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  #10  
Old 09-08-2001, 12:12 AM
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Neil, the wheels are called the F1 Racing Cup. They do not show up in the www.ozwheels.com webpage but do so at www.oz-racing.de.

Here's a pic of the wheel:



And here are some of the wheels mounted on a W210:





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Rainmaker
93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)
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  #11  
Old 09-09-2001, 01:39 AM
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Tom:

I see why the OZ Opera modulars require a spacer in front. My OZ Futura modulars have a front offset of ET35 for their 8.5x17 size. Along with the ET19 10x17 rears, they fit perfectly.

Just for discussion, it looks like the F1 Cup style is well suited to the current W210 body style but do you think it might be too "modern" for the W124?
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  #12  
Old 09-09-2001, 02:10 PM
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Dean!

I did not realize that we had chatted before until I visited your website to check your mods. You may recall that I emailed you late last Fall in re finding an original Alpine CD Player, mounting bracket and the Rug cover.

According to the Manufacturers site: http://www.oz-racing.de./liste-Dateien/sheet016.htm

They are recommending 255/40R17 to a max 265/40R17 on their 10X17 with a non-spacer offset of 19MM.

Your site states you are running 275s on your rears. Italianbenz says he has been experiencing scrapping on his 275X18s.

Have you experienced any scrapping with the 275s on your car?

Tom

OBTW, I like the "built-in look" of your GPS. I usually know where I am going and it would probably be just another expensive toy that would get little use but then again the whole damn car sort of falls into that category!^) Would you mind telling us what that GPS set-up set you back?

Last edited by TomE500; 09-10-2001 at 07:16 PM.
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  #13  
Old 09-10-2001, 09:05 PM
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Greetings Tom:

Last year the OZ Germany website recommended the 275 tire width on 17 X 10" Futuras for the rear of 500Es. I see they have now removed all of the specific 500E size recommendations from their website...ah, obsolescence.

Anyway, they don't rub at all, even with a full trunk. Guido has a lowered suspension, I believe, and that really changes things. I have not encountered a manufacturer that recommends the 10" rears with a lowered suspension. RENNTech told me they will only go to 9" rear rims on the W124 with their suspension package, although they offer 10" OZ-made rims for use at stock height.

I really need/use the GPS for speed measurement, both while travelling down south (we use KPH up here) and rallying. Accurate to .01 mph...awesome technology! The unit, remote antenna and custom installation cost me around $700US.
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  #14  
Old 09-12-2001, 05:20 PM
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Hi Dean!

If I am not mistaken, Guido had the rubbing problem before he lowered his 500E. If he still has the wheels/tires combo with his new H&R springs, the rear tires must be riding on the rear fenders unless he rolled them. I would not lower this vehicle any lower than it already is unless I was gonna run it strictly on a race track only.

The OZ US Rep says that the Opera2 is 35 offset 17X8.5) without the spacers but that 35 offset will not give it that aggressive look.

Methinks that I will get 17X8.5 on all 4 corners and get two spacer kits. If I feel agressive, I'll slap on the spacers and associated lugs. The existing 16's at 35MM don't exactly look like they are buried deep in the fenderwells and the Porsch Engineers flared the fenders for that set up to avoid fender rubbing on teh tire.

That sounds like a great price on the GPS and will prolly be my next addition after the wheels and this "fifth" wheel that I am planning on:
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E500 Wheel size vote-mbwheelblack.jpg  
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  #15  
Old 09-12-2001, 05:35 PM
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Tom:

I made a mistake on the earlier post. My OZ Futura front wheels are 17x8.5 with an offset of ET 20, not ET 35. Sounds like those spacers will result in the same offset.

Post pics when your ready!

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