I have a 1988 190E (W201) 2.6 (M103) which has a curious irregularity one which I know other 190 owners have noticed with their cars.

The front right wheel/tire gap to the fender is a considerably closer fit than the left side not only that but, I have noticed that the front suspension coil spring ends are mounted to the lower "wishbone" non-symmetrically, that is, in the opposite direction.

Does anyone know why Mercedes did this?

I'm baffled!

This is a guess but maybe this was part of the modifications they did to shoe horn that 6 in the there?

on the other hand, on my '89 190e2.6, the left front tire-fender clearance is smaller than the right one. I have 205/60-15 tires on 7"-wide Borbets with a 36ET.

With this, the shoulder of the left front tire rubs against the fender when i encounter bumps at high speed (i.e., when the wheels are pointing forward, and the tire shoulders are nearest the fender lip). The clearance needs to be about 2-3mm more to prevent rubbing. I can see rubber marks beginning from the plastic part of the bumper side that forms part of the front wheel well, to the lower part of the (metal) fender. And of course, the corresponding fender impressions on the tire shoulder ...

I guess this is because I am using a relatively square-shouldered tire (Michelin XGT-H4) rather than the usual round-shouldered MXV4-Plus.

BUT ... this does not happen on the right front fender/tire ...

I'm interested at the size tyres you are using 205/60/15.

Do you know if these are the original sizeing to match the 15/7J wheel?

I was under the impression that 55 series tyres were the correct specification.

In fact does anyone know the original Mercedes spec regarding tyre sizes for the 190E?

sarge,

the stock tire size for a 190e is 185/65-15 on 6Jx15 wheels.

Using 205/60-15, you have a rolling diameter 0.88% greater than stock, which makes it a perfect upgrade to a wider tire using the same wheel diameter.

if you use 205/55-15 the rolling diameter is 2.41% smaller than stock, and it will likely not rub the fender..

You could go 225/55-15 and its rolling diameter will be 1.13% greater than stock, but i don't know about fender clearance. If you use the original 6J wheels it could look awkward for such a wide tire. If you use a 7J wheel then it will likely rub the fender because of the wider wheel and decreased wheel offset.

probably the way to go would be to use the stock 8-hole wheels used on the Sportline 190e - i believe these have an offset larger than my Borbets, which should address the issue of fender clearance (but my Borbets look better, with the wider stance it gives the car )

hope this helps ...