W123 Specific Wheel Fitment

[123benzman]

I was wondering what size spacers I would need in order to fit these wheels on my 1985 300D.


They are 5x112 ET41.
Will I need spacers on the front and back ?
Will I need longer wheel bolts ? Tapered or ball seat ?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have read alot of threads but still do not understand the whole concept. I am just looking for any easy answer I guess lol..... Very frustrated in UPSTATE NY

[MTUpower]

You'll need spacers and the lugs which match those spacers. Inquire about that when you are shopping for the spacers.

Your w123 has a "ET" of around 28. If you get higher than this parts of the suspension/brake calipers may hit the rim. You need to "push" the rim out so that interference will not take place- thus the spacer. With small changes you can run up to ET35 on a w123 but not as high as 41.

[123benzman]

Ok, so a 7mm spacer would lower my ET with these wheels to 34, correct ?
ET41 + 7mm spacer = ET34 ?

[123benzman]

or would a 15mm spacer be better ?? ? ? anyone ? ?

[macdoe]

I don't know much about this and have been waiting on a response from someone that knows something too. It seems hardly anyone visits this section, hence the wait.

I have had the factory 14" bundts that apparently have an offset of 30. If I remember correctly the clearance between the tires and the tie rod was not very much and this was with the factory installed wheel tire combination. I have put a different 15" w126 rim on with an offset of 21.5. I have the factory tire size on this rim (205/65-15). It is still very close to that tie rod on the front. I would think that you want a spacer that takes you at least below the 30 backspace. Don't take my word for it though as I don't really know. The 15 mm sounds like a better idea to me. I have been fiddling with the calculators but they tell you nothing in regards to that tie rod clearance. Don't forget the tire size you have for those rims may also be a variable to consider.

Maybe that Luke guy will come on here from the tire rack soon.

[MBeige]

Originally Posted by 123benzman

or would a 15mm spacer be better ?? ? ? anyone ? ?

In order to get back from 41 to 30 you'll need an offset value of at least 10mm, maybe that extra 1mm might not be required. However it seems like the 15mm offset might be better.

That extra 0.5 inch wheel depth might throw you a curved ball. I recall the 16 x 7 CLK wheels were already a tight fit, and these were a better ET37 value. A 16 x 7.5 with ET41 might be pushing it. These wheels work better on a W124 though, the offset is just perfect.

Some CLK lightweight wheel owners claim they needed spacers, others claimed they were perfect and barely cleared the tie rods. A 0.5 inch additional depth equates to ~1.27 cm additional clearance problem.