i upgraded from OEM 15" 8-slots to 16" sport replica
and bought 205/55/16 turanzas in the "H" rated.
my criteria: 50% ride quality, 20% handling, 20% noise, 10% apperance
(luke helped in decesion process, thanks)

opinion: the turanzas are great. fab-u-lus hwy ride, improved handling (over previous MXV4$), good hwy noise, higher (than mxv4) avg street noise (over road imperfections), great look.

the turanzas have "dual-compound" materials promising improved handling (esp wet) and life.

my turanzas were $525 driveout including alignment and lifetime balancing.

If you drive in the wet, the Bridgestones are the best. We had a set of RE950's on the E300, and they were superb. I have a set of 930's on the C230, and while not as good as the 950's, they're pretty close. I'll probably use either the 950's or LS-H when the 930's wear out.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

IMHO, the best offset for all W124 cars with 7.5-wide wheels, is 41mm (e.g., ET41).

I have a set of MB OE Avant-Garde 5-spoke wheels, as well as some Euro 8-hole wheels in 7.5x16 ET41 and they fit perfectly, and clear the big 500E calipers on my wagon.

The MB OE wheel on the E-class from 1997-1999 (looks like an umbrella- 10 or 11 holes/spokes) also has the right offset of 41mm.

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

I was about to order some full on snow tires (205/55-16) on dedicated alloy wheels (16x7) from Tire Rack earlier today and when I went to check out the warning came up that 16" wheels and tires are NOT recommended for my 1995 E320, they will NOT fit and they will cause problems with wheel well contact. I don't want to stay with the stock 15" wheels, one reason there are only three wheel designs and one being an original wheel style and the other two are not my taste and only available in black and the other in bronze, and all three are two to three times the price of the wheel I want. They are just for snow season use so I don't want to buy too expensive of a wheel to run on salt covered roads.....(being cheap I know). I want to order something as soon as possible (tomorrow) so I need to know if I will have any issues with 16x7 wheels and 205/55-16 tires on my perfectly stock 1995 E320? Thank you very much for any help. Oh and this is my first post so HELLO to everyone and thanks again.

Check Craiglist. There are plenty of used MB 16" wheels that fit the w124 just fine. W140, w210, w203 just to name a few.
https://i.imgur.com/Rs2ugQO.jpg

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be sure to check lugnut size's first

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

The ride, fuel economy and handling will be best with the tires the mb engineers designed the car for. I have tried going bigger and always have regretted it....unless buying tires for an autocross car.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

if you need jack rabbit starts for city traffic, small O.D. is best,you can get same O.D. in different rims too like 225 60 16 to 225 55 17.Now me because of gravel,and dirt roads,and mainly speeds above 45 mph, taller the better. I went from 225 60 16s to 235 55 17s mud snow rated z

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Thanks everyone for your replies. I found my answer at the Borbet.de website. Went to the MB 124 wheel site and found they only offer two choices and they are one 16" and both in 17", no 15". The Borbet Type CA 16" is the wheel I wanted to try and that's the wheel that Tire Rack has available with 205/55-16 Altimax Artic snow tires. I know that going to wider winter tires with lower sidewalls is entirely WRONG for winter driving but I wanted to try some different wheels and they were the least expensive wheels to drive in snow, SALTED roads and they will be on the car the least during the year. Thanks again.

Mike



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rzZe-IAX0w&feature=emb_logo

All MB wheel bolts are 17mm. M14 wheel fit M12 cars just fine.
I have some 215/55R16 tires that would beg to differ. Did that size even exist when they were designing the 124?

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the w126 has a 12mm thread,the w140 is 14mm. Is why I have concerns.So how could a w126 wheel fit? for one the brakes are larger on my w140 in diameter. Wish they made all rwd vehicles where we could use the ET 0 wheels,or centerlines,as we called the drag rims
seems all new rim size's are for front wheel drive where axles stick way out.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

If they have the same or close diameter to the original equipment and are not heavier you should ride and handle fine. It they are wider they will impact fuel economy but that might be slight enough to be unmeasureable.

I am pretty tough on unsprung weight. In my vw diesel wagon when I needed tires, I went from the original 17" rims to 16" and used tires with the same diameter. ... Actually went a bit narrower I think. With the new rims and new tires I saved 4#/ wheel. That is enough to feel. I saved enough on the tires to pay for the smaller wheels and gave the 17s to my Indies who gave me some credit on my account.

Lots of folks put on wider tires thinking they will make the car better, and mostly they probably will not notice any difference in handling and they will like the more butch look.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Please re read what I wrote.

I've driven on multiple sets of 195/65R15s over the years on this car and the 215/55R16s make a huge difference. Its not only the extra 20mm of tread on the road but also the extra 40mm of track width.

There's also a lot more quality tires available in 16" sizes than 15". Just like 14" before them 15" wheel cars are getting rare on the road.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

That tire looks nice and wide. No rubbing? Tire availability is definitely a limiting factor in many cases.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I've been very pleased with the lightweight CLK wheels on several of my W124s
Currently running 205/55 16 BFG G force Comp 2 summer rubber, with no interference issues.
Uses the same lugbolt as the steel wheel found on the W123, and many others.

I have a matching wheel/tire for the spare, which does cause the tire cover to be raised slightly.
MB designed that clearance to fit the OE 195 width tire, and not a mm more!
I like the spare to match for simplicity if I get a flat, and because of my OCD.

Jim Freeh

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles