Gratuitous photos of my new wheels

[Roger65]

Here are some pictures of my new AMGs, 18x8.5 front and 18x9.5 rear. Tires are Dunlop SP 9000 245/40-18f and 275/35-18 r. Ride quality has hardly changed at all, handling is much better now. Definately worth it.

[Pete Geither]

Wheels look great on the car. Just a shame you have to run that license plate on the front bumper.

[santron]

Roger,

Very nice!! Have you noticed any unusual tire wear on the front with this combo? I have the exact same setup with the same sized wheels and the Dunlop Pilot 9000's on my 1996 SL and notice that the front outside edges seems to wear a bit faster. I've increased tire pressure to compensate but the only thing that does is ruin the ride/handling. I have also heard the suggestion of getting it aligned to the maximum negative camber within the spec.

[Roger65]

Santron

Beautiful car you have there, I love the all black SL look.

As far as alignment goes, funny you should ask, because I just got my car aligned last Thursday, to correct a vibration. I had a strong vibration at 35mph and 65mph, but only with a passenger in the car. It was fine at other speeds, and fine at all speeds with no passenger. That was with the car aligned for et33 and et35 wheels, which is what my old 16" wheels were.


I had the alignment set to match the et23 and et25 offset of these 18" AMG wheels, and it has corrected the problem. I took the car out for a longer trip today with a passenger, and the alignment work completely cured all abnormal vibrations.

I haven't noticed any unusual wear on the front tires yet, but I've only had these wheels for a month.

Roger

I too have experienced wear on the outside of my sl's front tires. After doing some search on forums, I found that this is caused not by the cars alignment but due the heavy weight of the r129 car. The car i 4000 plus pounds but handles like a dream. Any time that you are turning you are putting a lot preasure on the outside of the wheels from the weight of the car. This seems to be the sourch of the unusually high wear on the outside of the wheels.

[santron]

Originally posted by Black129
I too have experienced wear on the outside of my sl's front tires. After doing some search on forums, I found that this is caused not by the cars alignment but due the heavy weight of the r129 car. The car i 4000 plus pounds but handles like a dream. Any time that you are turning you are putting a lot preasure on the outside of the wheels from the weight of the car. This seems to be the sourch of the unusually high wear on the outside of the wheels.

Yeah, all the asking around I have done points to the same conclusion.

[Steve Gutman]

Often, there is a kit to properly alter camber for oversized wheels or lowering springs. Anyone know of one for this car?

Here are some Lorenzer 18"s on my 1977 450.

[santron]

I take back what I said earlier about tire wear just being a way if life on SL500 w/ oversized wheels/tires. I have since looked at several SL's with the AMG Sports package on them and have not noticed any unusual tire wear. This combo is the same size that I have on mine (275/40/18's and 245/30/18's or something like that).

I now believe that either my offsets are incorrect or I have an alignment (toe-in) problem.

Santron- The offset should not be the problem since the offset is the based on where the rim mounts compared to the centerline of the tire. It may be the alignment. I put a set of Pirelli PZero Nero M&S on my 97 and I have not had any noticiable outside wear. It has a lot better wear rating than the Dunlop so that could be a factor. I did a lot of reasearch before I purchased these tires and I have been nothing but happy with them.

[santron]

Yes, I think it must be alignment. My outside edges wear twice as fast as the insides, and, like I mentioned, none of the other Sport Package SL's that I have looked at had this unusual wear. If only all of life's problems were this simple.....