Need help

[ted5469]

I have a 95 c280. I put 17' amg rims on it. The car drives like crap dont know what to do. need help

[Gilly]

Ted:
You mean it runs like crap (engine), or handles like crap, or what?
Did it start doing this when you put the new rims on? Can you put the old rims back on and see if it's better? Are there any warning lights associated with the problem? Throw me a bone here.

Gilly

[ted5469]

Ever since I put the rims on the handling is horrible. It pulls in all different directions. I got an alignment and got my tires balanced and it still drives this way. if I put the old factory 15" rims on it drives fine but I don’t want those rims on my car.

[Gilly]

Surely the shop that did the alignment did a roadtest on it afterwards, and I assume the car was aligned with the 17' rims on it. What does the shop that did the alignment say is wrong with it? They must have noticed the poor handling also and made some kind of suggestion.

Gilly

[ted5469]

They told me that because i put 17" rims on the car that is why it drives like that and there is nothing i can do about except put my old 15" back on. That does not seem right to me

[PaulG]

Ted,

Have you changed the offset?

The sensitivity to kickback from bumps can be made much worse if the offset is increased greatly (to make the wheels look wider by sticking out of the arches more).

If you want this look without spending more money, you'll have to put up with it.

The real solution is to widen the rims by equal amounts each side, with the limit set when the inner wall of the tyre hits something on the chassis/suspension. This may not give you the "superwide" look you're aiming for.

Remember that any increase in tyre width will make the car more likely to tramline. This may be what you are experiencing.

You may also have to live with this, but you could try increasing the tyre pressures a bit to see if things improve.

[Gilly]

If the wheel change is what brings on the change in handling, then the solution does seem quite clear, doesn't it?

Gilly