My bundts are looking pretty bad, and, when putting new tires on them last weekend, I discovered that two were pretty severely warped. I am thinking about replacing my bundts with some aftermaket wheels. I looked on the tire rack and they say that a set of 16x7.5 et25 (mille miglia bello) wheels will fit my 83 300D. But, I have my eye on a set of wheels available locally. They are 17x7 et35, look very classy, have the right bolt pattern and the right price. But I am concerned about the offset. With a 7.5" et 25 wheel there are 120.25mm of wheel behind the hub mounting surface. With a 7" et 35 wheel there are 123.9mm of wheel hehind the hub mounting surface. These are by my calculations using the conversion factor of 25.40mm to 1.000 inch. Will I have problems with the latter wheel contacting any of the components in my front end? I would prefer not use spacers as I have heard horror stories about shorn lug bolts and lost lives. The seats appear to be the same on both rims. Are there any other dimensions of compatibility that I am overlooking?

Thanks
-Zac

The chances of you not needing spacers on a 123 when using a wheel with a 35mm offset are virtually nil. However, proper hub centric spacers are pretty much an extension of the wheel itself and are perfectly safe when manufactured and used properly. If you really like the wheels, you can pick up a set of hub-centric spacers for about $150.00 shipped.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock."

You really can't go over ET30 on a W123. R107 and W126 are the same- not much over 30.

I have ten reasonably nice, straight "bundts" for sale if you are interested.

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Charles Cleaver
1975 350SE + 1992 300CE-24 SportLine 5-speed + 2002 SLK320 6-speed + 1974 W114 280
1986 190E 2.3-16 (Decomm rear self-leveling suspension; Euro-code headlamps) sold
2004 Audi S4 6-spd - sold
1969 (2) and 1980 Porsche 911T, S, and SC - alas gone
1987 300SDL - Graf Spee; Euro-code headlamps; 16-inch 8-hole wheels - sold
1994 E420+(E500 suspension/E-code headlamps/PAD chip) sold
1968 250SE 4-speed (NICE car) - long gone
1962 220S 4-speed/column mount - long gone