okay. so its been about a month since i got my new wheels and tires. when i first had them put on they rubbed big time. they ordered the wrong offset (15). They then ordered a second pair and right before they put them on i had my new bilstein HDs installed. Now that the shocks are broken in, the tires are rubbing every once in a while. And when I have my 220 pound dad in the passenger seat its easy to make the fronts rub. The offset of the wheels I'm running right now is 35 and the tires are 215/50/17. Everyone says they should fit perfectly, but they dont. My suspension, besides the HD's, is totally stock. Its frustrating that there are guys on here that have my same set up and are lowered almost 2 inches with no issues. bla!

I looked into rolling my inner fenders but then discovered its actually rubbing on the very outer edge of my fender. You can actually see where it has scraped off the paint. So my only option besides "flaring" the fenders, which I'm definitely not doing is to go back and see if i could get some different wheels. I actually kinda feel bad at this point. This is the second set of wheels they have powder coated for me and now they are going to have to eat the price.

Anyhow, I'm thinking that if I go to a 40 or 45 (I dont even know if they have those for that wheel) it would probably take care of it. What do you guys think? Any other possible solutions?

Would help everyone, if you would share the make, year, and model of your car.

Steve

sorry about that. its a 92 300E.

Why not just call Tire Rack www.tirerack.com and ask them what the wheel and tire combinations will work for your car? The offset varies with the wheel width.

Steve

you have a couple problems with that set up ...

w124 limits
17x7.5 ET35
215/45-17

you current tires are too tall and most likely from what you have stated itsounds like the wheels are 8" wide

__________________

Please, call me to place orders or for more info
use my name for on-line orders

actually the tires i have on right are a smaller diameter then the originals. and they are a 7.5 inch wheels.

195/65-15 = 25.0"

215/50-17 = 25.5"


you sure ?

__________________

Please, call me to place orders or for more info
use my name for on-line orders

well thats a good point. the tires that the previous owner left on must have been bigger, because we sized them to be the same diameter of the old tires.

however, i dont think this is an issue of tire height. my car sits pretty hi. its as simple as the wheels sticking out too far. the suspension should be able to almost fully compress without touching the outer fender. I've pushed down my car with original wheels and tires and they actually stay inside the wheel wells. thats how tires and wheels are supposed to fit. if they cant, then there is something wrong, right?

I was thinking that maybe if i had the alignment changed so there was more negative camber it would clear that outer fender. Might also give the car a little bit nicer of a stance. I see a lot of older bmws that are lowered with a negative camber. it looks pretty cool. my only concern is how quick it could go through my tires.

100% right - OEM wheel and tires sizes won't cause tire/fender interference.

Seems like the solution to your problem is pretty clear to me.

oh wow. thanks a lot. i spoke to some people that were actually wanting to be helpful and we decided that giving the wheels a negative camber might be worth a shot.

Happy to be of some help - but I'm guessing you are not going to take my advice?

Please explain to me how modifying the camber specification will solve your tire/fender clearance issues? Were the people you sought advice from sellers of "bling-bling" rims? Seems to me that excessive negative camber would cause the tires to hit the fenders at an earlier point in the suspension travel.

In my continuing efforts to be helpful you might want to read the following link from the Tire Rack about vehicle alignment parameters. Pay particular attention to the section that talks about excessive negative camber and it's effects on tire wear and tramlining.


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=4

ok. i didnt say i was planning on doing an "excessive negative camber". we were planning on doing a slight negative camber, bringing in the top of the wheel in a millimeter or two, just enough to clear the outer edge of my front fenders. right now the alignment is perfect. it was done about 3 weeks ago. and i was talking to the manager of les schwab. He's worked with aftermarket wheel and tire fitment a lot.

am I the only guy on here that thinks this guy is taking a condescending tone with me? its hard to tell when you aren't face to face with somebody. I'm also starting to get the feeling that this is more of a propaganda forum for tire rack more then anything else. . .

I'm really not here to argue with anyone about wheel and tire fitment. I just wanted to get some advice on how I can possibly get what I'm stuck with now to work. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

You NEVER compensate for the wrong wheel/tire combination with your alignment settings.
But, you'll find out when you scrub your tires off in a very short time.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

westonian,

There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum. If you search the archives you will find a lot of information about the 124 body style and wheel/tire size combinations that work without problems.

If you are looking for someone to pat you on the back and tell you that trying to make your set up work is a brilliant idea, you likely won't find that here. You then slam The Tire Rack which really isn't the way to win points on this site. Luke at The Tire Rack knows what combos will work with various Mercedes models and his advice should be heeded if you want a problem free fitment. If you think the manager at Les Schwab is such a guru, maybe you need to just turn the problem completely over to him.

am I the only guy on here that thinks this guy is taking a condescending tone with me?

Yes, you are. Amazing! No actually not amazing. Over the years I have often scratched my head at people who can't differentiate non-personal advise from personal attack. They take everything personally.

This appears to be a case where the original requester really has his mind made up, and puts on the blinders when offered real advice. He is going to do it his way, and that's fine, but should he drop the whiny (your hurting my feelings) stuff.

Steve