W210 or W208 Wheels?

[nazrat]

This if for our W210 E320 4Matic. It came with the standard W210 wheels (7.5Jx16 ET 41) with 215x55R16 tires.



While certainly usable, I prefer the look of the W208 CLK wheels, and I ran across a set that was affordable. They are 7Jx16 ET 37 wheels with 205x55R16 tires. I did have to work fairly hard to get a set of lug bolts that would fit these wheels and not interfere with the brakes.



What's the opinion here? I'll need a set of tires in the spring and I plan on putting the new tires on the set that I choose and sell the other set.

-Tad

[Austin814]

Stick with the W210, or to make the car look more aggressive for the summer find some rims from a CLK430 (AMG). I personally think the CLK320 rims look like they came off a late 80's honda or something. (very cheap looking) The early CLK430 had a 5 spoke rounded style rim, it shared the same rims as the SLK. The 01 and 02 CLK430's had a more squared edge on the spokes which I think gives the W210 and W208 cars a much better look. I have the rounded style 5 spoke 17" rims on my 96 C280, which I prefer on because its body style is a what I would call swept square and the squared edge style 17" 5 spoke on my 02 CLK430 which is much more of a curvy car. One thing I always go by is that the wheel should accent the car, not be what you see first when you look at the car.

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by nazrat

This if for our W210 E320 4Matic. It came with the standard W210 wheels (7.5Jx16 ET 41) with 215x55R16 tires.



While certainly usable, I prefer the look of the W208 CLK wheels, and I ran across a set that was affordable. They are 7Jx16 ET 37 wheels with 205x55R16 tires. I did have to work fairly hard to get a set of lug bolts that would fit these wheels and not interfere with the brakes.



What's the opinion here? I'll need a set of tires in the spring and I plan on putting the new tires on the set that I choose and sell the other set.

-Tad

Oh, those CLK wheels have a wider offset so they should have better tractability but yes they look awful so sell them to someone like me to upgrade 15 in wheels on an older model Benz like the 124 chassis
Also I need another set of those hard to find short lug bolts so sell them to me when you get rid of the wheels

Personally, I have a set of the 1999-2000 CLK special edition wheels and they look fine to me, but its the improved handling that a +1 tire setup gets with them as compared to the OE 15 in wheels thats what I was after. Another benefit for us +1 folks is having a better selection of tires to choose from.

Didja know they are forged alloy wheels (ie. very strong!)?
And they have a special hard anodized finish that's extremely easy to clean, as you'll see when you simply wipe them off with a damp sponge. No paint to worry about.
Maybe that is why I have bought four sets of the Y2K CLK430 wheels and sold three of them to friends. I had to keep one set for my 300D turbo rocket and nobody will pry them away from me until my hands go cold and limp
Oh, and they are not rims. Rims are the edges of a wheel. Anybody that says otherwise isn't well edumacated.

Check out Yokohama Tires, get their best and they will serve you well without breaking the bank. Michelins are good tires but with the weak USD they are just way overpriced in my estimation

DDH

[Austin814]

Yes, rims are technically the place for the tire to bead to, but since 90% of the population refers the wheels as rims I think its acceptable to call it "slang" or a popular term. It wasnt used in a confusing manner. As for the Yokohoma tires, dont let them fool you. Yokohoma tires are black, Michelin Tires are round. I also like the Bridgstone Potenza RE750's which is a very grippy tire with a long tread life.

[nazrat]

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

Oh, those CLK wheels have a wider offset so they should have better tractability but yes they look awful so sell them to someone like me to upgrade 15 in wheels on an older model Benz like the 124 chassis
Also I need another set of those hard to find short lug bolts so sell them to me when you get rid of the wheels

Personally, I have a set of the 1999-2000 CLK special edition wheels and they look fine to me, but its the improved handling that a +1 tire setup gets with them as compared to the OE 15 in wheels thats what I was after. Another benefit for us +1 folks is having a better selection of tires to choose from.

Didja know they are forged alloy wheels (ie. very strong!)?
And they have a special hard anodized finish that's extremely easy to clean, as you'll see when you simply wipe them off with a damp sponge. No paint to worry about.
Maybe that is why I have bought four sets of the Y2K CLK430 wheels and sold three of them to friends. I had to keep one set for my 300D turbo rocket and nobody will pry them away from me until my hands go cold and limp
Oh, and they are not rims. Rims are the edges of a wheel. Anybody that says otherwise isn't well edumacated.

Check out Yokohama Tires, get their best and they will serve you well without breaking the bank. Michelins are good tires but with the weak USD they are just way overpriced in my estimation

DDH

I didn't know that they were forged, but I have admired the finish. They came from someone who ran them on his W123 (which I considered, but the W123 is my beater and has almost new Sumomoto tires on it now).

As far as short lug bolts go, I made this set. I couldn't find a set of chrome (to match the wheel finish) shorties. Let me tell you how hard the Mercedes lug bolts are. Wow! I went through many saw blades. I think that a blade would cut through about 3 bolts before the teeth were gone. I was using Dewalt sawsall blades in a jig that I made.

Thanks for the input.

-Tad

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by Austin814

Yes, rims are technically the place for the tire to bead to, but since 90% of the population refers the wheels as rims I think its acceptable to call it "slang" or a popular term. It wasnt used in a confusing manner. As for the Yokohoma tires, dont let them fool you. Yokohoma tires are black, Michelin Tires are round. I also like the Bridgstone Potenza RE750's which is a very grippy tire with a long tread life.

I always rebuff people I respect using the word rims for wheels, perhaps because my teachers did the same to me. I surely didn't intend to offend anyone.
But I do not ascribe to using the slang "rims" because that isn't what I was taught to use around the shop.
About black Yokohamas, they don't make white walls for these cars, eh?

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by nazrat

I didn't know that they were forged, but I have admired the finish. They came from someone who ran them on his W123 (which I considered, but the W123 is my beater and has almost new Sumomoto tires on it now).

As far as short lug bolts go, I made this set. I couldn't find a set of chrome (to match the wheel finish) shorties. Let me tell you how hard the Mercedes lug bolts are. Wow! I went through many saw blades. I think that a blade would cut through about 3 bolts before the teeth were gone. I was using Dewalt sawsall blades in a jig that I made.

Thanks for the input.

-Tad

You'll find them really easy to clean!
The stock MB lug bolts for these wheels are now only silver painted and they look pretty cheap on these wheels but they are the right length (about 1 inch long as I recall). The original lug bolts had a stainless cap on the outer end and looked nicer to me than the painted ones
The factory bolts were a PITA to get! My local dealer first ordered long bolts for a different wheel, then after I showed them I needed short bolts for the special forged alloy wheels they reordered them and I finally got the right bolts.

If I had to cut down bolts from a set of chrome plated lugs I would elicit the help of a friend who has access to a diamond cut off wheel at work, I believe its called a Pestorius wheel, he cut off some 14mm bolts for me once and I watched as the wheel slowly cut through them like they were butter