Salty got his Pentas - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

remotemark · #1 12-19-2008, 11:17 AM

Got Pentas on Salty, and love them. Car drives significantly differently, for the better. The only problem is the wheels require 5 mm spacers. Even with those, the center caps won't go on the front wheels. I'll have to work on a solution to that. One would be to go to 7 or 10mm spacers on the front. Anybody have an opinion as to whether the front wheels can be 5 or 10mm wider than the rear without ruining the car or killing myself?

I know the photo isn't great, but it was raining this morning and I didn't want to hang out with my cell phone and keep trying.

Chad300tdt · #2 12-19-2008, 11:19 AM

Looks good Mark!

Are the caps way off, or do you think you could hammer the dust caps down a bit and make them fit?

remotemark · #3 12-19-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

Looks good Mark!

Are the caps way off, or do you think you could hammer the dust caps down a bit and make them fit?

I guess I could take a "speed wrench" and give it a whirl. It's pretty close, they just don't go down far enough to click in.

MBeige · #4 12-29-2008, 01:02 AM

The Pentas look great, they're probably the 30+mm offset units for w124's or maybe w126's? That's probably why they require spacers. Same problem with the 16x7 CLK wheels (lightweights) I tried for the w123 (37mm offset).

TylerH860 · #5 12-29-2008, 02:57 AM

That's the exact same problem I have with my Pentas, which came off a W126. I was hoping that 5mm spacers would do it, darn.

remotemark · #6 12-29-2008, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

Looks good Mark!

Are the caps way off, or do you think you could hammer the dust caps down a bit and make them fit?

I know a couple people on here have done the beat down on the dust caps to accommodate center caps. Any of you care to share just how you did it? When you tapped on the front, did they try to mushroom out at all? Can it all be done with the caps on the hub?

NoSparkNeeded · #7 01-02-2009, 07:18 PM

I was able to tap my dust caps a bit and use the center covers from the
bundts on the front. They worked just barely, when the CLK covers on the front would not work at all.

remotemark · #8 01-06-2009, 01:32 PM

Well, I guess I'll just try tapping on the shields for a bit and see how it goes. What's the downside if I put a crack in one?

Chad300tdt · #9 01-06-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remotemark

Well, I guess I'll just try tapping on the shields for a bit and see how it goes. What's the downside if I put a crack in one?

Grease will come out. The dust caps are pretty soft. I don't think you'll risk cracking them unless you hammer the shape around for a while. You'd have to really whack it to crack the edge of the cap from pushing it on too far also. They have a little "shelf" rolled into them that keeps them from going on too far. The caps have a slightly rounded end that easily flattens if you don't use a dead blow hammer when tapping them on.

remotemark · #10 01-06-2009, 03:57 PM

That doesn't sound too scary. Sounds like they might not be too bad to replace, if necessary. If I had your talent, Chad, I'd manufacture some smaller penta-accommodating-caps.

Chad300tdt · #11 01-06-2009, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remotemark

That doesn't sound too scary. Sounds like they might not be too bad to replace, if necessary. If I had your talent, Chad, I'd manufacture some smaller penta-accommodating-caps.

If I had a lathe, I'd be all over it.

TchTchr · #12 02-10-2009, 10:27 PM

mmmmmmmmm when the CNC router is completed later this year I see some center cap production going on!