Does anyone have knowledge of what brands and or OEM wheels that will interchange correctly with my 72 SLC 14" wheels and the best tires for this old beast. What year OEM wheels and their models are interchangable? Is it better to go to an aftermarket brand wheels to get better results?

Thank you in advance,

Tim

Aloha Tim,

I have upsized a coupe like yours and am happy with the results. I opted for aftermarket because I got a very good deal on a package. If you choose to stay with OEM, these specs may be helpful to you, as I believe they will interchage with your car:

450SL/SLC (72-80)
300SD (81-85)
300SDL/SE/SEL (86-92)
350SL (72-73)
380SE/SEC/SEL (81-85)
380SL (81-85)
420SEL (86-91)
500SE/SEC/SEL (82-85)
500SL (82-85)
560SE/SEC/SEL (86-92)
560SL (90-93)

Good luck,

__________________
Ray

1980 300SD (Anthrcite Gray) 253,108 miles
1982 300SD (Silver Blue) 242,398 miles
1982 300SD (Black) 263,185 miles

Hey Tim,

Me again...just thought you might want to see what an upsize might look like on your car.

Aloha,

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__________________
Ray

1980 300SD (Anthrcite Gray) 253,108 miles
1982 300SD (Silver Blue) 242,398 miles
1982 300SD (Black) 263,185 miles

Thanks Ray,
Does look very good. Info is very helpful. I will start my search, what brand do you have one yours? Want to get correct offset.
What handling do you experience when switching?

Best regards,
Tim

Hi Tim,

I have 18 x 8 MOMO Arrows with a 20mm offset. Here are some of the comparisons between that and stock:

Stock New
14" rim 18" rim
205/70R14 tire 235/40R18 tire
25.3" diameter 25.4" diameter
8.1" width 9.3" width
5.6" sidewall height 3.7" sidewall height
798 Revolutions per mile 794 revolutions per mile
(that means that if I were traveling at 60 miles per hour, the speedometer would read 59.8)

My driving is pretty tame, and most of the time I'm just going straight ahead. All that being considered, my car handles well and does everything I want it to do, when I want it to do it. On the odd occasions when I've had to swerve to avoid things in the road, the steering response is immediate and the car performs like it's glued to the road. Hope this helps.

From one coupe guy to another,

__________________
Ray

1980 300SD (Anthrcite Gray) 253,108 miles
1982 300SD (Silver Blue) 242,398 miles
1982 300SD (Black) 263,185 miles

Hi Tim,

In addition to Ray's nice set of wheels, take a look how the 8-holes 8x16 on 225X55X16 fits the car:-

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Deltacom ~ Absit Iniuria Verbis ~

I had just purchased a 1985 380sl the owner before me hand replaced the original wheels and tires (14") with 16", the rear has P225/60/16 and the front has P225/55/16, what kind of probems will I incounter with this set-up. Theres not much room between the outside diameter of the tires and the wheel wells. (approx. 2")


Thank You
Tsquare23