E500 Lugs question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TomE500 · #1 08-14-2002, 10:11 PM

My tire man has acquired a set of AMG CL 215 2-piece 17X8.50 wheels with an offset (ET) of 30 that he will be mounting 245/45X17 Michelin Pilot Sports to.

His AMG wheels source says the lugs for my OEM 16X8 (Offset[ET] 35) will be OK to use.

My question is that from all that I have read from this wheels forum, the OEM lugs will not fit.

If anyone else has gone this route upgrading from OEM 16X8s, did your OEM lugs fit or were they too short? I don't wanna tell a 30 year experienced tire/wheel man that he is wrong without support.

Wheels and tires are in and ready to be mounted this Sat AM so I would like to know before then.

TIA

TOM

Gilly · #2 08-14-2002, 10:42 PM

Tom:
Put a stock wheel bolt into the stock rim and measure how far the bolt sticks through the inner face (hub mounting surface) of the wheel, then do the same thing using the wheel you intend on using, they should be very close to the same, maybe a variance of a couple mm's. You may also want to check the appearance as well, longer and shorter shanks are available to fit the different recess holes in the face of the rim, but the extension of the bolt thread on the inside of the rim is of primary importance.

Gilly

TomE500 · #3 08-15-2002, 09:25 AM

Thanks GB! Common sense told me that if the new wheel is a half inch wider than the old wheel, the head of the lug would be buried an extra half inch into the lug hole or there would not be enough thread on the other end to safely fasten the wheel. If the offset was the same, I would think that the AMG wheels source was right. There is a 5 MM difference in the offsets of both wheels.

Tom

Gilly · #4 08-15-2002, 07:05 PM

Tom:
The width of the wheel and thickness of the hub area are 2 different matters. The quick check I mentioned is the best way to determine if the bolt extension is too deep or shallow. Too shallow and you may not have enough threads into the axle hub to secure the wheel, too deep and the tips of the bolts could contact the steering knuckle or parking brake parts.

Gilly

TomE500 · #5 08-16-2002, 09:39 AM

Dan - One last question that will save me time dismounting any one of my wheels verses removing just one of my lugs.

If I remove a lug from one of my wheels and drop it into one of the holes in the new AMG wheel, how far should the threaded end of the lug extend beyond the hub of the wheel?

TIA

Tom

Gilly · #6 08-16-2002, 09:48 PM

Tom:
You're better off doing it as I suggested. If I knew the absolute correct answer I would have said so to begin with. If you want to see if you are at least in the ballpark, I would guess at around 20mm. If it were my car, I'd pull a wheel off to be sure.

Gilly

Glen · #7 08-16-2002, 11:56 PM

Tom,
Pull one bolt and check it against the spare in the trunk

Gilly · #8 08-17-2002, 06:11 AM

Assuming the spare is the same rim that would work great. I'm too used to the new ones already where the spare is different and sometimes you even have different bolts to use, especially the sportier models like this.

Gilly

TomE500 · #9 08-17-2002, 11:06 AM

I went to pick up these bad boys this morning at a quoted price of $315.00 a corner including the sales tax. My tire man was $50.00 a tire over TireRack's stated price of $252.00 for the 245/45-17 Z rated Michelin Sports. However, he was $300 a wheel under anyone's price for the 17X8.5 AMG CL 203(215) 2 piece.
When I arrived, he had the tires mounted on the wheels. There was only two problems. The wheels were the AMG 5 spoke one piece. I pulled one of my lugs and dropped it through one of the lug holes on the AMG one-piece - seated in the hole, it was too far out on both the treaded end as well as the bolt end.

First moral learned is always get new lugs when ordering a different type of wheel than the OEM's on the car. Second moral learned was not to be afraid to question a 30 year experienced tire man when he says he is priced 50% below the competition.

I am bummed! I thought that I had a hell of a deal.

Thanks for the input Gilly and others.

Tom

Gilly · #10 08-17-2002, 04:19 PM

Yup, you do have to be careful about the wheel bolts, I've seen parking brake assemblies absolutely gutted out (Hey, what's that funny noise?) and also wheels do an adios (You picked a fine time to leave me loosewheel) due to inattention on the installers part. As I said, the shank size (how far the exterior of the bolt sticks out) is a minor detail compared to the threaded extension into the hub, it NEEDS to be correct.

Another important thing to remember, once you get the wheels you want and the bolts sorted out, is to make sure you are still left with 5 bolts in the trunk that will allow the spare to be mounted if neccesary. If the ones holding the road wheels on will suffice (at least correct thread extension) then fine, but often times the ones holding the wheels on won't work for the spare.

Gilly

#11 08-19-2002, 10:56 AM

the stock wheel bolts (29mm length of threaded section) stick out (in?) 17mm beyond the inside mounting surface of the stock 6 X 14 "Bundt Cake" forged aluminum rims.