Thanks for all the information, guys! These forums are such a great resource. I'm curious about the 500e suspension mods... where were they bought from? (and was the purchase price/labor costs reasonable?) All I know that Bekkers carries is a 500e front sway bar, but that needs a bit of modifying to fit (or so I'm told from the Bekkers folks). Getting back to the tire/rim stuff, I was at Barrier Mercedes in Bellevue last week, checking out the cars (next to the auto shows, it's one of my favorite pasttimes!). Well, there was a new E430 4Matic, wearing... you guessed it... 235-45-17's. Looked *great*. So I called the service department later and asked if that combo would fit on my 95. The tech there said it was no problem, but he didn't know
if there would be any rubbing if I lowered the car too much. So, I've still got some homework to do, eh? The folks at Discount Tire said to lower the car first, then buy the rims and just try on a few sizes to see what fits. Guess that couldn't hurt, eh?
On a completely unrelated topic mentioned prior regarding the 16V's, my dream car is still a 1990 2.5-16V Evolution II. But, even though I've found a place in England that get them in stock once in a while, the import restrictions and regulations have hindered it's purchase. Some day, perhaps. : )

Again, thanks for all the info so far guys! It's greatly appreciated.