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I currentlyhave the #1 (lowest) spring pad in the front and I will be running 17x8 inch ET28 AMG Aero wheels 215/45 front, 235/45 rear or possibly 225/45 all around. The fenders will be slightly rolled as they were before the tires took to lunching on them.
As for ET28, the Hammers were lowered and wore this size albeit with the fenders rolled. My fenders are slightly rolled; i think the spring/strut action is more to blame than the offset, although I'll soon find out. If Cardude runs 18x8 (awesome loking wagon Cardude!) without rubbing, I'm hoping to keep the 225/45 fronts. 215/45 doesn't fill an 8 inch wide wheel as well.
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The only reason you would need a lower offset number (like ET28) is if you have clearance problems between the wheel/tire and strut/steering/brakes. Otherwise, you want the tire tucked in as much as possible. I have 17x8.0 ET38 wheels with 225/45 tires. They come close to the strut tube up front but don't touch. I had very little problems rubbing, but I did fold up the front fender lips, and now I have no problems. The 225 tires are narrower than the wheel so my next set of tires will be 235/45, which is what the Carat rep told me to use in the first place. I have no problems in the rear at all.
Also, as I mentioned before, if you use regular struts you may want to install the AMG travel limiter. There is a Mercedes service document that details how to roll the fender lips and also explains about the travel limiter, when installing wide AMG wheels. I don't know if this is required with the 500E struts (Neil says they have an internal limit, or spring?) or the Bilstein Sports. I'll try to find the document and turn it into a PDF, there's lots of good info on lowering & using wide wheels.
BTW - Bilstein Sports should work fine with Sportline springs, since those springs drop the car a good 1.0-1.25 inches.
Regards,