I am considering new wheels for my 1991 300e. I currently have the factory 6.5Jx15H2 - ET48. The tires are Pirelli P400 - P205/60R15 90T with about 20-30K miles left on them. I am somewhat partial to the factory 8 hole wheels. Does anyone have any other suggestions on what wheels I should be looking at and where I should buy them ?

Thanks.

Rob, as I was telling Brian in an earlier post, I replaced the O.E. wheels on our 91-300e with a set of 16 inch Mille Miglia Bello wheels with 205-55 16 Continentals. They came as a package from the Tirerack.com. You can see them on your car of choice on their website.
We constantly get people telling us how great our wheels look and the price was less than a grand.

Rob,
go with something designed for Mercedes. They just look better on a Mercedes. Even if they are replicas.
JCE,
I know you have the sportline suspension in your car. In the article on the conversion to sportline you mentioned and showed a picture of the new springs a bit shorter that the stocks. My question is: are the struts/shocks shorter as well?

J.H.

I didn't think to measure the shocks :( , but my feeling is that the 1" drop in car height left enough spring travel for the stock length shock to be used. Maybe Partsshop knows the answer for sure. The drop was only about 1/2" originally if I recall, and after the springs 'seated' over the next 2-3 months, it settled on 1" total drop.

It is interesting seeing my 87 E sitting slightly lower than my 98 C side by side in the garage. Out on the road or in a lot by itself you don't notice that it has been lowered. Next to another E, their owners can see that something is different, but not many have figured out what the difference is without being told that it is an inch lower.

Thanks all for the good information. What is the primary difference between the OEM wheels and the replica wheels?

Rocket - did you require any modification when you went to 16" wheels?

WHEELS
 

RobR,
The 16" wheels will bolt on your car with no problem and using the proper tire size will allow the car to be at the same ride height. The one inch difference in the rim is removed from the sidewall of the tire height and by using a 205-55/16 your tire will still be at 24.98" which is the OE size. This will not make the MB ride noticeably rougher but will help in adhesion ( larger tire patch) and turn in or response from the shorter sidewall of the 16" tires. You will love the difference.

If you need some 16" 8 hole new aftermarket wheels, I have a set for sale for $525/FOB. These are made in Germany, are TUV approved and are made by a firm which produces near 1/2 million a year. Aftermarket wheels are like BBS, OZ, Speedline, Borbet, and AMG, but as in all markets, there are some sorry apples to avoid....no names mentioned.

Hope this helps

TobiasMB
4 MBs