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  #1  
Old 04-12-2001, 02:24 PM
Channel1
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Hello !All

Going out to buy new tires this weekend. I was cleaning up the "14x6" OE Alloy Wheels I got when my wife say's "I thought you wanted the car to look nostalgic/classic? I like the hubcap look much better than those sporty looking wheels you want to put on". I then polled the people I work with and most of them "all automotive related people." They all said the same thing "Leave it with the hubcaps, It looks much more classic with them as opposed to the alloys"! What does the group think???
Hubcaps or Alloys

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  #2  
Old 04-12-2001, 02:54 PM
Brian K
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I stay with the stock wheels and hubcaps, definately.
If I bought that car with alloys on it, I'd spend the money to get the stock wheels and hubcaps back!
The car has withstood the test of time, and has aged gracefully. It just looks "right" with the stock wheels.
Putting on wheels that were not even invented when that car was on the road takes away that "right" look, in my opinion.
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  #3  
Old 04-12-2001, 03:39 PM
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One of the things that my friends loved about my old baby blue 300CD was that it had matching hubcaps. Those are so rare these days, but allow wheels are everywhere! Go back to the hubcaps...they are special.
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  #4  
Old 04-12-2001, 04:00 PM
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I like the old style alloys on the 114's and 123's. They just seem to fit the cars.
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'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe
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  #5  
Old 04-12-2001, 04:37 PM
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Hubcaps. No contest.
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  #6  
Old 04-12-2001, 05:42 PM
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Hubcaps look sharp if well painted ..... The old alloys look clunky!
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  #7  
Old 04-12-2001, 05:46 PM
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Majority Rules!

Hubcaps make the car! Alloys look out of place.
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  #8  
Old 04-12-2001, 05:58 PM
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Since the W113 steel hub caps look like...well, everything but good, we mounted original MB alloys under our 1964 230SL.



I think they look pretty good (and not clunky at all...)

greetingz,
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  #9  
Old 04-12-2001, 09:43 PM
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I've got a 108 with alloy bunt cake style. I like them, but on 108, 114, and somewhat 123's, I sure do like the hubcaps.

Problem is that today if you mention hubcaps, people envision the awful gimmiky cheapo things that are supposed to look like alloy rims. How many cars have STEEL hubcaps that are color matched to the car? Really classy.

I'm thinking about upgrading.

Sholin

p.s. MBenz, your SL looks mighty fine with or w/o hubcaps.
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  #10  
Old 04-13-2001, 10:21 AM
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Hell for YEARS Rolls Royces only came with stainless steel hubcaps. I think they definetly add a old world classic look to the car. If that is what the car originally came with, then stick with it. My car obviously has the "old" style 14" alloys, which I agree, compared to hubcaps, have a "chunky" busy look to them. Though I think my rims, look real nice. Especially since I have repainted them to OEM color. The photo below is a few months old. I think the "old" style alloys will with time, become "classic" in their own right. Mercedes has used this style of rim since the mid to late 60's, I believe.Among all the cheap plastic hubcaps thay car manufactures still use, stainless steel adds a real touch of class.
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  #11  
Old 04-13-2001, 05:39 PM
Channel1
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Hub Caps it IS! I bought the tires 195/75/14 and put the tire on the steel wheels. .....I kinda like it with the caps too!
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  #12  
Old 04-13-2001, 06:38 PM
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I still prefer the old fashioned
chrome / stainless metal hubcaps.
They're easy to clean and brake dust dosen't seem to affect the finish.
I find the 'bundt cake' style overcomplicated and fussy looking.
I think some of the newer Mercedes alloys have cleaner styling and are much better looking but don't understand the point of painting alloys silver - you might as well have painted plastic hubcaps! I do like some of the 'clear-coated' factory alloys used on some other makes and prefer that finish, to the painted alloys.
Mark DiSilvestro
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  #13  
Old 04-15-2001, 10:23 AM
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sholin,

Thanks for the compliment (it is not mine, but my dad's though).

greetingz,
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1993 C250D
with a minor 600+k kilometer
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  #14  
Old 04-19-2001, 04:08 AM
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If anyone's interested, I will trade six hubcaps on steel wheels with tires along with US$100 for the following:

four alloy rims (early W126 style, more commonly seen on the W123) in good condition with tires.

by the way, the hubcaps aren't painted, so that makes it easier to color match them for your car. let me know if you're interested.
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  #15  
Old 04-20-2001, 05:38 PM
Cipollini
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keep the hub caps

alloys make older mercedes look so much more modern. I hate seeing 113 roadsters with them. It looks very unoriginal and out of place.

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