20inch rims ruined the handiling of my brand new SL500....HELP! - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

NKowi · #31 01-08-2006, 09:39 AM

I agree that spacers can either be just fine, or can be a nightmare. I once bought a 123 coupe that shimmied horribly the entire drive home. Pulled the wheels to find the same spacers shown in your images. Like you, when I removed the lug bolts, I got only a few (forget how many exactly, it's been ten years or so) revolutions before they were out. How unsafe!!! It's frightening to think how many more are out there like that - buy any cheap set of wheels, find out they don't fit, drive to WalMart and pick up a set of spacers. Problem solved.

On the other hand, I now run a set of 17X8 Lorinser RS1's (34mm offest) on my 126, using 10mm Lorinser spacers (made for the wheel and for the car) and, best I can tell, it's no different than had Lorinser manufactured the wheels with the correct offset in the first place.

Hatterasguy · #32 01-08-2006, 11:30 AM

Thats why I dislike spacers, if you do your homework and know what you are doing you are fine. As Brian said with the proper spacers you will not have any problems.

Holeshot's car however is all to commen, people don't know what they are doing and slap on a generic set. Its a good thing you caught it before you had a problem.

If you need a set of wheels fast you can probably find them on ebay or Tirerack.

FYI R129 8 holes are the same used on 500E's. ET34 offset 16x8 wheel.

Holeshot · #33 01-08-2006, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Thats why I dislike spacers, if you do your homework and know what you are doing you are fine. As Brian said with the proper spacers you will not have any problems.

Holeshot's car however is all to commen, people don't know what they are doing and slap on a generic set. Its a good thing you caught it before you had a problem.

No kidding. The fact I was getting a high-speed shimmy ills me.. I don't want to think about the carnage to myself, my family, my car OR the other drivers on the highway if it had let loose. If I could track down the person that installed them I'd... well.. (probably end up in jail).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

If you need a set of wheels fast you can probably find them on ebay or Tirerack.

FYI R129 8 holes are the same used on 500E's. ET34 offset 16x8 wheel.

Awesome. I've been running wheel searches for R129's all over the place. I found some on bekkers that would be nice replacement. Also been scouring CraigsList and found 4 potential stock sets in the area. I just need to verify back-spacing to I don't bust off a caliper..

Thanks for the helpful tips and hints!!

t walgamuth · #34 01-08-2006, 03:58 PM

so forgive if i am off the wall.

first, i would not let them modify anything. once it is modified you will have a lot more trouble returning them. as long as they are unmodified they can sell them to someone who has a better match.

these will never be right. return them and get your wheels and tires back. never use a wheel that is not designed for the car.

as noted earlier lighter wheels and tires will ride and handle better. heavier ones will do worse. spacers add to the weight and the way these are being used is not correct for your situation. it will be impossible to balance the wheels with spacers simply stuck between the wheel and tire.

sorry everyone is ranting at you. we all do things we regret later. no sense rubbing it in.

tom w

slcy · #35 01-09-2006, 02:16 AM

well I have gotten rid of my crappy rims and bought some foose 20's that have the exact offset for my car....they are much lighter than the previous choice as well....

Before I even put on the rims however I was experiencing brake problems consisting of a sudden clench in the breaks directly before the intial standstill after a slowing down from regular speeds...I also experienced a clicking feels in the brake pedal area at low speeds and the car now has only 500 miles....the trans has been shifting like crap since day one and has already needed service....great start huh?

memario213 · #36 01-09-2006, 03:51 AM

20 inch wheels will always look better in my opinion in any car but will not handle the same as stock. in a sl500 you need a 245/35/20 size tire for 20's. in previous car i had 20's on there but was thinking about putting 20" 3-piece forged wheels which would be much lighter. the foose speedster 1piece are a lighter wheel than aftermarket wheels. but they also come in a 3-piece. but i think the foose speedster5 is the usual look that everyone goes with on a sl500. i more thing on the 20's make sure they get balanced right the last new set of tires i bought for mine had to be balanced 3 times because they were a little off.

best of luck with everything

slcy · #37 01-09-2006, 04:43 AM

Thanks for the tip

The front is +18mm 8.5 running a 245...the rear is +25 9.5 running a 275....the 3 piece version is a little wider letting you run a 305 in the rear but I am going to be loosing these rims with the car so I figure 275 is sufficient.

boneheaddoctor · #38 01-09-2006, 09:10 AM

In my opinion the only thing that should have 20 inch wheels are big rigs......

too big too heavy to handle well.....ever wonder why you don't see them on race cars.....becasue racers know the bling factor is counter productive to good handling.

memario213 · #39 01-09-2006, 11:26 AM

well the worlds fastest prodution truck, dodge srt-10 has 22" wheels and i hear it handles very well. i think the wheel size choice is just the preference of the owner. some people think 16's is the best looking for their cars some like 20's and some like 26's. now for 20's i think what is most importantly affected is the braking but i dont think it makes much of a difference, you just have to drive with more precaution.

i know theres alot of good knowledgeble people here that can help out, and if he has a mbz and wants to put 20's why not help him out hes just trying to personalize his mbz.

does anybody remember the thread about 22's on a older x mbz???

best of luck

Hatterasguy · #40 01-09-2006, 11:39 AM

The McLearen F1 and the Enzo use 19in wheels. So their must be some benifit in using larger wheels to a point. Now granted both of these cars use super light wheels and the Ferrari has a single big nut holding them on for fast changes by a pit crew.

Anyone know what an Enzo rim cost? $15k?

However I have seen a lot of cheap crappy 20's on beat old MB BMW, and Lexus, yuck.

boneheaddoctor · #41 01-09-2006, 03:12 PM

Talk to the road racing and autocross crowd if you want to know what works best and what doesn't....when it comes to real world handling...not bling factor.

slcy · #42 01-09-2006, 05:12 PM

I really dont car about opinions...I only needed help with a problem of fitting.

Brabus, renntech, lorinser, etc.....all make 20's... the MHT made Foose rims bolt directly on and are quite light for a 20 inch...

Times are changing guys...and MB/AMG may offer a 20'' wheel soon enough.

Holeshot · #43 01-09-2006, 08:30 PM

I see some fairly large wheels in the latest (huge) MBZ wheels catalog:

19" AMG for the CL's
19" MBZ for the CLS's
20" MBZ for the M's
20" MBZ for the R's
19" MBZ for the S's
19" AMG for the SL's

Having run a number of wheels on my little MX5 autocrosser it's easy to see how 1 or 2 lb. of weight on a wheel can affect a car, so now I generally look for the lightest combination of tire/wheel I can find that has the proper fit and load capacity. Nothing wrong with a good light wheel as long as it does not fail or get bent up easily.

I personally like the look of the 16's on my older W124 and think 18 would be the max I'd toss on there but that's me.... as long as you get wheels that are designed to fit right on your car I guess all that's left is preference.

PS. I found a full set of the factory 8-hole 8x16's for my 500 (off an SL) that I should have in hads this evening. Sure.. they are not sexy BUT they are safe. Plus gives me time to save up for a nice set of OZ or BBS's in the 'ultimate' configuration.. LOL