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View Full Version : Pics and story of my new staggered AMG setup...



Scotty-C190E
09-02-2003, 08:57 PM
Well, it all started years ago when I was sent a pic of a 1992 champagne 2.6 190E lowered with the C36 AMG wheel set-up you see here. I contacted the owner explaining that I loved the look the wheel package gave the car, and he told me he was running 225/35 tires in the back, reporting that he was rubbing no matter what he tried. Determined at that point, I wanted some day to fit these wheels with no problems. After viewing KTB's german 190 site for a while, I started to study the extreme's of what was possible with my fenders and the problems and gains of these extremes. Wondering why I had not ever seen this wheel/tire package before on a 190 since that old picture of the champagne 92 (which I lost with the crash of my computer a few years back), I continued to study offsets and researching more pics of anyone running this set-up, in which I could no longer find. Not to long ago, I found the two rear wheels you see here for sale and contacted the owner. Turns out he wanted $300 for the two wheels. I was really interested, being that this was a great deal. Later I was told that they had some damage to the lips and one wheel was slightly bent, but the good news was that he had a third front wheel for sale as well, and that one was in perfect condition. I decided to go for it, and purchase 2 rear wheels and 1 front wheel with shipping for a total of $400. Later it cost me $170 to repair both wheels, including refinish of the lips and correcting a bend. I had one wheel left to buy, and my friend Susanto or pnsji from club202 offered to sell me his spare for a VERY nice price. I won't tell you how much, but I can tell you that the total that I spent for all four wheels, shipping, repairs, and mount and balance was $820. I had them mounted to my existing 215/40/17 tires (Sumitomo HTR-Z II in front and Pirelli P-Zero Nero in the rear). There is a specific reason why I have these tires. Originally I had planned to have the Pirellis at all four corners, so I decided to only purchase two at first to see how I liked them (also because my two front Sumitomos were still in great condition). I mounted them in the front (on my old wheels) and really really liked them. The only problem was these tires were quite a bit larger than my same sized Sumitomos, and they rubbed in the front where my Sumitomos did not. I then mounted them in the rear with no rubbing at all, and at this time I got the idea that since they were quite a bit wider tires, that stretching them onto my 8.5's would be much better than stretching the Sumitomos. Because so many people had so many problems with the 225's, I decided to stretch the 215s, and not have to worry near as much with the rubbing. This worked out as planned, and I now have the Sumitomos mounted on the 7.5's up front and am back to no rubbing.
Well, after mounting the new wheels and a few days driving around in different conditions, I can say that the ONLY rubbing I experience is when a I have rear passengers or when hitting a really harsh dip in the road. It is REALLY easy to correct this but I haven't had time to do it yet, and that is rolling the rear fenders, probably with a rubber mallet and some patience. This way the rubbing will be gone but the effect will look like an untouched fender on the outside. The truth is, yes the tires are streched and will wear out a little more quickly, but on the plus side, these tires work great and cover the outer rim completely, showing no rim from the back view. They also lend to less rubbing than 225's, and with a little rolling of the fenders, will not rub at all. Just a reminder, I have H&R springs cut half a coil in the front with Bilstein sport shocks with #2 pads in the front and #3 pads in the back. The wheels you see here measure 17x7.5 in the front, and 17x8.5 in the rear with a ET of 30, which pushes the wheel out 5 more millimeters than the front (as well as the extra inch of width from the wider rear wheels). On a side note, I also had the chance to fit 18x8 AMG monoblocks on the rear of my car, only with 225/40/18 tires, which were obviously to tall of a side wall. However, they fit with no rubbing in the back, and if someone wanted to mount these at all four corners with 215/35/18 tires they would work just fine. Let me tell you, they looked amazing! But ohh well, I really like mine too! :D
Here are the pics, showing various angles and views. I also exchanged my crappy non-leather steering wheel with a leather one that most newer 190 owners have already, and it is shown here. These wheels cut into the money I had set aside for the painting and install of my updated panels, which I have in the closet, but they will go on soon enough. I had to act on these wheels while I had a chance. Big thanks go out to pnsji or Susanto for advise and support and the sale of his 1 wheel, JRE320 or Jun for handling the repairs, SLKBOY or Jimmy for 3 of the wheels, and AutoPlus for mounting and balancing...not damaging the wheels at all while mounting. Later, Scott
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/nkvpose1.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/backright2.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/ground2.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/gap2.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/fenderprofile.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/backrighttilt.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/backright3.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/leatherwheel.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/sidetilt.jpg
http://www.scotty-c.com/newamgs/movinback.jpg

pnsji
09-02-2003, 09:32 PM
Good Job mang!
Let's roll the fender after we are done with stereo :D

JRE320
09-02-2003, 09:56 PM
Scotty the man.......... ;) :cool: :)

speedybenz
09-03-2003, 09:43 AM
Looks very nice. I bet it drives more sporty.

Jeff

714guy
09-03-2003, 09:57 AM
got cliff notes, but the car looks great scotty.

davis449
09-03-2003, 09:43 PM
I have mad respect for 201's. That's pretty man!

kameraguy
09-04-2003, 08:46 AM
Glad it all worked out in the end Scotty. Staggered is just so right on a benz. And your 201 is very clean. The interior looks new!!

Sweet :D