[jenandtonic]

Hi, all! I am a new member and have really enjoyed reading the posts so far. I have just ruined 2 of my factory 17" wheels and want to upgrade to 18's while I have the opportunity. Here are the results of my research so far and if anyone has an opinion, I'd really like all the info I can get. Thanks in advance!

Preferred Finishes - polished or silver painted (not chrome)

Look - I really like the 6 spoke better than the 5 and I like the look of the rivets around the perimeter of the wheel. I also like the "lip" look, is that right? Where the wheel is inset a little.

I found a Boss wheel that matches these preferences, but don't know much about Boss. This picture shows chrome, but they also offer the polished finish that I like.Boss 317 wheel

If there are other wheels with this look, I would love to see them, too. One wheel person told me that spacers should be avoided unless absolutely necessary and another told me that the calipers on the CLK500 are so big that they almost require spacers with custom wheels.

Again, I'm a girl that has learned more about wheels and tires in the last 2 days than I ever thought I would! Thanks for your help! I'm looking forward to your expertise!

 

[Jayhawk]

Hi jen

This is where I learned about wheels too. After reading a lot, I went to The Tire Rack (a sponsor of this site, who we need to support) and plugged my car into their wheel database. It shows you your car and a bunch of wheel options. I plugged your car in and here is what I found (hope it renders okay for you, but if not just do it yourself). I didn't know the year so guessed it might be an '05. See what you think and good luck. They have 15 sets of wheels, and several that you might like.

http://www.tirerack.com/upgrade_garage/WheelSearch.jsp?&autoMake=Mercedes-Benz&autoModel=CLK500+Coupe&autoYear=2005&autoModClar=

 

[jenandtonic]

Not much selection on tirerack for my car...

Thanks for your response. However, I've already been to TireRack.com and didn't see anything that I liked. Does anyone have an opinion about Boss Motorsports wheels? I think I'm leaning more toward this one and have to make a decision today.

 

[BenzE500]

the boss wheel is a replica of the Brabus wheel. Brabus is a mercedes tuner compnay. That wheel is a great choice and the price is good. When it comes to lip size you usually have to buy the expensive wheels to get that look. The boss will have a little lip and you cant beat that for the price.PM if you need more help

 

[cc 350]

Try this:
http://superbuytires.com/

 

[raymond-]

jen-
here is relatively new design/copy of Brabus, sans fasteners. great lip. i've not
priced them so dont know if they're within your price range. Privats' parent company
is Koenig. the Brabus look is their 'Reserv' line

http://www.privatwheels.com/html/homepage.html

 

[FrankW]

I have a set of Carlsson 1/16 Brilliant Edition 19" coming off my car in 3-4 wk. asking $2800 obo without tires. check out the for sale forum if you haven't seen it.

once you go 19" you won't go back. plus the ride difference between 18 and 19 are not that much different.

 

[[email protected]]

here's a wheel from The Tire Rack that meets your description pretty well

 

[jenandtonic]

Thanks for all of the replies. I decided to go with the Boss 317, but when they came in, the front wheels wouldn't fit with the CLK 500 calipers, even with a 1/4" spacer and my wheel guy didn't feel comfortable using anything bigger than that. Then, we went with a similar OE Replica wheel, but ordered all 4 wheels the same size (I think 18 x 9) and the front wheels stuck out too far. so, now we're waiting for 18 x 8's for the front. When I have a solution that works, I will update again with pics and spacer info.

 

[Jayhawk]

Thanks for all of the replies. I decided to go with the Boss 317, but when they came in, the front wheels wouldn't fit with the CLK 500 calipers, even with a 1/4" spacer and my wheel guy didn't feel comfortable using anything bigger than that. Then, we went with a similar OE Replica wheel, but ordered all 4 wheels the same size (I think 18 x 9) and the front wheels stuck out too far. so, now we're waiting for 18 x 8's for the front. When I have a solution that works, I will update again with pics and spacer info.

Sorry to hear about all of the problems w/ your first experience at buying wheels. Must be a royal pain in the a$$! But that is exactly why I decided to use TTR: Luke would never sell you anything that he wasn't absolutely sure would work--and he knows tires, wheels, and MB cars.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[jec1us]

Hi Jen..... I'm wondering if your wheels are still available, and if not, where did you purchase them?

 

[jec1us]

Sorry Jen, I guess this was meant for Frank... with the 1/16" Be's