[Joflewbyu2]

Decided to upgrade my stock 16s with new Michelins to 18s or 19s. Definitely will be a Mercedes OEM or Accessory wheel to keep the quality up and hubcentric fit. Inbetween two different take off sets. 1st is the 18" OEM 9 spoke 18 x 8.5 with 43 mm offset and 255/45/18 all around. 2nd is the MB accesory Denebola 19 x 8.5 front 43 mm offset with 255/40/19 tires and 19 x 9.5 rear 43 mm offset with 275/40/19.

The OEM 9 spoke is easy to clean and can be rotated while the Denebola wheel (thin twin spoke) shows off the drilled and slotted rotors I put on last month when I upgraded my worn out pads and rotors.

What is your thought on the offsets? I know AMG & MB approves the fit of the 18s with 44 mm offset and AMG of the 19s with 46 mm offset. Is the 3 mm on the 19s of outward placement going to make a difference or problem? The 275 rear tire is 10mm skinnier than the recommended 285 which will bring it in 5 mm each side to offset the 3 mm wheel outward placement. Remember my car is 1st generation 94 S420 WITHOUT stability or slip control.

 

[Coastalbenz95]

I want wheel upgrades too but I'm gonna wait til the new tires wear out. I want same size wheels so u can rotate them. I'm thinking the AMG wheels.


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[z168]

The 3mm wont make a difference. Rears for the 19x9.5 should be 35 whether 275 or 285

 

[Danfer21]

19' , look great

 

[bnZE430/1999]

I have 19's on one car and 18's on the other. Some things to consider... 19's look better but (and its a big but) tires are way more expensive not to mention limited as far as brands go. Also, the 19's ride rougher... as the side walls for the tires are thinner... consider also the roads where you live. Go with the 18's. just my 2 cents.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

I am in sunny Florida and the roads are great. Tires are on wheels already as they are new takeoffs from someone up North. I went with the 19s and am very happy.

 

[Danfer21]

pictures !!

 

[Thom_7]

There are very few aftermarket wheels that look good on a 140. The car has massive flat sides, and as such require a wheel with a lot of surface area. Spoked wheels just look wrong.

AMG monoblocks, Mercedes Eltanin, and a few Brabus and Lorinser models are correct for the W140. And that's about it.

Lorinser:

Brabus:

Mercedes Eltanin:

And we all know what Monoblocks look like:

But really, those are the only options that look any good on this body style.

 

[sharples8]

I have AMG monoblock 18s on my S500 (staggered 35 on front 55 on rear). They do look great. But the ride is somewhat harsher than with the 16's, esp. on the really crappy pothole-laden road I have out here to my house. Great on the freeway tho.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

Different strokes for different folks. Monoblocks look like thin paper plates and are boring. None of those wheels show the brake rotors which beg to be seen since they were upgraded to slotted and drilled.

 

[Thom_7]

As someone who actually works in design, I can tell you that you're unequivocally wrong. There is a real science to this; its not a matter of opinion.

Thin spoke wheels fight this cars design language. The flat, slab sides need to be complimented with wheels that agree aesthetically, and you need wheels with surface area to do it.

You can call it boring, but I hate to break it to you, the 140 is a deliberately boring design. Trying to add visual interest by using parts that disagree with the design language is only going to create aesthetic confusion and cheapen the overall look. There are appropriate ways to modify the 140 in a manner that works with the design and not against it. Thin-spoke wheels and showing off brake rotors is not one of them.

 

[JimF37]

Thin spoke wheels fight this cars design language. The flat, slab sides need to be complimented with wheels that agree aesthetically, and you need wheels with surface area to do it.

I totally agree; felt the same way! I call my C140 a "tank" and so large wheel area is needed.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

Style a science, don't make me laugh. Being in the auto business and having worked with R&D before - I know the frustration with designers. When you want to talk about wheel weight, fatigue life, material composition, material density, and efficiency of cooling as well as heat dissipation of wheel designs, let me know. I modify for function of performance, not style to please your eye.

As someone who actually works in design, I can tell you that you're unequivocally wrong. There is a real science to this; its not a matter of opinion.

Thin spoke wheels fight this cars design language. The flat, slab sides need to be complimented with wheels that agree aesthetically, and you need wheels with surface area to do it.

You can call it boring, but I hate to break it to you, the 140 is a deliberately boring design. Trying to add visual interest by using parts that disagree with the design language is only going to create aesthetic confusion and cheapen the overall look. There are appropriate ways to modify the 140 in a manner that works with the design and not against it. Thin-spoke wheels and showing off brake rotors is not one of them.

 

[bnZE430/1999]

As someone who actually works in design, I can tell you that you're unequivocally wrong. There is a real science to this; its not a matter of opinion.

Thin spoke wheels fight this cars design language. The flat, slab sides need to be complimented with wheels that agree aesthetically, and you need wheels with surface area to do it.

You can call it boring, but I hate to break it to you, the 140 is a deliberately boring design. Trying to add visual interest by using parts that disagree with the design language is only going to create aesthetic confusion and cheapen the overall look. There are appropriate ways to modify the 140 in a manner that works with the design and not against it. Thin-spoke wheels and showing off brake rotors is not one of them.

I donno Thom 7, I would consider the wheels on my car "Thin-spoke(s)"... and I think they look really good. not to mention Im showing off my brake rotors and people really compliment me on that aspect of their appearance... Do you think it has something to do with the coupe and four door variations? Becasue I think the 4-door looks good with the full face rims.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

As long as the wheels are not cheap low quality gravity cast replica wheels, I would not dismiss them if they are hubcentric and forged or at least low pressure cast and pinned.

 

[das eighty]

As someone who actually works in design, I can tell you that you're unequivocally wrong. There is a real science to this; its not a matter of opinion.

Thin spoke wheels fight this cars design language. The flat, slab sides need to be complimented with wheels that agree aesthetically, and you need wheels with surface area to do it.

You can call it boring, but I hate to break it to you, the 140 is a deliberately boring design. Trying to add visual interest by using parts that disagree with the design language is only going to create aesthetic confusion and cheapen the overall look. There are appropriate ways to modify the 140 in a manner that works with the design and not against it. Thin-spoke wheels and showing off brake rotors is not one of them.

You hit the nail on the head with this. Current-era wheels and anything similar to them go against the look of the w140 completely. Why would I want thin-spoke wheels showing off my brake rotors, or lack thereof? It is not a CL63 AMG with 360mm rotors and pleasing caliper design. They are ugly, puny and not reminiscent of a sports car. The w140 is not and should never be looked at or modified as if it were one. Just my opinion of course, I'm just another designer.

AMG Aero II's, Brabus Monoblock III's, Carlsson 3/6's, era-correct OZ, MAE wheels. Big faces to compliment the big bold bodies.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

13" rotors are pretty impressive especially if the metallagy is stronger tensile strength. Drilled for cooling and slotted to keep pads clean add functionality that together with lighter wheels add better acceleration, handling and braking. You guys remind me of the old farts that thought moonies were cool and didn't know any better. LOL !!

 

[nhzruthless818]

In opinion its personal taste. I personally prefer my monoblocks but there are alot of wheels i would consider. Sure to some these brakes look week but if you compare it to new toyota, Honda brakes these are great. As a matter of fact TRD brakes are 4 piston Calipers. I had Maybach Calipers at one point in time and i can say the factory brakes are very well comparable to them.

 

[Thom_7]

Style a science, don't make me laugh. Being in the auto business and having worked with R&D before - I know the frustration with designers. When you want to talk about wheel weight, fatigue life, material composition, material density, and efficiency of cooling as well as heat dissipation of wheel designs, let me know. I modify for function of performance, not style to please your eye.

There are definite rules around proportion, visual and spacial relationships which are the foundation of good design. You can dismiss this as nonsense if you like, but there is good reason why neither Mercedes nor any other major tuner has ever shown the 140 in anything that strays from the general shape of the monoblock style wheel, even in the highest-performance iterations of the car.

I donno Thom 7, I would consider the wheels on my car "Thin-spoke(s)"... and I think they look really good. not to mention Im showing off my brake rotors and people really compliment me on that aspect of their appearance... Do you think it has something to do with the coupe and four door variations? Becasue I think the 4-door looks good with the full face rims.

Those may be are narrow compared to the Aero II monoblocks, but they still have significant surface area, so they really do work well with the car. I do think they're way more complimentary to the coupe body style than they would be on the sedan.

 

[Joflewbyu2]

Wheels and tires arrived. Pretty pleased. Have RennTech (Apex) 35mm lowering springs to be installed. Probably going with 23mm shim in rear and 18mm shim front.