CLK wheels on Pagodas?

[jeffc280sl]

I think the 15 inch bundt wheels have a 25 or 27 et.  They rims are also wider at 7 inches.  At et 27 the calculations indicate there is 9 mm less clearance than stock.

[hauser]

I have a set of 15" bundts that I'm thinking of using.  The problem is that I really like the hubcap look.

[Naj ✝︎]

I'm glad Jim was able to get off the road safely.

I just installed 205-60/15 tires on my car .

Jeff,

What's the ET on your 15" wheels?

Thanks.

Hauser,

The 250 SL with the 15" bundts won the Club Concours this year.

I have talked to the owner but not specifically about heat problems on tyres. However he did not mention anything about them.

naj

[jeffc280sl]

My wheels are 6 inches wide with an et of 31.  Same as stock.  Here is a handy et comparison calculator



www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

[Naj ✝︎]

Thanks, Jeff


naj

[hauser]

The bundts I have are 15x6 et 25.

[hauser]

Naj would you please post the link to the 250sl.  I believe there is a pic of the car.  Thanks!

[Peter van Es]

Why does no-one here use the Search function or look in the Technical Manual... pictures galore

http://www.sl113.org/wiki/WheelsTires/TireSize

Peter

[jeffc280sl]

I didn't know the 15 inch bundts were available in a 6 inch wide version.  All of my reading indicated they were available in 7 inch only.  The pic of the red SL with 15 inch bundts appears to be the 7 inch wide version because the wheels seem to stick out farther.  The et calculator indicates 3/4" of that that extra inch is on the outside making the inside 1/4" tighter.

[Allenh]

When I restored my 230SL, I stayed as faithful to how it was originally built as possible.  That is what restoration means in my dictionary.  I did, however make a couple of reversible changes.  When I purchased the car it had a 250SE engine in it and I decided to put a fan clutch on it to reduce high RPM engine drag from the fixed 4-blade fan.  The other was to mount 14" Bundt alloy wheels.  The wheels are almost correct except they were not an option in '64. 

Both items can be reversed but both items positively improve drivability via less wieght or engine load.  Last time I checked my highway mileage, it was over 25MPG at 75MPH.  Not bad for old technology.

Allen   

[Naj ✝︎]

Naj would you please post the link to the 250sl.  I believe there is a pic of the car.  Thanks!

[mkbull]

Hi Jeff
how are you getting on with your 15" c class wheels.
Is the clearance fine?
Are the 15" hubcabs reasonable to get a hold of?

If the answer is yes to both of the above I think these would be a great option.
My real desire would have been the 14" alloy hub cap wheels - but these are like hens teeth - probably dont even exist here in Europe.
the 15" c class wheels are abundant here in the uk and the trye choice size that you have opted for allows for a far wider choice of top quality tyres.
I could have picked up a set of Michelins this weekend at Costco. you cant say that about any of the other commonly used tyre sizes.

Regards
Mark UK

[jeffc280sl]

Hello Mark,

I'm completely satisfied with my decsion to go with the 15 inch wheel setup and I can recommend the upgrade.   Performance is greatly improved.  The Goodyear tires feel like they are glued to the road and the car is fantastic in the corners.   The 15 inch C class steel wheels could not be found here.  Same goes for the W126 wheel.  I think its because everything delivered to the US came with alloy wheels.  I didn't look a whole lot for the 15 inch caps.  I found mine in Australia of all places and they were painted white.  The hub caps use the same 4 clips and they are very securly fastened to the wheel.  

Clearance is not an issue.  Plenty or room for the brakes of course.  No suspension interference.  No rubbing in the wheel wells.  I have 1 inch of clearance between the exhaust pipe and rear tire.  From all that I have read this is adequate.  I didn't measure this clearance with my old setup.  If you get some time can you measure the clearance of you rear wheel and exhaust and let me know.

[mkbull]

Hi Jeff

sorry but I cant tell you much about the setup beside the exhaust as my car is still under restoration so no exhast fitted yet.
You have inspired me though -- so I have just purchased a set of SLK alloys these must have been early original SLK's since they are 15" rims.
I am only getting them as an experiment to see if it is possible to retro fit the 15" hubcaps to the alloy wheel??
If that is do-able it would be an ideal solution....
Is there a problem to solve or am I just enjoying experimenting?

Regards
Mark

[jeffc280sl]

Hi Mark,

I gave some thought to doing the same thing and decided not to go that way.  A hubcap has 4 clips which secure it to the wheel.  The steel wheel has a groove which accepts the clip.  The width of the grove and its diameter has to be sized properly for the clips to hold tight. A little off and good bye hubcap. The period alloys that I have do not have such a groove.  Even if it were the correct diameter there is nothing to hold the clip from working its way out and off the wheel.  Look at your spare and you will see what I mean.

[mkbull]

Hi Jeff
I did not think it was going to be as straight forward as using the original clips, but wonered if with a bit of thought the hub caps could be firmly attached by an altenative method.

BTW i did find out that there is no shortage of the 15" hubcaps you can buy them directly from mercedes they still have over 400 in stock so no chance of running out anytime soon at about £110 each.

Ok they are more than double the cost of new 14" rims but for the extra cost I like the availabilty of modern high spec tyres. The SLK alloys were quite inexpensive so no harm in a bit further investigation.
Regards
Mark

[mkbull]

Hi Jeff
Quite a surprise- it turns out to be easier than I thought, these particular alloys 15" (slk stock mercedes) accept the hub caps much the same way as the steel rims.
Looks like I have eventually found my wheel and tyre nirvana!!

I really liked your idea of going with 15" rims as it opens up a great range of tyres, I would have gone the same route as yourself since the steel 15" wheels are easy to find in any breakers yard.

Mark

[jeffc280sl]

Hey Mark,

That's good news.  If I understand correctly the alloy wheels have a groove , like the steel wheels, that accepts the hubcap clip and secures the cap to the wheel.

Can you post a pics when you get a chance?  If you need the dimensions of my hubcap clips or wheels to check further let me know and I'll get them.

[mkbull]

Hi Jeff

heres a shot of the alloy wheels not sure how common these are in 15" but they are lightweight original mercedes so they are very likely a high quality wheel.
I found these on ebay but have not noticed any more when searching.
Its got to be a great option as the backing to a 15" hubcap.
I have now found the 15" hubcaps for 85 Euro each so thats getting better also.
the hubcaps are the 15"ers off a merc 600 and they clip right on, really tight. they belong to a friend so it was the only 15" hubcap available to try right now.

Mark

[jeffc280sl]

Mark,  

Nice!  Sounds like you have found the ideal light weight wheel and hubcap combination.  I'm sure others are going to start searching for these slk wheels.

What is the size of this wheel?  MB EPC  says the 1704010002 is 7x15 et37.  You may have clearance problems with this wheel.

[mkbull]

Jeff
Yes thats the correct size.
according to my calcs clearance is reduced by 18mm this is only an offset problem.

I suspect I may want to use small concentric spacers at the rear probably only 6mm.
Actually I have no issues with spacers at all, they only have the exact same effect as altering the offset.
as long as you are effectively adjusting the et within sensible parameters there should be no difference at all.

[jeffc280sl]

I tend to agree with you on the use of spacers. 

18mm less clearance on the inside is about 3/4 of an inch.  FYI I have approximately 1 inch clearance between my tire and exhaust pipe.  I'm not sure what the minimum clearance should be.   

[cbero]

Larry I think they look a bit too glossy, although the original alloys, which mine runs on are a bit fussy, they look better in my opinion than these which look a little bit Chav.
If I was going for non original 16" alloys then I would look at something more period in a matt finish like the Bundts and would probably go for a period minilite which was a competition wheel.

Larry I would have to agree with Rob here on this one.

Chris

[cbero]

Do you plan to add white walls?

[shanecallahan]

I just finished mounting those 16" CLK rims on my 280sl.  I never cared much for the rims when I saw them on the early CLK's but they slightly resemble the bundt style rims.  To mount them I ordered 20mm hub centric spacers and 39mm lug bolts to correct for the offset.  I bought new 205/55 R16 tires which gave me the same overall diameter as the 14" tires.  To spruce it up a bit I replaced the center caps of the CLK rims with the MB emblem style center caps.  That is almost an identical match to the MB emblem on the bonnet of the car.

I am sure the purists on this site will not like this modification.  I still have the steel rims/hubcaps and also a set of bundt rims in storage.  I would love to get feedback whether positive or negative.