Date:         Tue, 5 Aug 2008 19:39:15 -0700
Reply-To:     BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 15" WHEELS AND TIRES?
In-Reply-To:  <4898BD06.9000103@cox.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Mercedes W123 cars and W108 cars came with steel and alloy 15" wheels at
ET23 and 7.0-7.5 inches wide. The steel wheels will bolt onto a 2wd w/o much
fanfare. On top of that, they will accept a Jetta/Golf/Passat hubcap if you
do not want to look at the Mercedes hubcaps. Alloys wheels will require
longer bolts as often discussed here.

The common 8-hole Mercedes alloys that came on the later S-Class cars are
around ET59 -- way too much for 2wd or even Syncros. They are usually 16's
in that application. The same style came on C-Class and E-Class which were
usually ET37. To make this even more interesting, several companies made
8-hole knock-offs which were designed for the W123 cars. Those are ET23. How
do I know?
I have one set of each of the above wheels.


BenT


On 8/5/08, mdrillock <mdrillock@cox.net> wrote:
>
> I believe both the 6.5" width and ET37 are wrong for 560SEC so those
> wheels may have been installed by someone after it left the factory.
>
> The Mercedes part number molded into the back side would tell the tale.
>
> Rims in the ET20-30 range are the best bet for 2wd in 15".
> Tires can make a difference in whether a given width and offset will
> work on a Vanagon.
> I use 215/75/15 and these did not fit up front with ET37, a common ET
> for "C" Class Mercedes. This combo is fine for Syncros though.
>
> I should have mentioned 560 models also in my earlier post about ET22-25
> Mercedes wheels.
>
> Mark