Moving my Alloys around

[Huw1]

Firstly I wish to move my standard 16" 8 hole alloys that are currently on a 1997 320SL, onto a 1995 320 Estate. Is this possible without the need for spacers etc.?

If this is possible then the reason for me moving the alloys is that the SL's alloys are in very good condition whearas the Estates have seen better times! Therefore if I am able to move the SL's alloys across I will then be looking for a new set of probably 17" for the SL.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to buy Genuine (but probably refurbed) Merc alloys for this model SL.

Any thoughts?

 

[pascal]

If they came with the car they would be 8J x 16 ET 34.

Presuming your estate is a w124. The exact same wheels were fitted to the E500. but the biggest fitted to non 500 was 7.5. except: There was one 8" wheel fitted as an extra to non 500. It had a 28mm offset.

But you need to fit spring limiters and wing extensions. you will need approx 6mm spacers to make the exactly the same (to bring from et 34 to et 28 ).

Personally I would not put that big of spacer on any wheel. But you may find that you will get away with 2-4 mm or none at all. It depends on how much inside clearence was built in to that setup. It may be that they wanted to bring them out to fill the arch extensions. the only way to find out is to put them on and check.

Although the wing extentions are not essential, they do give it that added agressive look, and without them the wheels will look oversize. You may be able to get copies on Ebay. The spring limiters are essential though. 225/55 R16 tyres would be the best fit.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Huw1]

Thanks for that Pascal, I have now decided from this that switching my eight hole's on the SL to the Estate is more complicated than I had imagined. So I will now either have the 15" on the Estate refurbed or purchase some new 16's specifically for the car.

On a slightly unrelated matter, (that probably doesn't belong in this section of the forum), both the engines in these cars are the 3.2 straight six, which I fine smooth, punchy and very reliable. Is / was the V6 a major advance on this engine??

 

[pascal]

Personally i prefer the more modern V6 after having an inline 6 300ce.

But that is the subject of another thread.

You could sell the 16s on Ebay.