Hey, I just got a 1997 C280 and wanted to upgrade the rims. I just wanted to know what the biggest wheels possible I could get on the car without body work being done are. One site said 19s with mega low profile tires, tirerack.com says 18s.

And regardless of size, do you have any suggestions as to whether I should get chrome or black rims? I have never seen any black rims on this car, so I don't know whether they look good or not.

Thanks a lot.

 

theres a pic of the black mags for ya. this isnt my car so hopefully the owner doesnt mind :-s

i have pics of c class with 17-18-19-20's so they all fit just the bigger the more guard work you will need.
Most common size is 18-19" wheels, i run 18s, and i lowered it and it rubbed so i had to flare/roll the guards, but 18s at standard hight should be fine maby only very small rub on plastic wheel liner thing. i run 225/40/18 front 235/40/18 rear. 18*8 35mm offset

for the 19s i would go 19*8inch wide with a 40mm offset will work, fron and rear, or you could go 19*9 on the rear if you want staggard. that should work at stanard hight with minimal rubbing,
and 19s will fit and look good, but the tire is becoming thin and isnt reccomended if the roads are rough cos you can bend rim.
ppl run 19s 225/35/19 profile tire and wider on the rear but work needs to be done when you get too bigger wheel on rear, on staggard setup you can run up to 255 on rear. 225 or 215 is the common front size.

 

awesome. can you pos the pictures of the 20" rims?

also, how much money do you think the body work required for 19s or 20s would cost?

the roads i drive on dont have any major potholes, there are a couple of maybe...1 inch drops. is that significant enough to dent the rim if there are really low-profile tires?

thanks again

also, would 18x7.5 with 5x100 or 5x114.3 lug pattern fit on a C280?

 

I'm not so sure the suspension geometry will be the same beside, the modification to the sheet metal you might run into handling problems. I would go with the largest wheel that TireRack recommends. Bigger is not always better. Personally I don't like the black or chrome, a smoke color would be nice

 

would 18"x7.5 38mm offset 5x100 or 5x114.3 lug pattern wheels work on a 97 c280?

 

hey i will post here instead of back privatly
yea you can put ebay posts up
that size mag wont work, mercedes c280 have 5*112 lug pattern, if you find one with that stud pattern it should have a mercedes offset, but yea that offset near 35mm is correct.
The pic of the c280 with 20s looks average in my oppinion so i wont post it up,
Body work for 19s wont be too much, maby rolling the front outer guards. and take out inside plastic liner.
dont go bigger than 225 on front as a general comment and you will only have minimal rubbing if any.
as with the body work it all depends how much you lower it as to how much body work will be required, standard hight 18s-19s will be mint
heres a pic of my car.
18s on it and they fit good. 18*8 front and rear 35 offset. 5*112 lug pattern. lowered heaps with lots of inner guard work with sledge hammer and custom rear camber arms. this doesnt rub at all but has had bita guard work. just show whats semi easily possible