[W126 Coupe] Refurbishment of AMG 2-piece wheels

[Matt Petersen]

Talbir, you have a car collection to die for.

That 500E is stunning.

Matt.

-----Original Message-----
From: mbcoupes-admin@mbcoupes.com [mailto:mbcoupes-admin@mbcoupes.com]
On Behalf Of Sharan Bains
Sent: Thursday, 30 December 2004 3:55 a.m.
To: mbcoupes@mbcoupes.com
Subject: [W126 Coupe] Refurbishment of AMG 2-piece wheels




My AMG 2-piece wheels on my 500E were in need of refurbishment - well
not 
really seriously, but '911 and Porsche World' magazine came round to do
a 
combined article on my 911 Turbo SE flatnose and 500E, and I needed to
have 
the wheels looking perfect.

These wheels can fit the W126 SEC as well - Satish has these same wheels
on 
his 560 SEC,

So I removed the wheels, removed the tyres and split the wheels. These 
wheels are the SL wheels with the following spec :

fronts : 8.5J x 18 ET 25
rears : 10J x 18 ET 25


According to AMG spec, the outer rim is meant to be polished and the
centre 
pieces powder coated and lacquered. The centre pieces can be color-coded
but 
my 500E is silver, so standard finish is appropriate.

Wheels are made by BBS and designed by AMG. In order to refurb these
wheels, 
they need to be split into their component parts.

The fasteners are a standard 8mm 12-point spline head - and there are 20

fasteners on each wheel. So using a 12-point 8mm spline bit with 1/2"
drive, 
I split all four wheels. Took about 60 mins to split all 4 wheels. Four
of 
the fasteners broke (all from the front wheels, which obviously
accumulate 
more brake dust and so fasteners more likely to be seized on front
wheels). 
Now these little fasteners have the words 'BBS' imprinted on the heads
and 
some other numbers to detail the tensile strength of each fastener. Only

identical fasteneres should be used as replacement for broken onces, but

getting hold of them is difficult. Luckily, my breaker had similar
wheels at 
his yard, which were absolutely mangled, but had the fasteneres in them
- I 
got 20 fasteners as spares for a dollar each. BBS charge approx $10 for
1 
fastener........

I then had the centre pieces powder-coated and lacquered by a finishing
firm 
and the outer rims hand-polished by aluminium polishers. The original 
factory finish is machine polished, but I prefer the hand polished
finish - 
it is smoother and shinier. Infact, it almost looks as thought the outer
rim 
has been chromed. Once this outer rim is polished, it should not be 
lacquered. Simply polished with Autosol cream once a month.

Once I got the pieces back, I put them back together, and fitted new
steel 
valves. I am running with 245/40 tyres on the fronts and 265/35's on the

rear (original AMG spec sheet for these wheels advises 265/35 or 275/35
on 
the rears) and all tyres have rim protection. Infact, 265 is probably
better 
on the 500E to prevent any chance of rubbing and in any case, 265mm is
more 
than enough for a 10" wheel (254mm), a whole extra 1.1 cm of tyre, so no

point in running with extra rubber.

The wheels have been fitted up using 95mm MB wheel bolts, with 40mm
shaft 
and radial seat. These have the benefit that the bolt head sits flush
with 
the wheel surface and looks great. Also fitted original MB (McGard)
locking 
bolts and MB centre caps with chrome star.

Here is a link to the pics - there are other pics from upgrades on my
500E, 
namely

- fitment of electric steering column
- fitment of late W140 auto dim mirror with alarm LED's
- lowering of rear suspension
- late 1998 W140 walnut/leather steering wheel fitment
- late W220 walnut/leather gearshift fitment

http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum....album_id=191832

Also attached some pics below, hope they come through....

More mods to come soon....


talbir


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