Hey, I had a meeting with this guy today that drove an E430 Sport (mercedes). I saw him pull up and i noticed his 18inch 5-star wheels. I asked him a few questions about his car and we got to talking about his wheels. I'm not big on racing, more flash, so this didn't interest me too much, but his wheels apparently weigh somewhere around 10 pounds each. He was telling me that you can pick them up over your head with two fingers. They are titanium and come standard on the Sport model. I just thought this might interest some of you racers that are always looking for drastic weight reductions. I'm not sure on the fitment, but these wheels looked damn good. Does anyone know if Mercedes wheels will fit on a Max?

 

I don't think you should believe everything people tell you.

I could be wrong but on first glance 10lbs for any 18" rim is way too light. Titanium is not one of the metals I've heard of for wheel material. Magesisium(sp) is one but it's rarely used for production wheels.

 

Heh, I was just passing along the information. If anyone is really interested look into it and let us know what you find. I guess for a 60K + car anything is possible.

 

Go to http://www.chrysler.com/sebring-cpe/ext/feature3.html
This page mentions "17-inch Titanium cast aluminum wheels." This is a puzzling description because Titanium and aluminum are two different metals. Maybe they have an alloy of the two. Maybe it is an aluminum wheel with some titanium trim for appearance.

 

Daniel your the last guy I want to dispute and I was intriged by the research. But the 3rd wheel choice is for "laguna cast aluminum wheels" leading me to believe that the "titanium" part of the description is more marketing description than material description.

 

Good observation Jeff... The Titanium mention for that Chrysler wheel option is more likely a description of it's color resembling that of a titanium metal, not unlike that which Nissan used back in '99 for their SE-L models with the "titanium" colored wheels...

--Nabil

 

I agree. Titanium is an "in word" these days and advertisers are using it (and misusing it) in all sorts of ways. However, there are some high-end bicycle wheels which really are made of titanium.

 

That 10lbs could be close. SSR's competition wheels run 14-16lbs for 17" according to TireRack.

I'd sure like to try em out!

 

but i highly doubt that they weighed 10 lbs or were made of titanium for the following reasons. 1. Titanium is not an easy metal to work with. 2. The cost of the material (think how much metal goes into each rim). As a manufacturer of automobiles, MB has to look at the cost benefit of using titanuim wheels. Yes they are lighter but for the normal consumer..would they ever race to the point of needing it? What about if they bend a rim? replacement costs? There is no way in hell that i would probably pay an extreme amount to replace a rim. If Lambroghini or something did it i can believe it due to the extrodinary cost of the automobile but a common MB? For a 60k-80k car? This is the reason for my doubts.

 

20 lbs for an 18 wheel would be incredibly light... i have a hard time believeing a 10lb 18" wheel even exists. some of the lightest wheels i know of are mugen mf-8: 11lbs in 16". ssr comps: 9 lbs in 15", and Sparco Racing Vipers: 13 lbs in 17". i believe volk te37s are 14 lbs in 17" (i think). that gives an idea of what really high end wheels weigh... and the cost for these wheels is quite high of course.

Neal

 

Maybe they are like these wheels: 6-Hole Wheel Style A (Staggered)
8.5J x 18 ET25/9.5J x 18 ET23 245/40 R18 Front -- 275/35 R18 Rear, which are a $3640.00 wheel option on the $129,000 base price MB SL 600 ........

 

Hey Nabil,

Are those 18 inch volks on ur ride? I just bought mine today at car trenz.