Did you buy a C-Class for your daily? You might have seen some in your Marketplace feed and thought “Wow, these are affordable. I've never owned a Benz before”. Plus, the W204 generation is pretty solid in the looks department. So you cop a deal from the 1st or 2nd owner on what you think is a low-mileage C350 - 100K on the clock. But that's 100K German miles. Turns out it needs wheel bearings, a timing chain tensioner, a power window regulator, and you’re just getting started.

No problem, you know how to work on cars. Yes problem . Not only do you have to sell a kidney to pay for parts, the thing takes all kinds of weird tools you don’t own. When work does commence, you’re constantly fighting a maze of over-engineered systems, ultimately sending your new tools flying across the shop.

So, since you're dumping your savings into this new ‘daily’, might as well consider a new set of wheels, right? We put together this fitment guide to help you get properly fitting wheels and tires. They’re not too hard to justify; MB’s of this era are known to have problems with corroded alloy rims. What era are we talking about? In this post, we’re looking at the W204 C-Class, which runs from 2008-2015. This info will work for all body styles and trims, even the C63 AMG.

Quick links

• Basic fitment info
• C-Class fitment
• C63 AMG fitment

Basic fitment info

• Bolt pattern: 5x112
• Bolt thread: m14 x 1.5
• Center bore: 66.6 mm
• Bolt torque: 95 ft lbs

Whether you have an inline-4 or thumping AMG V8, it doesn’t matter. As far as bolt pattern, size, center bore, etc., this basic fitment info is all the same. There are some special considerations with the AMG, but that’s why we dedicated a section for that toward the end.

From the factory, non-AMG cars come with 16 or 17-inch diameter wheels. Our recommendation: skip to the AMG-size, 18-inch wheels, at least. 18 and 19-inch wheels are by far the most common sizes for this platform (and look the best). The offset of the stock wheels is pretty high, but you don’t need to go crazy here; +35 to +50 offset gets you flush or near-flush fitment. For width, 8.5” is the go-to. If you want a staggered setup, the back can fit 9” or even 9.5” without too much hassle.

Tire specs will depend on if you go staggered or squared, 18’s or 19’s. 225/40 or 225/35 are pretty typical on square setups. If you go staggered, you could consider a 245/40 or 255/35 rear.

Shop any size of tire you can image

Fender rolling

There isn’t much of a lip in the inner-fenders to roll. If you do have to roll them, it can be a bit scary. MB (and other German cars) have notoriously ‘hard’ paint that doesn’t take well to rolling and pulling. It will often chip before results are achieved.

An alternative is to trim the small fender lip back and seal it with paint. You’ll only gain ¼” of space max, so this is by no means a miracle fix if you f*ck up your fitment. The best advice is spec your wheels/tires right - that’s what we’ll help you do.

4Matic considerations, staggered vs square

You can run a staggered setup on a 4Matic, as long as the difference in rolling diameter is less than 2% front to rear. This means that the overall diameter of your tires, regardless of the wheels, needs to measure < 2%. For example, a 225/40 and 255/35 tire combo would work; a 225/40 with a 255/40 wouldn’t work.

C230/C250/C300/C350 fitment

If you want plug-n-play fitment that doesn’t involve fooling with the suspension, this is for you. Here we have a ‘09 C350 on Niche Vosso M204 wheels. This setup would work on a 4Matic, although it’s dead on the 2% tolerance. These cars don’t have absurd wheel gap from the factory, so it’s perfectly acceptable to stay at stock height.

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This C300 Sport is on a full squared wheel & tire setup. This is what a simple set of lowering springs can do on these cars - this one is on H&R Super Sport. The only downside is there’s slight rubbing in the rear on large bumps. Trimming or slight rolling would probably solve this, but is it worth chipping the paint? Probably not.

As we can see from this example and the last, 19’s fill out the fenders well.

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Coilovers can take you even lower. This C230 is on a set of BC Racing coils. The front fitment is similar to what we’ve already seen, but the rear will need rolling or trimming. Also, the rear tires are stretched more than the previous. Even with these mods, there’s still a bit of rubbing in the rear.

Shop BC coils for the W204

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We looked at stock suspension, springs, and coils. Now for some air suspension - this is a Mercedes fitment guide after all.

Like fender-to-lip fitment? This one's for you. This Estate Wagon is fitted with Work Gnosis that are pretty similar to what we’ve already seen. The high offset means that no fancy suspension work is needed. However, to go this low, the car needed material trimmed or removed from the inner-fenders.

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Fitment Facts
‎	Front	Rear
Wheels	Bc Forged HCA210S 18x9 +25	Bc Forged HCA210S 18x10 +35
Tires	Kumho 215/40R18	Kumho 225/40R18
Notes	AccuAir Air Suspension Kit. Rear adjustable arms. No rubbing when aired up.

This C250 is also on air, but has the wheels tucked into the fenders. This one is also on 18’s which might be the best size for airbagged builds. Paired with a thin tire, 18’s let you set the front lip on the ground.

Unlike the last, this one needed adjustable arms in the rear to tuck those 10J wheels. The specs are much more aggressive than the previous examples. The fenders may not need to be rolled because of the negative camber, but any obstacles in the inner-fenders would need to be trimmed.

C63 AMG fitment

The W204 AMG isn’t too different from the regular C-Class models. In fact, unless you have a Black Series, the rear fitment is exactly the same. If you do have a Black Series you probably won’t be looking at this guide since you already have baller factory wheels. The differences between AMG and non-AMG are in the front.

AMG models have both wider front fenders and wider track width. This allows for more aggressive fitment in the front. Grippier tires are definitely needed with the extra power. Interestingly, the rear isn’t any wider, which kinda gives it a similar look to a drift car with a Wisefab kit (front wider than rear).

Also, consider the massive 6-pot brakes in the front; AMG goes crazy with their brakes. Anything smaller than 18” is ruled out, not that you would wanna run 17’s anyway. In addition, consider caliper-to-wheel face clearance. To avoid needing spacers, make sure your favorite wheels are known to clear the brakes.

This C63 coupe shows how wide you can go in the front. The typical tire width for a non-AMG is 225 front, this car is running 245/35. It’s possible to go a size or two larger, but might require some additional work.

The rear is also wider than most of the non-AMG cars we showed. In this case 19x10, high offset, with a 275/30 tire. You don’t need something this wide with an I4 or V6 model, but the M156 needs all the grip it can get.

Wrap up

Owning a Benz can have the highest of highs or lowest of lows. At times, you’re plagued with expensive repairs, but when things are going right you get to look like the richest MFer in your hood. A good-looking set of wheels makes you look like even more of a baller.

We looked at different wheel and suspension options. The factory wheel gap isn’t terrible, so you could leave it stock and spend your money elsewhere. If you choose to lower it, your options include springs, coils, or air suspension.

Regardless of what suspension or wheels you choose, we’d love to see your car in our fitment gallery. Share your specs to help others.