The W124 and the W201 190E are two of the most solidly engineered cars Mercedes ever built, and they share a wheel specification that is straightforward in every way but one.
That one thing is the fixing. Mercedes uses bolts that thread into the hub, not studs with nuts — and it uses a ball seat, not the conical seat almost every Japanese and American wheel expects. Get that wrong and the wheel is not properly clamped, whatever the torque wrench says.
The Short Version
- 5×112 on a 66.6 mm bore — both chassis, every model we found, no exceptions.
- M12×1.5 ball-seat bolts. This is the part people get wrong.
- Offsets we could not settle. The standard 190E 15-hole wheel is reported at +42, +44 and +49 by three different sources. We are not going to pick one.
- 500E / E500 ran 16×8 at +34, shared with the R129 SL.
- The Evolution II 190E is reported at 17×8.25 +34 — the largest genuine Cosworth fitment.
Bolts, Ball Seats, and Why It Matters
On a Japanese car, studs project from the hub and you thread a nut onto each one. The nut has a conical seat — a straight taper — that centres the wheel as it tightens.
On these Mercedes, there are no studs. You hold the wheel up, line up the holes, and thread bolts through the wheel into the hub. And the seat is ball — a radius, not a taper.
Two consequences that cost people money:
Seat shape. A conical bolt in a ball seat contacts on a ring rather than across the seat face. It will feel tight. It is not correctly clamped. If you are fitting aftermarket wheels, you need bolts matched to the wheel’s seat, and you need to know which seat the wheel has.
Bolt length. Wheels vary in seat depth. A bolt correct for the factory wheel may bottom out or engage too few threads in an aftermarket one. Length is a per-wheel question, not a per-car one.
And a practical one: holding a heavy wheel up with one hand while starting a bolt with the other is genuinely awkward. A guide pin — a headless stud you screw in temporarily to hang the wheel on — costs very little and prevents an expensive scratch.
Factory Wheels
| Car | Wheel | Size | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 190E, standard | 15-hole alloy | 7J×15 | disputed — see below |
| 190E 2.3-16 / 2.5-16 | 15-hole | 7J×15 | +44 reported |
| 190E 2.5-16 Evolution I | — | 8×16, reported as R129 SL sourced | not confirmed |
| 190E Evolution II | — | 17×8.25 | +34 reported |
| W124, standard | 15-hole / “phone dial” | 15″, width not confirmed | not confirmed |
| W124 500E / E500 | shared with R129 SL | 16×8 | +34 |
| W124 E60 AMG | Evolution II alloy | 17″ | not confirmed |
The offset problem, stated plainly. For the standard 190E 15-hole wheel we found +42 from a specialist Mercedes parts retailer, +49 from a wheel data site, and +44 from an owner forum. Those are seven millimetres apart, which matters.
They may reflect different model years, or steel versus alloy, or simply one of them being wrong. We could not resolve it, and printing a single number would be pretending we had. If offset matters to your build, measure the wheel you are buying.
Wheel Names, and What They Actually Belong To
Mercedes wheel nicknames get applied loosely, and it costs people money in the used market.
The “15-hole” is the standard alloy on both the W124 and the W201, but they are different parts — the W124 uses a 124-prefixed part number, the W201 a 201-prefixed one, and they are reported to differ in offset.
The “Bundt” belongs to the earlier W116, W123 and R107. It is not a W124 or W201 wheel.
The “Gullideckel” — manhole cover — is most associated with the W126 and R107.
The AMG “Penta” five-spoke was an AMG accessory built by ATS, fitted across W123, W126 and W124. It was never dealer-standard equipment, and it is heavily replicated. Genuine ones are identified by markings inside the barrel and by steel bolt inserts.
What We Could Not Verify
- A single authoritative offset for the standard 190E 15-hole wheel. Three sources, three numbers.
- Rim width for the standard W124 15-hole.
- Factory tyre sizes for any W124 or W201 model. We found no manufacturer table.
- Offset for the Evolution I’s 8×16.
- Whether any W124 or W201 ran a staggered factory fitment.
Related Fitment Guides
- Mercedes-AMG — where the Penta story continues
- BMW E39 — the other German saloon with a bore trap
- BBS — whose customers included Mercedes
- How to read the markings on a wheel
Getting W124 and 190E Wheels From Japan
Japan imported these cars in large numbers and looked after them well, so period-correct wheels turn up here in condition that is often better than in Europe. Tell us the car and the look you are after through the Request page — and tell us whether you have the correct ball-seat bolts, because that is the part people discover on the day.