I took a bit of a gamble recently and purchased a set of hubcaps online, described as having a 41.5cm outer diameter. For those in the know, 41.5cm is the magic measurement for the sought-after 15-inch wheel hubcaps for classic Mercedes-Benz models. New, larger Mercedes hubcaps can be incredibly expensive, so I hoped these might be adaptable for my 15-inch wheels, or even fit directly.
Here’s what arrived:
The number of slots around the edge makes me suspect these are actually for 13-inch wheels. From my online searches, 15-inch hubcaps seem to share a similar slot design to the 14-inch versions, just scaled up. They do have that neat little hole for the tire valve, a classic Mercedes design touch.
However, the seller was correct about the size – they measure 41.5cm in diameter. They are definitely larger than the 14-inch Benz Hub Caps I already own, as you can see in this comparison:
^^^^^^^14 inch hubcap on the left^^^^^^^^
My 14-inch hubcaps have a relatively shallow profile or “dish”:
But these “mystery” hubcaps have a much deeper dish, a style reminiscent of a more pronounced, vintage design:
The confusing part is that if they are indeed 13-inch hubcaps, they seem unusually wide for that size compared to the 14-inch version:
^^^^^Again 14 inch hubcap on the left^^^^^
So, I’m turning to the experts in the vintage Mercedes community! Does anyone happen to know the dimensions of a genuine 13-inch Mercedes benz hub cap? And more importantly, can anyone help me identify exactly what model these mystery hubcaps are for? Any insights would be greatly appreciated to solve this Mercedes benz hub cap puzzle.
