crembz

I upsized from stock to 18" replica wheels a couple of months back. Been pretty happy with the look of the wheels and tyres although I'm concerned that at 8.5 width running 225 up front the wheel is quite exposed.

Lo and behold, looks like I hit something and damaged the wheel. I'm pretty ocd about damaged wheels so I was thinking about repairing them... But at the cost of replica wheels I might as well replace. So I started rolling around on my old 17s again which I've had powder coated black. And I'm actually enjoying the drive more in the stock 17s! I'm no longer swerving around trying to avoid rough roads, things aren't rattling in the cabin, speed bumps don't scare the crap out of me anymore and the car in general just feels like it's happier on the road.

Call me insane but I'm thinking about switching back to stock size. This means I throw out practically new Conti sport contact 5s along with the wheels and need to buy new 17" tyres (probably Nitto invo or hankook s1 evo2 not decided yet)

Anyone else here had a similar experience? Anyone else crazy like me and gone back to stock?

Dasauto

Gone back? Hell I never left. I LOVE the stock 17's, no need to go any larger IMO unless you're looking for a different look going with HUGE brakes or plan on getting lighter/stronger wheels for track purposes. Even so 17's are large enough, tires are a little cheaper too.

crembz

Yeah I'm regretting up sizing although the 18" reps are a little lighter than the stock 17". I think anything lower than a 45 profile on the front and it becomes a little uncomfortable. I downsized the 18" on my Subaru for the same reason. Went to 17 and the car was so much more pleasant to drive on normal roads.

The only thing holding me back at the moment is needing to buy new tyres. Can't say I'm overly happy with the Conti sc5... But I've spent the $$$ now so if I bought another set would need to be on a budget. Hankook and Nitto seem to be the top runners at the moment. Anyone have experience with either the invo or the s1 evo2 (k117) vs the csc5?

Viper98912

18's look great on the W203.

crembz

Completely agree, but I can't see them when I'm driving **** scared of every pebble and bump on the road. Lol. In saying that I still feel like I'm the only one on here whose downsized back to stock.

macbryanie

Your wheels look great (18 reps). Just have 2 sets. 17's and 18's. just no go on the Hankook V12 evo k110. I had them on the rear and after 5 weeks sold them. So slippery under load i would skip all over the place until 120ish. (tyres were 2 yrs old) Then went to Nitto NT05 and loved it until it was wet. Came off the road as they were bald at the back and went to invo (nitto) for the price they are excellent.

crembz

Thanks for the heads up on the hankook... I'll stay away. Yeah the 18s look good but the front lip is too exposed, and there is very little clearance to go a wider tyre on the inside near the strut. Still not decided whether to fix up the damage and powdercoat (satin black maybe?) And risk damaging them again later on or just go back to stock. I think the satin black would make them look pretty aggressive.

How did you find the nt05 vs invo for noise/comfort? I read the grip levels are similar but the noise on the invo is way better. I ask because if I go Nitto I can only get the nt05 for the rear and invo for the front (255 17 and 225 17). Was thinking of doing that.

macbryanie

Thats what I had previously : f- 225/45 invo's and the r-255/40 NT05's. Worked well until the rears were completely bald (2-3 months). I am running Invo 235/40/17 all round on enkei pf01's and very happy. have some new Michelin ps2 on standby when the rears are done

crembz

Serious? They only lasted 3 months? Had lots of tyres in my life but never Michelin or Nitto. I was planning the michelin ps3 but seeing I might be turfing the new contis to downsize I'll have to get something cheaper (Nitto are less than half the price of the Michelin and I've heard almost as grippy and comfy ... Sound too good to be true).

macbryanie

Yea sorry. About six months. The NT05 are the street slick versions They are excellent but wear out quickly and once worn in they are seriously loose in the wet. Also Achillis 123 (cheap semi)) are meant to be excellent for the price. If you are after semi slicks there are many. I would go the invo if nitto for budget.

tw2

How heavy are your 18" reps? A lot of them are heavier than stock wheels especially when going larger and this can cause a lot of the problems. Lightweight wheels will help a lot. If you want to stay with a stock sized tyre then 8" front and 9" rear is more than enough. 8.5" front, 9.5" rear is not necessary for those sizes and can sometimes cause avoidable problems with rubbing.

crembz

Thanks mate. I'm not really after semi's, just a comfortable well performing tyre in the right size that isn't going to cost heaps. I had sumitomo htrz3 and as highly praised as they are they're terrible in the wet and struggle under braking. They are quiet, comfortable and cheap though, beating the conti hands down in all those areas. I thought of going the nt05 in the rear to get the 255 width, from what I've read they run skinnier than other brands and I find 245 looks barely wide enough in the rear offering little in the way of lip protection which is why I'm shying away from the invo. If the invo came in 2554017 or 2654017 it would be a done deal.

crembz

Problem with living in Australia is the limited selection of aftermarket parts that for these cars. I could barely find any wheels in 18 with the right offsets, apart from Mandrus and some really high end stuff like lorinser or brabus. All of those options were up for over $2k for the set.

The spec sheet puts the replica 18s slightly lighter than stock 17s by about .5kg without rubber. The AMG 17s are pretty heavy for 17s. I put then on my c200k and the car bogs with the added weight of the AMG 17s vs standard Benz 17s. I haven't got rubbing, but with the 18s the car feels like it's crashing into every rut in the road. I'm also lowered on eibach/bilstein which doesn't help matters.