xxxv8

Hi everyone,

Need advise on wheel size for my SL 55 2003 model.
Not sure if go for 19" or 20" wheels. What is the ride like on 19" or 20".
Also do tires last longer on 19" than 20".
What is all this talk about different off set? What does it mean.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

IngenereAMG

19s

Chris The Swede

I would go for 20"

SL600 V12TT

19s

mkirincic

My vote is for the 20's

mikesSL55fla

Love the 20's. Asanti

Benz-O-Rama

I just put very expensive 3pc 20's on my SL600. Rides like crap, but I knew that going in. 245/30/20 and 305/25/30. All is fine on perfectly smooth roads, but introduce bumps and it feels like a tank. Those that say otherwise are lying.

They sure are purdy, though.

20's for look, 18's for comfort. 19's would be somewhere in the middle, I suppose.

mikeblah

I've got 20s and they look great, i'm sure 19s would fill the wheel wells just fine, my concern is the inside tread wear. i've had it aligned and still burn through the inside 1".

since my last new set of tires (too many to count in just 40k miles) ok i could count, but you get the idea, i have raised the car to stock height, but my wheels are still not square to the ground and i'm assuming that is not great for the tread.

anyone have any better results with different sizes?

Chris The Swede

Than you have the wrong offset on the wheel..Tried spacers?

Artyi

Go for 20's! It could be a harder ride, but it will look amazing! Sure, don't forget about lowering it!

Havoc

+1

20's FTW!!

But if you go with 20's go with 35 series tires for the front and 30 series tires in the rear. They make the ride a lot smoother. Before I had 30 series tires for the front and 25 series tires in the rear, which has a smaller side wall and made me feel all of the bumps.

andy_meng1024

Nice wheels. Here's mine.

mikeblah

great! and i just bought new tires... well the wheels go all the way to the lip of the wheel well, so i'm assuming spacers would not be an option since i don't have any room there.

is the camber adjustment limited so where they can't be set straight? they are a good 5-10 degrees off.

Benz-O-Rama

The only problem with this is that your total rolling diameter will change from stock. This will throw off your speedometer and possibly interfere with traction control/ESP systems. With your setup, your speedo is 3.8% too slow. So, at 60MPH, you're really traveling 62.3mph. And if you're running a 305/30 tire out back, it's even worse. You're at 5.2% too slow in the rear. And the delta will increase exponentially with more speed.

But you're right, it will add a bit more sidewall, and that will give you a bit more comfort.

Here's a very good calculator to use:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Havoc

True, but I don't consider the change of my rolling diameter a "problem". Hell, with the way I drive a slower speedo is just what I need.
For me the "problem" would be an unconfortable ride and risk of bent wheels which I have done with 25 series tires on our LA roads. That sucks!

Benz-O-Rama

Ahhh, but it's the reverse! When your speedo says 60, you're really going faster.

mikeblah

faster AND further, so you are keeping the mileage low too.

not much lower, but lower...

Havoc

Damn Benz-O-Rama, you couldn't have explained that any clearer and yet I still managed to read your post wrong.

Regardless of the change in speedo, a slight change in sidewall made a huge difference in the quality of the ride. I also like the look of some meat on my rear tires. When I had 295/25/20 on the rear it just didn't look right to me.
Anyway, thanks for the info bro!

pruittbmop

What size wheels are these? And tires?