Crisqo

Looking for a set of winter tires once I get my car in Nov...
Would 16" Wheels fit?
What are the specs I should look for?
Assuming the C230 wheels would fit, but what offsets would I need to clear the brakes if different wheels are needed...


Or would it be better to just get 17" winters on my stock rims?
Keeping the staggered sizes? or get 4 matched tires?
Thx

jstaneff

I'm thinking that yes, they will clear. The 17s appear to be an upgrade for the C300 that is not related to brake diameter.

Look at TireRack and spec out a C250 (Yeah, 250) for wheels. These are 50 mm offsets, and look fairly good.

I'm seriously considering replacing my 17s with 16s when the tire wear indicates I need new tires. Not just for winter use. Advantages include:
- 4-wheel rotations possible with 16s all around, non-staggered
- lighter weight, narrower profile may mean better gas mileage

It won't be as "sporty" but I can keep the 17s for those times when I really need sporty behaviour .... okay, or I can sell them.

The tires for the 16s would be about 205, losing about 2 cm in the front and about 4 cm in the rear. For normal US driving, that shouldn't be any problem at all.

jrct9454

Yes, me too.

Tire Rack has several choices for 16s that will fit, and I too am thinking seriously of going to 205/55x16s [probably Michelin Primacy MXV4s] for year-round use, and just store the 17s with the OEM Contis.

As noted above, our C300 has 16" std wheels elsewhere in the world market.

The USA C300 Luxury is actually a C280 Elegance with the 17" wheels from the Avantgarde. The USA C300 Sport is actually the C280 Avantgarde with most of the stuff from the worldwide AMG package. Brakes are not an issue.

Also as noted above, just do a TireRack search on the '08 C250 [Canada model] and you'll get lots of 16" choices.

I sure wouldn't go with 17" winter tires on this car - too wide in the 225/45 OEM size, and I REALLY wouldn't consider a staggered setup for winter.

Untertürkheim

According to this official document"

http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/...ne_Typ_204.pdf

16" wheels are not allowed for the C300 (called C280 everywhere else) with the sport package.

jstaneff

Thanks, but ....
- is this a technical issue, like the rotors being too large?
- or, is it strictly marketing?

According to the table, the C280 comes with 17s. I don't see where it specifies the SPORT model.

Is there more information elsewhere that would make this clearer?

jstaneff

By the simple expedient of using a tape measure, I have "discovered" that the compact spare in the trunk of my C300 is a 16. If Mercedes believes that to be sufficient, then it means there's no clearance problem for the rotors.

Now: is the 17" limit in that bulletin based on marketing or on expectable use on the Autobahn? For high speed driving, I agree that the standard wheels/tires make better sense since there's more surface area. But for typical year-round driving in the US of A, where the speed limit is less than or equal to 80 mph, I seriously doubt that tire performance makes much of a difference between the 16s and 17s.

Say, has anyone measured the spare in the C350? Hmm.

wblynch

I think when it says not for code 950 or 952 it's probably referring to the Avantgarde or AMG options which would include the brake rotors and calipers.

I know that 16" wheels would not work on the W203 series, Sport variants. (at least after 2004.5)

wblynch

But the profile of the wheel may be different from the stamped steel mini-spare to the cast aluminum road wheels.

I will try to measure the spare in my C350 tonight.

Untertürkheim

[QUOTE=wblynch;3006391]I think when it says not for code 950 or 952 it's probably referring to the Avantgarde or AMG options which would include the brake rotors and calipers.[QUOTE]

Correct, and if you check your data card, you will see those option codes.

Crisqo

So is there a clear answer?

I've ordered my car, and it'll be coming around November....so just planning ahead if\when it snows...

Canadian models may be different, since I don't think we got any Avantgarde options....etc to choose from..

jstaneff

Here is a link to BenzWorld ....

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w204...ml#post2705412

This fellow has MB replica 16" wheels on a C-300. Looks good. The shot shows a very tight clearance, but clearance it is.

Untertürkheim

The Sport models are Avantgarde.

Crisqo

Thx...looks like I'll be able to run 16's...
anyone know the correct offset for 16's?

Sorry for all the Q's..
Don't have my car yet, or I could check myself..

jrct9454

The OEM offset for 16s is 47mm, assuming a 16x7.0 wheel. Different widths will mean different offsets. The owner's manual has this information, at least for the 2008s.

Again, if you go to Tire Rack's choices for the Canadian C230/250, you'll see a range of widths and offsets, all of which should fit a North American C300.

FrankW

luxury yes. sport probably not.

jstaneff

Why? What are we missing?

thanks

FrankW

the luxury I believe has smaller front brake disc and caliper. The 204 sport caliper are not as big as the 203s, but it is still big. From the snug fit of the 17" on the C350 I doubt the 16" will clear those calipers, but the caliper on the 204 is slightly smaller than 203. see pic below for what i mean.

I could be wrong tho. I'll check out the luxury sedan when I pick up my C32 from service next monday.

204

203

jstaneff

The link I supplied in a previous post was on a Canadian C300 Sport model.

The brakes are different between the C300 and C350, with the C350 brakes being larger. That probably restricts the C350 to 17s and above, but the C300 should fit 16s.

A good question to ask would be "is there a difference in the brakes between the lux and sport model of the C300?"

jrct9454

I do not believe there is any difference between the brakes on the C300 Lux and Sport, but I am prepared to be wrong about that.

The C350 is another matter - bigger, different rotors.

FrankW

just checked. you are correct. didn't notice if there were difference between C300 and C350.

a quick look on mbusa showed C300 both sport and luxury has 11.6" rotors and C350 has 12.7" rotors.

jrct9454

That's what I thought....

jstaneff

Now I'm not quite so happy .....

Had Service A today and asked if they knew of any reason why the car couldn't use 16s ... here's their response (caps included):

"CLIENT WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF 16" 205/55 TIRES ARE AVAILABLE DOESN'T WANT STAGGERED TIRES. CHECK AND ADVISE EURO SPEC BRAKE ROTORS, CALIPERS, AND WHEELS ARE DIFFERENT SIZES THAN US SPEC. 16" WHEEL NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS CAR IN THE US DUE TO DIFFERENT BRAKE CALIPERS. MODIFICATION IS NOT ADVISED TO KEEP WARRANTY INTACT."

So:
- This sounds like the 350 vrs 300 front brake rotor issue
- Is it possible that the dealer is wrong?
- Anybody have a set of drawings with part numbers to show the C250/C230 brakes and rotors vrs the US C300?

???

And, are the specs for the Canadian C300 different than for the US C300 with respect to brakes and rotors? (Remember that one Canadian C300 already runs 16s.)

jrct9454

This is utter nonsense. The 16s will fit. The choice of 17s for our market was all about style, and the perception of performance.

I intend to go to 16s on our C300 Lux sometime in the next couple of years, if I keep the car; however, I'm hoping to be able to buy the new 4 cyl diesel sometime in 2010, which I suspect will have the 16s as standard. Until 2010 comes and goes without a change, I'm probably standing still.

The C280 in every market but ours comes with 205/55x16s as standard. There is no difference in the size of the brakes until you move up to the C350.

Dealers are just resistant to any modifications that they don't initiate, or are not "approved" by MBUSA. It's an old story.

Pit-Pony

I believe the wheels bolts sizes have changed. The W203 16" wheels won't bolt on to the W204 unless you drill out the bolt holes in the wheels another 2mm.

jrct9454

Yes, the wheel bolts are bigger, and the offset is greater - earlier gen C wheels cannot be used on the W204.