Will 16" Wheels (for winter) clear brakes on a C300 ?
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
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.
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.
Last edited by jrct9454; Aug 19, 2008 at 03:29 PM.
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.
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.
- 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?
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.
I know that 16" wheels would not work on the W203 series, Sport variants. (at least after 2004.5)
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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.
I will try to measure the spare in my C350 tonight.
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Correct, and if you check your data card, you will see those option codes.
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..
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.
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.
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..
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.
Last edited by jrct9454; Aug 23, 2008 at 09:47 AM.
I could be wrong tho. I'll check out the luxury sedan when I pick up my C32 from service next monday.
204

203
Last edited by FrankW; Aug 22, 2008 at 09:21 PM.
I could be wrong tho. I'll check out the luxury sedan when I pick up my C32 from service next monday.
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?"
The C350 is another matter - bigger, different rotors.
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?"
a quick look on mbusa showed C300 both sport and luxury has 11.6" rotors and C350 has 12.7" rotors.
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.)
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.






