Hi Everyone:

I own a 2009 C230 4MATIC (with the Sports Package). I believe the C230's were only released for the Canadian Market, but are essentilly the same as the other C Classes, but with a little less horse power. Anyway, my car has the sports package which comes with the staggered 17" wheels 225/45R17 and 245/40R17's.

I currently have Dunlop winter tires on the stock rims, and was looking to get some new wheels, and possibly tires for the summer. I have the summer all seasons that came with the car, but no rims for them.

My question is as follows: How much harsher of a ride is it in going form 17" wheels to 18" wheels? This is my daily driver, and I don't own any other vehilces. The roads here in Edmonton are quite bad and pothole ridden. I already find the ride a bit stiff with the 17's, but was wondering, how mcuh of a difference it would make going to a set of 18's.

Should I stick with 17's using the performance tires that came with the car, or should I consider a set of 18's with new tires?

If anyone can offer any opinions on this (based on thier similar experiences), I'd appreciate your advice. Anyone ever driver on Canadian roads?

Thanks.

t. (Edmonton, Canada)

 

If you are going to be frequenting pothole ridden roads, I would recommend staying with the 17s.

 

It'll probably make it a bit stiffer, but it depends on your choice of tires. Some are more forgiving than others. I'll be getting 19's later this week hopefully, so I can let you know how those are once I get them. I find the ride to be quite nice on the 17" AMG's with Continental tires. Just try and be aware of major potholes etc. where you frequently drive and try and avoid them. That's pretty much what I do here in Calgary.

 

if you get bigger rims, try to stay with the same profile tires. Generally a reason why bigger rims gives you a rougher ride is because they go lower profiles on bigger rims.

 

Yes, but if I get the same profile tires in a larger rim, doesn't that mean that the tire height would also have to change? Would that not affect the speedometer readings etc? Also, does this make a difference on a 4MATIC? Which is what I have?

One of the issues I have seen so far, is that there is not a great selection of wheels out there for a set of staggered rims in 17" for a 2009 C class offset pattern, which I believe is ET 47 fronts and ET 58 backs. I was looking at Mandrus rims for my car in 17", but it does not appear that they have such a set up for the 2009 C Class in a staggered fitment. Any vendors out there that carry a good selction of 17" for 2009 C? I have looked at the Tire Rack, Kal Tire, among others....

t.

 

I just put the 18" 5 star AMG wheels upgrading from th 17's. The ride is a bit stiffer and slightly more rough. It's not too bad, but it's noticeable. Not something I worry about just something to notice if your **** about it.

 

Stay with the 17" & take your wife on a holiday with the savings or bank it for your retirement. I am still with 16" because I found the 17" an unacceptably harsh ride on our poor roads.

 

Stay with the 17" - 18" will substantially effect comfort. 17" is the sensible limit unless you are looking for performance over comfort & then it's marginal unless you do a lot of other mods like sway bars etc.

 

Stay with the 17" wheels as the ride will get noticeably harsher on 18" wheels, plus you would significantly increase the chances for blowouts and rim damage due the potholes.

 

ive got 18's and have had no issues with pot-hole ridden roads of chicago...

ride stiffness has increased a bit, but i think this is due to the increased load rating in the tire (moved to pirellis)

if anything, i find that the 18s make the car a bit more stable in the turns

go for it - you wont be disappointed

hope this helps


chris

 

You shouldn't have a problem riding 18s here in Edmonton. I have a C350 running 18 inch AMG rims and tires for summer and winter I down size to 17 (AMG rims as well) to get a better cut and traction. I am running 19s on my Audi for summer and it is a bit stiff and bumpy. Keep in mind no cars in Edmonton have perfect rims, they are all damaged due to potholes and what not. 18 inch would definitely look better though. Where did you get your car from? DM or WM?

 

You can't do that.

 

Since I have both and therefore personal experience, there will be a slight increase in stiffness with the 18" wheels but there is also a difference brand to brand of the tires which will make more of a difference.

You can research this on the Tire Rack website with the presented data from owners plus Tire Rack's own findings. That's how I chose my 18" tires and I've been satisfied with them.

And today, I'm driving a service loaner C300 Sport on 17s and it skates around a bit more than my 18" Bridgestones.

Another white one with a black Tex interior.

 

Did you get your 19's yet? How are you finding them on Calgary roads?

 

I moved from the 17's to 18'd in nothern ohio. I am pleased with the over all look and performance on the 18's. The ride is only slightly different and not at all what I would call harsh, but I don't try to avoid pot holes due to the lower profile tire. I would make the change if you like the 18in look a lot better, if not stick with the 17's.

 

Don't do it...stay with 17....you would also be more likely to have to replace damaged wheels and the impact of potholes crashes through the reduced tire sidewall height.

 

Excerpt from Edmunds Online Review on C300.....Which has made me decide to stick with 17's for various reasons.......


"Americans are dope fiends for big wheels. It all started with the impulse to get more cornering grip and crisper steering response from wider, short-sidewall tires, but over time things have devolved into enthusiasm for wheels, not tires. Wheels are all sparkly, and they seem to send us into the same trance you see in people standing in front of the accessories rack at Pep Boys.
Our 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 suffers the curse of big wheels. We've got $1,010 of 18-inch AMG wheels carrying 225/40ZR18 tires in front and 255/35ZR18 tirs in the back. What we're supposed to get is quicker steering response and improved lateral stability, the kind of thing that's great on a curving freeway ramp. At the same time, we find ourselves skipping from crest to crest on the worn-out concrete slabs of the San Diego Freeway as if we were riding in a cheap fiberglass skiff. That's because the short tire sidewalls effectively increase the spring rates of the suspension, as there's less bump-absorbing compliance available from the tire.
The trade-off just doesn't work for me in this car. Mercedes might still be trying to persuade us that the C-class sedan is secretly a hot rod from the DTM racing series in Germany, but instead this car just seems like a taxi (although a real nice one) that's acting out. At least with the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, you get lots of horsepower in compensation.
There's always a trade-off in ordering big wheels and tires for any car, and the trade-off just doesn't work here. The big wheels and sporty tires enhance the C300's sporting personality too little and degrade its comfort quotient too much. There are times when big wheels are just a look, not a performance option, and this is one of them."
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Inside Line @ 19,520 miles

 

I totally disagree with this. I have both 17's for winter and the optional 18's for summer. The 18's make a huge difference in appearance and no degradation in comfort....and I live in pot hole ridden Ohio. Now if the 09 came with the 5 spoke wheels shown on the 2010's, I might not have invested in the 18in AMG's, but stock 17's (twin 7 spoke) are pretty drab in my opinion.

 

How sensible! They got it right

 

I tried going to 18 inch wheels and found that harshness increased quite a bit on the rough Quebec roads. I didnt feel that there was much improvement in handling....so in the end it just wasnt worth it. By the way, I used the same brand/model tires on both sets of wheels, so this was a true "apples for apples" comparison.

 

You've answered your own question -- don't do it. There is a non-trivial difference, and IMHO 17 inchers are the sensible limit given that you

Went through the same decision process as you did -- ended up sticking with the 17-inchers on my C350.