crater64

Hi,

I'll try to be as brief as possible. Considering buying a '13 C250 Sport sedan rather than a C3004M as I prefer the handling and fuel economy of the RWD over the AWD car. Figure the cost savings out the door will more than pay for a set of good dedicated winter tires and, if necessary, dedicated wheels. I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and realize that foregoing 4Matic is a calculated risk.

I've searched this forum and seen a lot of discussion of winter tires/wheels but none that I can see specifically geared toward the C250. (If I missed a thread somewhere, I apologize.) So I'm curious to know if any C250 owners have run or will be running winter tires on the factory 17" or 18" wheels or 17" aftermarket wheels, the tire sizes they've used (staggered or non-), and their overall satisfaction with their choices.

Thanks and, again, my apologies if I've missed a thread on point.

Sunster

I've a 2010 C250 and have been thinking about the same. Best wheel & tire size combo at a budget?

Worth buying steel rims for the winter?

C230Kompressed

Bridgestone Blizzaks - 215-45-17 all the way around.

Sportstick

Completely agree on the tire brand and model. From the OE size of 225/45-17, you can go to 215/45-17 or 215/50-17 to get the narrower footprint for better winter performance. The 45 will cause the speedometer to over-read slightly, while the 50 will under-read slightly (either less than 2 mph off the OE, so not a concern either way). The concern with the 45 is that they will need to turn more per mile due to the smaller circumference, so there is a bit more of a wear factor for these relatively soft winter tires. (about 40 revs per mile).

Not a fan of steel wheels....heavier unsprung mass deteriorates ride, more prone to rust. With low cost alloy available or used wheels from this forum, no need to go to steel. Also, have not seen them made for our car.

ralawren

I Ran Pirelli Snow Carvers on my 2009 C300 and then on 2011 C300 4matic. I purchased a used set of 2010 OEM wheels on eBay. They worked well with 225/45/17's.

Sunster

Keeping to same topic I've been offered a couple of interesting off- season deals on winter wheel sets using Merc replica alloys.
1- A set of 16inch replica alloys with PIRELLI "Sottozero" tires (205/55- 16) for $1.250
2- Set of 17 inch replica alloys with used CONTINENTAL "ContiWinterContact TS 810" (225/45-17) Used for 3 seasons/15,000 kms for $1000
3- Set of 17 inch replica alloys with Barum Polaris 3 tires for $1300

Any thoughts?

Sportstick

Pass. I've never heard of the third one, but the first two are "performance winter", the least effective kind of winter tire. There are a couple of kinds....so-called "performance winter", which tries to be the best of both worlds, but is more like achieving neither really well, and "studless", which actually provides excellent winter traction. Even within Blizzak, the make a "performance winter" tire in the LM series.....avoid it. But, they also make a "studless" with the WS series, which is excellent. If you are going through the trouble to get winter tires, be sure they are "studless", which means they were intended to be as close as possible to studded tire performance, but without studs. If you are not sure, check tirerack.com for all the tire categories.

One other issue with #2.... three to four seasons is about the usual life expectancy for a winter tire.

And, on #1, you need to be sure 16" wheels will clear your brake calipers. For some models of C Class, it works, not for others. 17 is a sure thing.

Sunster

Thanks for that opinion Sportstick. Much appreciated.

Would 17 inch Merc wheels from a 2007 C230 fit the 2010 C250? Same Bolt pattern 5/112. Should be ok right?

Sportstick

I believe the offset changed quite a bit from the last 2007 W203 platform based C Class to new 2008 W204 platform. For a set of four 17x7.5" or 17x8" wheels, the offset should be in the mid 40s if you don't find a set of OE takeoffs or used wheels on the forum. I don't think you want them poking out of the wheel openings!

Sunster

Having slight difficulty understanding how the offset of a wheel works especially when same size tires fits same size wheels.

Sportstick

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=101

It's not the relationship between the tire and wheel...it's the wheel as mounted on the hub of the suspension. Imagine a doughnut sitting up on its edge with a coin on its edge in the hole. If the coin is right in the middle of the doughnut rim, the offset is zero. If the coin is moved toward one side of the doughnut or the other, its position relative to the centerline of the doughnut has changed....that is a change in offset. Taking this idea to the wheel/tire, the wheel/tire assembly can sit deeper or more shallowly on the hub, making it disappear into the wheel opening more or stick out of the wheel opening more. The specification of the W203 platform had a wheel where the center mounting point (where the lugs go through the holes) was closer to the centerline of the entire wheel. The W204 platform calls for a wheel where the center mounting portion is further toward the outside of the wheel.....the "coin" is closer to the surface of the doughnut than to the centerline. If you put the older offset size wheel on, the entire wheel and tire assembly will stick out of the wheel opening of the fender more.

Sunster

Described like a scholar Many thanks for the crash course on getting my winter tires and wheels. One more question
A 225/45 /17 tire will fit wheels 17x7.5" or 17x8" ?

Sportstick

Yes....225/45-17 will fit either of those. Still suggest 215/50-17, though, for winter on a 7" or 7.5" wide rim....better traction and cheaper!! But, either approach will work just fine!

Sunster

Thanks for that
Tirerack site doesnt suggest those sizes and hence I haven't researched them as yet.
Assume the most important thing in regards the 17" wheel matter is the offset.

Sportstick

All the dimensions are important. If you use the "shop by vehicle" function from the home page, you will see wheels which fit your car, which works well if you spec out a winter wheel and tire package. Or, call them and tell them which wheel interests you, and they will advise you if they have the right fit for that model of wheel. The same wheel can be offered in different offsets.

crater64

Yes, thanks for the replies thus far - especially from Sportstick who, I see, has had a lot of experience on point with a RWD W204.

I don't know if I'll end up with a car with 17" or 18" wheels off the lot yet. If 17" I'll look for dedicated studless tires for those wheels. I'm not seeing much of anything in the way of studless tires to fit the OEM 18" wheels (maybe that aforementioned Sottozero, but no ringing endorsement of it) so if 18" I'll look for a set of 17" wheels (OEM or aftermarket alloy), shoe them with dedicated 17" studless tires, and set the 18" wheels and tires aside until spring.

crater64

Update: I finally got off the fence and bought a C250 yesterday. (I'll introduce myself in a separate thread.) A wintry mix is forecast here for Sunday but I doubt I'll have winter tires on the car by then; hopefully before the next snow event forecast for late next week. The car has the standard 17" wheels and I'd like to put the snow tires on them, possibly springing for 18" wheels/tires next summer. Stay tuned...

crater64

So do I see nothing out there as a matched set of 4 in 225/45R17 front and 245/40R17 rear?

Sportstick

I suggest a different approach. If you want to keep the original wheels rather than get new wheels to fit a narrower 215/50-17, you should at least get all four tires the same 225/45-17 size for front and rear. There is no reason to mimic the original wider tire size for a winter tire in the rear, and it would actually deteriorate winter performance. A set of four Blizzak WS70 or Michelin X-Ice xi3 in 225/45-17 are available and will fit both the front and rear wheels.

crater64

Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the reaffirmation.

ralawren

Careful with 225's on the 8.5" rear wheels; tgey just barely fit. I did this for three seasons but the Local tire shop was a bit concerned they were stretched to wide.

vic viper

Barely? , there is no problems using 225 on 8.5" rims.

Sportstick

A bit overly dramatic on their part. Here is the official recommendation from 1010tires.com

crater64

Well this snowstorm has turned out to be more than scattered wintry mix. I got off the roads once it started to stick and I'll wait it out for now.

Wawatusi

I came into a set of blizzak lm-60's all 4 were 245/40-17, mounted them on the old stock rims and all seems to work well...





I hate the stock rims, I am looking at these, wondering if they would work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370948355184