Michelin size recommendations for Super sport/ 4S tires
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2015
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From: USA
2013 Mercedes C250 Coupe Sports Plus
Michelin size recommendations for Super sport/ 4S tires
I apologize for the noob question but my W204 C250 Sports plus coupe needs new tires and I was wondering if I should get a size up Michelin tires. I have the OEM Pirelli p zero 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear with the 7 spoke AMG rims but am thinking to purchase the 235/40/18 and 265/35/18. Do you think they will look and perform better? Also, I understand the piolt super sport were being phased out. Is the 4S tires a huge updgrade over the Pilot Super Sport tire?
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Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Central PA
1986 Porsche 911 Coupe, a 2002 CLK320 & 2013 C300
Your speedometer and mileage will be off and your ABS/ESP may go off. You'd not be gaining much from a performance standpoint with an extra 10 mm of rubber, certainly not worth the side effects of the speedo and odometer issues IMO.
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Factory ordered 2012 MB C350 w/Dynamic Handling Package
The 4S is definitely the new benchmark (looking at this myself...I'm currently on Super Sports). With that said though, where do you live climate wise? Keep in mind summer tires driven below 40F have worse performance than All-Seasons. I've occasionally driven in temps below 40 (no snow), and this is why I might make the switch to AS3+ on the next batch.
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Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2015
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From: USA
2013 Mercedes C250 Coupe Sports Plus
Thank you for the recommendation. I live in Miami, Florida so summer tires will work. I was under the impression that if I go only one size wider, the odometer and speedometer won't be affected in such drastic way, leave alone the ABS/ESP. I thought changing the tire size from 225/40/18 to 235/40/18 and 255/35/18 to 265/35/18 will be minimal and not noticeable at all when it comes to the speedo. I did read a lot of posts on the forum and just wanted to confirm the tires will fit and the performance will improve. If that is not the case and the new tires stick out of the fenders instead of appearing flash than I would rather go with the OEM size.
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Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Central PA
1986 Porsche 911 Coupe, a 2002 CLK320 & 2013 C300
I spent a couple of minutes checking
25.1 & 25 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear
25.4 25.3 are the diameters for 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear
So if you've got the room for the extra 10mm which I thing you'd be good on, you can install them. Generally you only get the ESP if there's more than a few % different in diameter front and rear and given the difference, I'm sure you'd be good. What you'll get is a slower reading speedo and slower acceleration and slightly reduced milege with the higher diameter, but you'd gain top speed. You're effectively doing a gear change with the taller tires.
It's up to you, but IMO for an extra 10mm of rubber, you're not getting anything noticeable in the way of performance gain so it would be mostly cosmetic. It's up to you but at least you know you won't get the ABS/ESP errors.
25.1 & 25 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear
25.4 25.3 are the diameters for 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear
So if you've got the room for the extra 10mm which I thing you'd be good on, you can install them. Generally you only get the ESP if there's more than a few % different in diameter front and rear and given the difference, I'm sure you'd be good. What you'll get is a slower reading speedo and slower acceleration and slightly reduced milege with the higher diameter, but you'd gain top speed. You're effectively doing a gear change with the taller tires.
It's up to you, but IMO for an extra 10mm of rubber, you're not getting anything noticeable in the way of performance gain so it would be mostly cosmetic. It's up to you but at least you know you won't get the ABS/ESP errors.
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 18
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From: USA
2013 Mercedes C250 Coupe Sports Plus
I spent a couple of minutes checking
25.1 & 25 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear
25.4 25.3 are the diameters for 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear
So if you've got the room for the extra 10mm which I thing you'd be good on, you can install them. Generally you only get the ESP if there's more than a few % different in diameter front and rear and given the difference, I'm sure you'd be good. What you'll get is a slower reading speedo and slower acceleration and slightly reduced milege with the higher diameter, but you'd gain top speed. You're effectively doing a gear change with the taller tires.
It's up to you, but IMO for an extra 10mm of rubber, you're not getting anything noticeable in the way of performance gain so it would be mostly cosmetic. It's up to you but at least you know you won't get the ABS/ESP errors.
25.1 & 25 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear
25.4 25.3 are the diameters for 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear
So if you've got the room for the extra 10mm which I thing you'd be good on, you can install them. Generally you only get the ESP if there's more than a few % different in diameter front and rear and given the difference, I'm sure you'd be good. What you'll get is a slower reading speedo and slower acceleration and slightly reduced milege with the higher diameter, but you'd gain top speed. You're effectively doing a gear change with the taller tires.
It's up to you, but IMO for an extra 10mm of rubber, you're not getting anything noticeable in the way of performance gain so it would be mostly cosmetic. It's up to you but at least you know you won't get the ABS/ESP errors.
24.8 & 25.2 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear for the Pirelli
25.1 & 25 are the diameters for 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear for the Michelin
25.4 & 25.3 are the diameters for 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear for the Michelin
The rim width range for the rear is 9-10.5 (meas. rim width 9.5) which might be a problem as the specification of the rear tires are 8.5J x18 and they might not fit. Please clarify what do you mean by the statement ''doing a gear change with the taller tires''. Do you still recommend to stick with the OEM sizes since the difference is minimal?
Last edited by gtu; Mar 17, 2018 at 01:23 AM.
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 59
Likes: 5
From: Central PA
1986 Porsche 911 Coupe, a 2002 CLK320 & 2013 C300
A taller tire would rotate less per mile than a shorter tire. So it's like having a taller gear in your transmission. To get a taller gear up to speed would take more time. I have an old Porsche which uses 205/55 up front and 225/50 in the rear on 16 inch rims. If I change to 15 inch rims with the same tire specification, the car accelerates like a demon but I have to shift at a lower speed. The size of the tires changes the gear ratio the same way shifting up or down a gear would in a transmission. So shorter tire more acceleration, less top speed. Taller tire the opposite.
Like I said you'd see a little bit of that effect because in my Porsche example the difference is about an inch shorter.
What I'd be more concerned with is your rim width. I'd not go to either of the extremes in width. You do not want to put a tire that calls for a minimum of 9 inch wide rim, into an 8.5 inch wide rim.
Like I said you'd see a little bit of that effect because in my Porsche example the difference is about an inch shorter.
What I'd be more concerned with is your rim width. I'd not go to either of the extremes in width. You do not want to put a tire that calls for a minimum of 9 inch wide rim, into an 8.5 inch wide rim.
