When Your Car Has Offset Wheels...
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Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 91
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From: TEXAS
2014 C259 Sport MB White Diamond Pearl
When Your Car Has Offset Wheels...
Hey Guys,
How Dumb Am I? I've owned this W204 C250 Sport since new (it now has 47348 miles) and never knew that it Has front 225/45/R17SL (8.0) & rear 245/40/R17SL (8.5) size wheels. I just let MB come pick it up for maintenance and when ever it needed it tire replacement, same thing MB just called said it needs new wheels and I gave the approval and got new wheels put on. On a recent trip back from Louisiana my car blew a tire and I got AAA to tow me into a tire shop, there they put on a new tire and rotated them front to back said new tire would be better in back...On routine maintenance with MB, they called and asked why the tires were switched. I told they I had a blow out and got new tire & did a tire rotation, (They didn't yell at me but I could tell they were upset, now I know how my sons feels sometimes...LOL) MB proceeded to explain about offset wheels....
So my question to you guy in the forum is (by the way I could bring myself to ask the guys at MB) what was wrong with rotating the tires that way ( felt no difference while driving w/bigger wheels in front)? and can I make my wheels all the same, like all 4 8.0 or 8.5?
Thank You all in advance, any and all responses will be appreciated....(including wise cracks & hecklers LOL)
How Dumb Am I? I've owned this W204 C250 Sport since new (it now has 47348 miles) and never knew that it Has front 225/45/R17SL (8.0) & rear 245/40/R17SL (8.5) size wheels. I just let MB come pick it up for maintenance and when ever it needed it tire replacement, same thing MB just called said it needs new wheels and I gave the approval and got new wheels put on. On a recent trip back from Louisiana my car blew a tire and I got AAA to tow me into a tire shop, there they put on a new tire and rotated them front to back said new tire would be better in back...On routine maintenance with MB, they called and asked why the tires were switched. I told they I had a blow out and got new tire & did a tire rotation, (They didn't yell at me but I could tell they were upset, now I know how my sons feels sometimes...LOL) MB proceeded to explain about offset wheels....
So my question to you guy in the forum is (by the way I could bring myself to ask the guys at MB) what was wrong with rotating the tires that way ( felt no difference while driving w/bigger wheels in front)? and can I make my wheels all the same, like all 4 8.0 or 8.5?
Thank You all in advance, any and all responses will be appreciated....(including wise cracks & hecklers LOL)
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,761
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From: Milwaukee, WI
2010 C300 4MATIC........ 2011 C63 AMG.............. 2015 CLS400 4MATIC.....
Alright mate I think I've got to do the deed of cleaning things up here first because, I'm the first to comment.
1) it's called staggered wheels.
2) they probably replaced the "tires" not "wheels"
Now, the reason cars have wider tires in the back are for better handling/sport feel. This is applicable to rear wheel drive cars (more grip/wider tires = less wheel spin) and rear bias/50-50 AWD cars (sometimes) for similar reason. So, flipping them around can cause a few problems for multiple reasons: 1) the rims OFFSET (how far a wheel sticks out from the hub mount) is different because the wheels are different widths. The front wheels have LESS room, so the front wheels are not as wide, because you turn the front wheels and also the body shape. So putting your rear wheels on the front can cause you to rub (obviously not in this case) and also you've ruined any driving characteristics having the fronts on the rear. 2) if it's 4matic, you can blow up your transfer case, which is built into the transmission in these cars. You CANNOT rotate staggered wheel setups front to back, only side to side. And that's pretty much pointless anyways. Not your fault exactly but the idiot who switched them around and not noticing.
1) it's called staggered wheels.
2) they probably replaced the "tires" not "wheels"
Now, the reason cars have wider tires in the back are for better handling/sport feel. This is applicable to rear wheel drive cars (more grip/wider tires = less wheel spin) and rear bias/50-50 AWD cars (sometimes) for similar reason. So, flipping them around can cause a few problems for multiple reasons: 1) the rims OFFSET (how far a wheel sticks out from the hub mount) is different because the wheels are different widths. The front wheels have LESS room, so the front wheels are not as wide, because you turn the front wheels and also the body shape. So putting your rear wheels on the front can cause you to rub (obviously not in this case) and also you've ruined any driving characteristics having the fronts on the rear. 2) if it's 4matic, you can blow up your transfer case, which is built into the transmission in these cars. You CANNOT rotate staggered wheel setups front to back, only side to side. And that's pretty much pointless anyways. Not your fault exactly but the idiot who switched them around and not noticing.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 502
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From: Newcastle Upon Tyne
W204 C220CDI 2011
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 4,761
Likes: 566
From: Milwaukee, WI
2010 C300 4MATIC........ 2011 C63 AMG.............. 2015 CLS400 4MATIC.....
With the 7G (not 7G+) they're fragile enough as is. It would probably take some mileage but there's still a different strain when you have more power going to lighter wheels and less power going to heavier wheels. I'm not saying it's impossible, who knows, you could drive that for a long time. But even without that, these TC's find a way to fail, so I'd rather not *risk* it.
That being said he has a c250 so it's probably rwd anyways.
That being said he has a c250 so it's probably rwd anyways.
Super Member
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 848
Likes: 87
From: Milwaukee, WI USA
2012 C300 4Matic
It is ok if the tires are the same on the SAME axle, so switching BOTH tires back to front or vice versa is ok., You do not want to move the rear tire on only one side to the front. That is when you would have trouble. In your case, no big deal. Now you know.
