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I'm going to pull the trigger on these and see how it works out, worse come to worse I'll need a larger spacer. I'll post pics once installed. For the 3mm spacer would that require longer wheel bolts? Are people still using H&R spacers? I saw a lot of spacers didn't work with this platform.
you shouldn't need longer bolts with 3mm spacers. 6 thread turns in the the acceptable safe threshold. If you find you can't get 6 full turns - then you will need them.
3-7mm will work no problem - then you'll have to step up to 15mm spacers due to the hub design.
Okay now about tires... on 19x8.5 Front and 19x9.5 rear, it looks like some are running 225/40/19 and 255/35/19. Ive also seen 235/40/19 front and 265/35/19. Are there any visual comparisons? I want to make sure i have thick enough sidewall to protect the wheels, but not so much that I rub while lowered on H&R. Thoughts wheel and tire gurus?
Here's what I do, because I hate "chunky" looking sidewalls, and I loathe the ride on the super short rubber band sidewalls. I go thru Google images looking at Mercedes and finding cars where the OEM wheels and tires look nicely proportioned. On my last go-around I decided the W204 C63 staggered 18's were my benchmark.
Then I go to TireRack, plug the car in and determine what the OEM tire specs were for that car.
Then I calculate what the sidewall height was of the "look" I liked. So if it was a 245/40 for example, 245mm x .40 = 98mm of sidewall height.
Then I finesse the numbers for the tires for the new wheels on my car to get as close to that 98mm. It might mean going a bit wider but dropping the sidewall ratio to 35 for example. So find a car with a 19" wheel and a sidewall height that looks good to you, and backtrack.
I'd let the wheel size dictate the drop rather than the other way around. A drop will stiffen up the ride, so your only hedge is to get enough sidewall under the car to take up some of the impact. I've done drops. I think they look great, but I've never kept one for more than a couple months. Between curbing the front bumper endlessly and the degraded ride, I decided it wasn't worth it.
(BTW, I'm fully aware that manipulating the tire numbers this way might result in a wheel that's a little taller or shorter than the car was spec'd for, and it might cause the speedo to be off a few MPH in one direction or the other. I'm fine with that.)
Thats a really neat idea actually. Here is a pic of 225/40/19 on a 19x8.5. To me it looks good, but some say the sidewall isn't thick enough. N
eed to look at some rear tire setups as well.
Thats a really neat idea actually. Here is a pic of 225/40/19 on a 19x8.5. To me it looks good, but some say the sidewall isn't thick enough. N
eed to look at some rear tire setups as well.
On a 19" for a 205 they're going to be short regardless. Those in your pic have exactly the profile I'd want.
For the rears, remember to end up with a rolling diameter (total diameter of wheel + tire) within 3% of the front. Might need to step down in sidewall ratio to hit it.
I'd also strongly recommend selecting the Michelin Pilot SuperSport for your tire. It's on it's own level as far as smoothness and ride comfort. Keep the PSI in the low 30's and it'll ride like it's on 18's.
On a 19" for a 205 they're going to be short regardless. Those in your pic have exactly the profile I'd want.
For the rears, remember to end up with a rolling diameter (total diameter of wheel + tire) within 3% of the front. Might need to step down in sidewall ratio to hit it.
I'd also strongly recommend selecting the Michelin Pilot SuperSport for your tire. It's on it's own level as far as smoothness and ride comfort. Keep the PSI in the low 30's and it'll ride like it's on 18's.
I think you've become the official tire/rim/ET expect in the w205 section.
two questions for you
1) what spacers would you recommend for the stock 19" rims so they are flush but not poking out
2) any recommended PSI for the Michelin AS3+ ?
1) what spacers would you recommend for the stock 19" rims so they are flush but not poking out
I'm definitely not the expert for wheels/tires. But this one is easy. Just go measure yourself. Find out exactly where you want them to be and the tape measure will give you the number you need
Up front, on an 8.5" wheel you're pretty much flush at the 45mm factory offset. On a 7.5", 10mm would be safe, 13mm is about as far as I'd go.
In back, using the 49mm factory offset and an 8.5" wheel a 15mm spacer would be as far as I'd go. On a 9.5" you'd deduct 1/2" (12mm) which puts you at 3mm. For 3mm I wouldn't bother.
I run a 45mm rep 9.5" wheel in back and it's flush. So I'm getting 4mm of poke from the lower offset, plus the extra 12mm of rim width. 12mm + 4mm = 16mm of poke, which would be the same as running a 49mm 8.5" wheel (OEM spec) with a 15mm spacer. (They don't make 16mm spacers).
Hopefully everyone is now thoroughly confused. On the PSI, set them at 30 and see how the car feels. If it's loose, come up a few pounds. Stop before it gets jittery.
I'm definitely not the expert for wheels/tires. But this one is easy. Just go measure yourself. Find out exactly where you want them to be and the tape measure will give you the number you need
Yep. It's helpful to have a yardstick, a level and a tape measure. I use the yardstick and level to get the plumb line from the fender lip to the ground, and the tape to measure horizontally from the top of the tire to the yardstick. Convert that figure to mm and that's your max spacer width for flush.
On a 19" for a 205 they're going to be short regardless. Those in your pic have exactly the profile I'd want.
For the rears, remember to end up with a rolling diameter (total diameter of wheel + tire) within 3% of the front. Might need to step down in sidewall ratio to hit it.
I'd also strongly recommend selecting the Michelin Pilot SuperSport for your tire. It's on it's own level as far as smoothness and ride comfort. Keep the PSI in the low 30's and it'll ride like it's on 18's.
Great piece of advice regaridng matching the rolling diameter. I used a calculator on 10 10 tires and it looks like the variance between 25/40/19 for Fronts and 255/35/19 for the rears is around .025% so less than 1% variance and should not affect the AWD system. Below is what a 255/35/19 looks like fitted. (Picture is from another forum members car).
Question on wheel spacers: I'm looking for a hubcentric 3mm spacer. I checked out the H&R Trak spacers but they dont list a 3mm for the w205, only 10mm+. They do list 3mm sacers for other MB models. Is it safe to assume any 3mm hubcentric for mercedes models will fit from H&R?
No, they're very model specific, based on the hub configuration. Are you thinking you might need 3mm to clear the brakes? I wouldn't do them just to get more flush.
After only 3000 miles, one of my wheels is allready damaged. I noticed it yesterday when i was washing my car. I can't remember i hit something. Bad quality of wheels?
After only 3000 miles, one of my wheels is allready damaged. I noticed it yesterday when i was washing my car. I can't remember i hit something. Bad quality of wheels?
Michelin PS4S master race for sure. So much comfier than the pirellis and also grips better. I really like the velvety texture of the Michelin logo too. These wheels might be my favorite mod right now. using OEM tire sizes since I didn't want to mess up the ratio, but if I ever get spacers, I might upsize as well
So I'm new here but I have been reading this topic for a few weeks now since it appears te be a pretty hard thing to find rims that fit nicely? Almost none of the of the rim manufacterers have the C43 data but nothing new for you guys I suppose? Since you have helped me it only seemed fair I reported back to you guys with my fndings.
After a long search, read here, test fettings with the Momo Revenge rims (didn't fit without spacers, and I'm not particulary a fan of spacers. Personal opinion...) gave the result that we had to find a 8j rim for the front if I wanted to keep it in the bodywork and away from the suspension. Eventualy we came up with the ultra leggera HLT.
I originaly wanted the rear rims to be a litle bit concave, but apperantly that's only available in the us and the deep concave won't fit the rear brakes accordingly to OZ. But I'm pretty happy with the way my C43 looks with the Matt Antracite Ultra leggera's! In real life the colour of the rims is slightly less dark.
And again the Michelin Supersports prove to be great tires, way better than the Sportmaxx RT that was originaly fitted when I bought it in terms of comfort and steering quality! I had these tires before on my Alfa and I loved on that car. And I love 'em again on this car...
So I'm new here but I have been reading this topic for a few weeks now since it appears te be a pretty hard thing to find rims that fit nicely? Almost none of the of the rim manufacterers have the C43 data but nothing new for you guys I suppose? Since you have helped me it only seemed fair I reported back to you guys with my fndings.
After a long search, read here, test fettings with the Momo Revenge rims (didn't fit without spacers, and I'm not particulary a fan of spacers. Personal opinion...) gave the result that we had to find a 8j rim for the front if I wanted to keep it in the bodywork and away from the suspension. Eventualy we came up with the ultra leggera HLT.
I originaly wanted the rear rims to be a litle bit concave, but apperantly that's only available in the us and the deep concave won't fit the rear brakes accordingly to OZ. But I'm pretty happy with the way my C43 looks with the Matt Antracite Ultra leggera's! In real life the colour of the rims is slightly less dark.
And again the Michelin Supersports prove to be great tires, way better than the Sportmaxx RT that was originaly fitted when I bought it in terms of comfort and steering quality! I had these tires before on my Alfa and I loved on that car. And I love 'em again on this car...
Nice! I like the leggera with the 5 split spoke. But this is definitely better than the momos. And they're made in italy. Congratulations!
03-24-2017, 09:19 AM
