AMGSC

I just put 19x8.5 235/35 fronts and 19x9.5 265/30 rears on my C55 without any rubbing issues in the front but the rears required 1/8 spacers and a little Shaving of the inner fender walls.

What is the maximum wheel size and tire size I can put on the 2006 C55 without rolling the fenders?

I did a search on Both this forum AND benzworld but did not find any clear answers.

I would like to put 19x9 255/35 fronts and 19x10 295/30 rears. Is this possible? If not what about 19x8.5 245/35 fronts and 19x9.5 275/30 rears?

My current 265/30 tires look too narrow on the 19x9.5 rims as the rim of the wheel sticks out past the rubber which does not look good.

CynCarvin32

Hi,

The C32 SMG had at the track that day uses about teh biggest tires you can safely fit without major work. He has 235/265 and that required full front fender rolling (with re-painting) and rear fender rolling with trimming of the rear flange where the bumper and fender meet.

We did just try a set of 245/275 Falkin Azinis tires and the front seemed fine but mind you we have bent the fender out, rolled the fenders and re-painted the car. There is no way that would ever work on a normal car.

You can not push the wheel further inboard with a larger ET because the tire then hits the strut tube. Also know that if you want to put coilovers on the car you need to go even smaller on the tire because the coilover kits do not have a cut out for tire spacing like the oem shocks. This causes for some fun tire rubbing issues. KW seems to be the worst for this but the PSS-9's are not immune at all.

PM me for any other info or post here. I know what will fit and what wont. but 235 265 is all you can do stock. With some work 245 up front would work and 275 could clear in the back with some work as well.

Good luck

What ET are your wheels?

dsC32

I have 245/35/18 BBS wheels with Hoosier tires on all 4 corners on my C55 for track use, with no mods. The wheels are the standard size rear wheels. I guess when you get to larger diameter wheels things happen. I bought new street tires (Michelin Pilot Sport 2s) a few days ago, and considered 235/40/18 front tires and 255/35/18 rears, but decided to keep the stock size, mostly to save a little weight as well as money, and since I run the Hoosiers or Khumos on track, did not see a reason to go bigger tires on the street.

FrankW

if you run track on the 18" 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 is the best on 18x8-8.5 and 18x9-9.5

if you want 19" you are stuck with 235/35/19 and 265/30/19. You might be able to stick 245/275's with fender rolling.

AMG_55

i doubt that 275 will fit, i have a 275 on a clk and its rubbing on the inside plastic and there is a hole in the strut cover (not important, just thin plastic) and i had to roll/trim the fender

dsC32

I disagree with suggestion of 235 front and 265 rear on track. There is so much understeer with the stock setup, 225/40 and 245/30-18, that adding an additional 10mm differential between front and rear tires will just make it worse. You would have to run the rears at 6-7 or more pounds less pressure than the front to begin to compensate for the understeer. I found that running the same size wheels and tires on all 4 corners, and dropping rear pressure about 3 pounds below the front pressure, gives a good balance on track. Actual pressure values depends on the tire. Hoosiers require a little higher pressures. On the C55 I run about 40# cold in front, and 37 rear. This can be adjusted after heating up. It an art. The high pressure in front is necessary due to rollover of the front tires in turns. If we could get the negative camber to about -3 degrees up front, I am sure the front pressure, and thus the rear also, could be reduced. What do the rest of you track rats do?

AMGSC

Thanks guys for some great advice!

I just hate the way my Mono S 19x9.5 rear rims stick out past the rubber of my 265/30 SportContact 2's.

I called EuroRev to see if they should have ordered the tires with the Rim Saver because the front tires have this rubber lip that protects the edge of the rims but the back tires don't.

Maybe the 9.5 rims are just too wide for 265's. Does anybody have the same problem when running 265's on a 9.5 wheel? Are the tires too narrow? I know that if I curb the tire, the rims will be the first to hit the concrete.

CynCarvin32

As a W203 track and canyon rat I can say I know all to well that the car needs front end grip and camber.

So much so that we are working on custom 1 off pieces to address this issue.

Your setup is nice but I doubt on a lowered car that it will work. Maybe a C55 has a different amount of space given the CLK derived front fender but I know that the space between the strut tube (on a Carlssson RS Car) and the fender lip will not allow a 245 any way shape or form. Off-set really does not matter since it just plain wont work with any steering input. We have completely rollerd the fender flat, pulled it out maybe 1/2 an inch and the re-painted the fenders. It still does not fit a 245 very well but it works with a slight bit of rubbing.

After using a W203 with SMGC32 for 2 years now we have gotten to the point where we can pretty much hang with some real players at the track. Running in the advanced group we only end up pointing by cars that are dedicated track cars (with real power) or missing interiors all together (and having crazy amounts of power).

Camber is a serious issue and needs to be addressed to make any tire last more than half a day at the track. Look back to SMGC32's post about tire wear to see what happens when we run the same front tires for the entire day. Lets just say the car does not get home with that set on the ground.

We have the car dialed in with settings on H&R bars and the valving on the shocks and the understeer is not that bad right now. We just need camber to increase grip and then we could really attack some key corners. 2 more seconds off the clock and we are looking at some very quick laps. Something that makes z-06 drivers with slicks suspensions scratch their heads now and then (old versions...).

Tire pressures are a touchy item because that lack of camber means you will heat the tire up way beyond its operating zone. With a 40 psi cold starting point, we are well over 53 psi after 1 session and that makes the tire start to chung. Starting at say 34 psi means the car is mushy to begin but the tire stays at a better pressure once warmed up for the session. After bleeding off air to keep the tire at a constant pressure the car rests at about 30 psi cold. With that 34 psi starting point there are no letters left on the side wall after two sessions -- at least the first half of any letters are gone if not all of them!

We are looking at 2 sources for camber plates and 2 sources for camber bushings. One day we will solve this issue but until then its 1.5 sets of tires per day of track use. Hoosiers would be gone in 1 session.

Best mod yet has to be the Quaife LSD (well other than Stoptech brakes) because you can actually put power donw where as the car used to just spin its inside wheel at the slightest application of power. Of course, as in most cars, the LSD causes a bit more understeer but we were able to dial that out with a slightly more "lose" setting on the Coil-overs.

AMGSC

You are indeed a track rat! I am getting a quote from EurovRev on Coil-Overs from H&R, K&W and Bilstein. Robert (Owner) told me Bilstein's are the best. He also recommended Brembo's for the brakes without a doubt. Which brand of coilovers would solve the camber issues best? As for the LSD, I got a quote from Evosport for $3K installed. Do you know someone who can do it for a better price and has more experience with this installation?

dsC32

When Norm ran a C32 he had 235s on the front and needed to use spacers. I think that there is definitely a difference in the C55 front end vs the C32. Originally I thought the better turn in and feel was due to 18 inch wheels. But I have been talking to a service rep who says that the CLK front end is much different, including bushings. If you look at the front wheels of a W203 turned, they provide negative camber at the turn increases. Lots of Porsche and BMW guys have noticed this on my C55. Anyway, I won't find out if the 245s will work if the car is lowered, since I prefer to run it stock, and drive it as a daily driver. Its still fun, altho I have to let more cars pass than you do Cyn. And yes I recall the pics of the tires that SMG32 posted. Not pretty.

FrankW

Brembo's not always the best. Stoptech gives you 6-pot and same size rotor for the same money and it performance better according to some. unless you're going with the Brembo racing mono block caliper...IMO it's about a wash between Stoptech, Brembo, APracing, etc. Alcon makes better brakes as they're all mono block calipers with thinner caliper profile.

AMGSC

So your recommendation is Alcon? Are the prices all roughly equal?

AWDman

i have observed tires as having differing "thickness" to the rim protector. ie the ps2 is shallow and does not protrude past the rim's edge to offer meaningful protection. i find the bridgestone potenza so3 to be better. btw these are on close out at TR at very fair pricing unfortunately no 235-35 or 265-30 19s.

personally i love the look of the tires being spead by a slightly oversized rim.

AWDman

agree the c32 has a good degree of caster. helps create -ve camber on outside wheel when turning.

i just flipped my 235-45 17 yoke a048s side to side after 3 track days (one a lime rock). i'm running 1 deg -ve and yes wear is uneven but not bad. first track day i nearly creamed my ps2s the wear was almost entirely on side wall. with the yokes at 35 cold it's square on the tread, skewed to outside half. i had continued to run my ps2s in back but expect 2 rear 255/40-17 a048s this friday. they will go onto the stock rears.

when i ran lime rock there was a c55 on gt3s and pilot cups 235/35, 265/30 19s. he's a better/more experienced driver and clocked 3 secs under my time. i should recoup a sec or two with the a048 rearsas traction is an issue. i will have renntech springs and h and r rear bars for next sessions hope fully that makes a diff as well in trying to match the c55. btw his pilots cupss looked very good after his runs so i'm kinda suprised at cyncarvers comments on eating up tires but suppose he may be pushing a lot harder than what i'm seeing or doing!

ah...you drag racers...you don't know the fun you're missing.....:-)

CynCarvin32

C32 and C55 have the same hubs brakes and control arms. All that differs is the fender. So you could have a bit more space than a C32 but the C55 parts are all the same except for shock valving and spring rates etc.

Got to hit the hay... 5 am comes soon

AMGSC

Although I agree with everybody's advice that they won't fit, I found a good deal on Toyo T1R's on Tires-Easy.com. So far the best prices for the tires I am looking for (Conti's, Dunlop's and Toyo's) were found on either Tires-Easy.com or Tiresavings.com. I scoured the entire internet looking for the best prices on performance tires and these two sites slightly beat Tire Rack and Discount Tires.

Anyway, I ordered a set of T1R's for 245/30/19 ZRs fronts for $179.80ea and 275/30/19 ZRs for $207.60ea totaling $774.80 plus $110 shipping but no sales tax. I will try my best to find a shop that can make them fit while also being able to perform on the track.

I figure that if they still don't fit I can still use them when I decide to go wide-body when/if I get a dent in the body.

BennyZ

I already tried this and it was a no go! The only way to get 275 or 285 is to go with a wide body...
This morning I got rid of the Pilot Sport and put on KDW2 and they look much bigger and much more aggressive.. (I needed new tires)
same size as before and they look much bigger 235/265
see images below...

AMGSC

What are KDW's ? I guess i can do a search...

Never Mind. Their GoodRich. Thanks for the tip. I'll change me order ASAP. Tires-Easy.com has a great price on those as well.

BennyZ

they are cheaper on tire rack!

BennyZ

and you want the KDW2!

dsC32

I just put new Michelin PS2s on the car this week and it is like a new car. Finally ran the front and rear Peirlli's down to nothing so I could replace all of them instead of putting on new rears becaues the fronts are good, and vice versa. I'm on the way to Heartland Park for 3 days of fun. Inspected the Kuhmo 710s and found 2 corded, so back to Hoosiers. I just installed Pagid front brake pads, yellow endurance. Hope they are as good as claimed.