Wack

Hi all,

I've been looking around to find out but did not find my answer and I lack the in depth knowledge to make this determination on my own.

I drive a 2011 C63 with the stock 18's with 235/40R18's up front and 255/35R18's in back.

I'm considering buying 19" wheels in the spring and I figured I might as well consider widening the tires at the same time.

My question is: what is the widest tire I can fit in front and in back on the C63 on 19's, given that I would buy the appropriate wheels to match (width and offset or spacers), without having any rubbing or fitment problems ?

Notes: my suspension is stock and will stay that way. I rarely drive with more than 1 passenger up front and my 3yo in the back.

Thank you all for your comments and feel free to point me to a thread or site that I may have missed that covers this subject...

Merc63

Front: 245/35/19
Rear: 275/30/19

Wack

Is this what yours is wearing ?

Can you tell me what wheel width is best suites to these 2 sizes ?

Thanks again

I am Jeff

Depending on the brand, you can use 285 for the rears. I believe MTHIS uses 285 for his Nittos. I am currently using 245/35/19 in the front and 275/30/19 for the rears.

Roswell

Look at my sig, I run 275/30 on my 19x10 w/o rubbing on H&R springs but it's a tight fit. My offset is around +53mm. I believe u can run 285/30 if ur not dropped.

Merc63

275 rubs very very slightly. 285 will be too wide. I'm running that on the AMG 19s.

Maybe 245 in the front might want to double check that.

DuaneC63

Every little bit helps, but another 20mm of section width will only yield you a slight increase in cornering performance. The tire is taller which will effectly lower you rear differential ratio making your car slightly slower in acceleration. Of course they do look better if properly fitted. It's the factory's fault for not flaring out the wells and putting 315's on the back. Of course if your's is not a daily driver, put some R compounds on during the summer and you will feel a difference.

Strafe1

Are you saying that you have a slight rub with 275/30/19's on stock AMG 19x9 ET54 wheels?

Merc63

Ya they rub the inner plastic fender front and rear. SLIGHTLY. About the size of 2 quarters. Nothing to worry about, but I wouldnt go any bigger.

If you are worried about traction. Getting a softer tire will work better. Something in the 200 tread wear range will hook up good on the street, but they won't last for long.

I run 320 TW on the rear, they spin but last a hell of a lot longer. I use a 275TW on the front.


And its 245 for the front, NOT 255 like I had.. I went and checked.. Check out Nexen N3000 for the rear. Deep treads and they are harder so they last long compared to most. Did I mention they are only 250bucks a tire too

sharkey_lsu

19X8" +45
19X9" +45
235/35R19 MICHELIN PSS
265/30R19 MICHELIN PSS

I would like to get as much performance as possible while staying safe in regard to rubbing. My car is essentially stock and with no lowering. Any thoughts?

DuaneC63

If you're looking to improve performance, 19" wheels with only slightly wider tires (due to the tight rear fender wells of a C63) is not the solution and may add to the problem. Assuming you don't have LSD, only one wheel has power applied to it during aggressive acceleration. Adding one size wider tires doesn't do much as it only applies to one side. While a shorter side wall may marginally reduce tire flex during acceleration, turning, and deceleration it comes at the cost of greater un-sprung weight and rotational mass. More mass for your suspension to try to control and more rotational mass for your brakes trying to stop. Go get a Quaife LSD installed. Then instead of having one 265 handling everything you have both 255's working for you. This is the first kind of cool as it actually makes your car perform much better without anybody being the wiser (the stealth look). This approach negates the second kind of cool factor of having new wheels and that racer look. Lowering to a reasonable point (ie you still have sufficient suspension travel and alignment adjustment) will also substantially increase cornering performance, better then wider wheels and tires. Just make sure you get a matched set of shock and springs.

GRP

LSD - the best mod for more grip.

New wheels and tyres have aesthetic appeal but the unseen LSD will give your more grip.

zcct04

I'm running 18's so dimensions are not exactly the same, but they are very close. I'm using a 9x18 ET37 and am able to fit a 255 on the front with no rubbing.

sharkey_lsu

Thanks for the info, I am looking at getting the lsd later on. But I should clarify. The main purpose for my buying new wheels/tires is for aesthetics and because it is time to replace my stock tires. Therefore I want to make sure that I get the best size combination for optimal performance (while still usable as a daily driver). My main hope is to get Input on if that is a good combination for 19" wheels or is there a better size setup that will not rub?

malahhaor

+1
Looking in to purchasing 2013 C63 coupe and will get LSD eventually probably form Speedriven. But meanwhile because it will be a DD i would like to be as safe around the corners as possible. The car has allot of power and i would like to get best traction i can so i don't slide out every corner. Now don't get me wrong, im not planning on stomping the gas pedal every corner but there is allot of torque and based on what i keep reading im getting this idea that the car has so little traction that its like driving on wet road all the time.
I'm thinking i will get a nice set of 18s and want to know if 285 will fit in the back in Conti DWS 06 or Mich PSS.

DuaneC63

Admittedly the 255 rear tires are inadequate for the power of a C63. However the car really doesn't have much room for tires that would be sufficiently wide enough to deal with the traction issues. 285s might fit but they'd need wider rear wheels to keep the tire properly engaged with the road surface and most likely lots of negative camber to clear the fender lips. Since only one wheel is driven, you're only adding 30mm at most of grip. (Assuming section width eqautes proportionately to tread width) Put an LSD in and you now have 510 mm (2x255) of width available. Stock size wheels and tires also have less unsprung weight and rotational mass. The car also sits too high to order to meet bumper height mandates. Lower the car with matching springs and struts (plus adjustable upper rear control arms and front end "crash" bolts to get a proper alignment). These changes will substantiality increase both acceleration and handling characteristics. Wider wheels and tires give you lots of "show" for the money but not much "go".

malahhaor

Would rolling the fenders help with clearance or is the rubbing further in the fender? I don't want to increase the camber, i will do a touch of toe out, probably to min factory spec. I will absolutely get LSD just not right away.

I used to have 275 on my S550 and that was plenty but car was heavy and only 400 torque. On 63 i'm afraid it will feel like i'm on ice all the time.

DuaneC63

Rolling the fender lips is a common fix used on Porsches and you can pick a a good 3/8" to 1/2" of clearance. Unfortunately the design of the C63 fender lips and wheel well liners don't allow rolling. Stick with the LSD as your first mod. I tried the bigger tire solution on a C43, C55, and C63 with minimal success, so I offer my suggestions from experience.

malahhaor

That's good info. thank you very much!
I'll talk to Speedriven as soon as i can.

BLKROKT

You can roll the fender lips just fine to create clearance. There's a little clip where the rear quarter joins the rear bumper, but that can be trimmed down as well.

zcct04

Malahhoar - you can save a lot of money and hassle (vs all the mods) by just buying some good tires. I'm running a 265 Michelin Pilot Super Sport on the rear, and traction on the street is absolutely not an issue.

BLKROKT

What he said ^

For what it's worth, my 19" 275 MPSS fit in the back without rubbing at stock suspension height.

Also my 285 Nitto drag radials fit fine on the stock 18" rims, also without rubbing

tphss

I just thought it's important to clarify that we do have the full 510mm of width of rear tires (2x255mm) even without an LSD. The only time you have 255mm or just one wheel pushing is when one wheel loses more grip than the other.

Or more accurately, when the difference between two rear wheel's rotational speed is greater than a certain factor/percentage.

malahhaor

Thank you guys very much. Info is greatly appreciated. I have MPSS on my Carrera and they are wonderful, but it is only 300 torque AWD and the rears are 305
Good to know that they work on this monster as well.

malahhaor

Thank you guys very much. Info is greatly appreciated. I have MPSS on my Carrera and they are wonderful, but it is only 300 torque AWD and the rears are 305
Good to know that they work on this monster as well.