doberzus

Hello, so iv been reading alot of info on the clk55 (w208) and its 376lb-ft of torque which kicks in at just 3000RPM...and from my personal experience puny stock 245's cause alot of excessive wheel spin of the line with that much torque....so 2 days ago i went with new tires and i decided to go with the 275's in the rear,and 225's in the front.....and omggg!! they really make the car corner,accelerate(without any wheelspin) so much better not to mention the fat wide tire look....the wheelspin kills your 0 to 60 times and launch.....so what does everyone else think about this has anyone else put 275's in the rear and noticed better performance?

jbenz2001

Yeah I noticed I can't even spin my tires as much running on 18x9.5 wit a 275/35 in the rear.I used to be ablespin my 20s no prob.also my car is lowered and put front and rear strut bars.so the car is very stiff on corners.I recommend u invest on some of vipclk320 bars.u won't regret it!btw nice car

doberzus

Thanks bro! I appreciate the info...and it would be a good mod ill look into it

j-mo

So since you have more rubber to grip does it must launch better with traction control on right? It is frustrating with it on (traction control madness) and off gets the wheels spin (which is enjoyable at times I admit).

I have some 18 209 AMG wheels on the way and they come with tires. Rears have 50% tread and are 255's. Will be ready to replace relatively soon so maybe I'll get some 275's!

Cheers...

GiZzO

Any rubbing? i see most ppl doing 265 max before wheel flaring.

The wheel spinning gets worse with light rims

doberzus

It does launch better since theres more grip in the rear, but it does still chirp with ESP ON, with ESP OFF.. oh man! still a fair amount of wheelspin (which is normal 376FT-LB!!) but no smoke so it DOES luanch better (and YES i powerbrake up to 1300RPM and DO NOT floor it...but rather roll the throttle on quickly)...i honestly wish there was less wheelspin, but going for 285's for example is too big for my car and my wheel to fit....i recommend you GET those 275's! plus they look better too with that wide stance.....IF our W208 55's had much better traction they would be unstopable lol

doberzus

Nope! no rubbing what's so ever i have 18" wheels with 225's in the front and 275's in the rear, and no fender rolling either, its all stock....i wish i could have went with 235's in the front, but my tire shop said they would be too big....and yeah man the lighter the wheels the more wheel spin....and plus i dont have a spare in my trunk its empty (i just like it as light as possible ;D)

Chappy

Do a search for member Improviz. I think he had 17s on front and 18s on back with 275s.

I run PS2s 235/265 on 18s for the street. My track wheels are 17 with 235/255 sticky rubber.

On stock rims, I never did better than a 2.1 or 2.2 60' at the drags.

doberzus

Yes lol i know about Improviz and his 275's on 18" E55 rims, I got the idea to put 275's from his "M5 vs CLK" vidz (which were sick btw) before i bought my car....so how are things running now with the 265's or 255 sticky rubber? Because i still get fair wheelspin off the line with ESP off, and still a little chirp with ESP on...and thats not just mashing the throttle either lol. Do you get better times with the wider or stickier tires? thanks Chappy.

Chappy

I haven't been to the drags in a few years. I always ran the stock 245, except one time right after getting my Monoblocks in 18 that already had Nitto tires on them...hated those tires - never did better than a 13.5 or 13.6 with those tires.

Next time I hit the drags, I'll throw on the 255s and see what happens.

doberzus

Wow so i guess tires make all the difference! I wish these cars didn't have all these traction issues, they would be monsters!(which they already are) I also read you ran a 13.349 1/4 mile at 109mph with stock 245's? That's incredible I actually wanted to run at my local track yesterday, but couldn't since the drags start at midnight(work ahh!) I wonder how i would do with my 275/35ZR/18's and ESP off?! Thanks for all the help and info Chappy let us know in the future how you do with those sticky 255's

Chappy

Ha...thanks. That run where I trapped 109 was also done on the original/stock air filters that came in the car from the factory.

I may get the itch (when it cools off this fall) to try a few more runs...just for giggles ;-)

Did you tint your front windows, or just the rears?

doberzus

I think stock works better for these cars, other than switch stock for wider/stickier tires for better traction. I actually bought the car with the tint. The guy told me the fronts are stock light blue Mercedes tint, but he did do the rears, although i'm not sure what percent.

GiZzO

Nitto 555's Chappy? If so what didn't you like about them over your PS2s?
I've always tried to stay with PS2 Michelins on my CLK. I had really good success with nitto 555 on my other rides, always kinda had that dilema to switch over.

Chappy

Yes, Nitto555s. They were on the set of Monoblocks I bought used. The tires were terrible in the wet, had a harsh ride and were noisy. I tried to have them balanced three times, but never had any luck.

My track tires are Falken Azenis 615s, much better than the Nittos. I also had a set of Toyo T1Rs that were very good, but the Michelins are better for the street.

blackbenzz

Sticky tires > wider tires

Chappy