krv-cdi

I own a 2005 E320 CDI with standard 16" wheels (8" wide with 36mm offset). I am looking for an upgrade that will maintain all handling dynamics without introducing excessive over or under steer. I don't have an interest in lowering the suspension at all. Have considered either 17" or 18" wheels; not interested in 19" or larger. I have found the 17" wheel upgrades (38 mm offset) are typically still 8" wide, and wonder if these will add any value to the handling equation. Will 18" wheels with factory CDI suspension compromise the comfort of the car's highway cruise? If 18" wheels are considered, what is the ideal combo of front versus rear width and offset to maximize handling and maintain the highest comfort level possible? I know alot of wheels will physically fit the car, I am looking to maintain balance and improve driving dynamics as much as possible. As if I haven't already asked for too much... What type of longevity can be expected out of these upgrade suggestions? I typically look for an equation that provides high levels of balance (handling, looks, cost and frequency to replace tires...). Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Untertürkheim

First off, increasing the wheel size with the resulting lower profile tire will give you a harsher ride. Will 18" be too harsh, probably not, but remember, this is entirely relative. Lower profile tires will give a more direct steering feel, but sadly, CDI models were never available with the sport package in the US, so you will not match a sport W211. The question I would ask is why you want to replace the wheels, if handling is your primary concern, I would advise getting some excellent tires for your stock wheels and save the money you would spend on new wheels. In the stock 225/55/16 size there are a lot of excellent choices. On the other hand, if you simply want the look of larger wheels, my reccomendation would be to browse the MB Wheel catalogue for wheels designed to go on your car, there are a number of very attractive options. I can e-mail it to you (PDF) if you PM me with your email address.

krv-cdi

My primary motivation is to find an attractive original MB or AMG design that is easy to clean. I am also concerned with ride quality; handling and tire economy (don't mind paying for premium tires that will yield an excellent tire life - don't want to change tires every 20,000...). Do you happen to have a URL you can share to get to a factory MB wheel upgrade site? I know many wheels have the correct bolt pattern and hub setup to fit my car; I was interested in finding out the preferred offset if you use a wheel with a width of 8.5", 9" or 9.5". Any thoughts on using an 8.5" width on all 4 wheels to allow for rotation? Having a slightly larger footprint on the pavement, without sacrificing the handling or ride quality also appeals to me. Thanks for your replies!

seahonu

I had the exact same motivation for my 2005 E320 CDI. The 16" wheels/tires are just too weeny for the size & weight of a car. I also had the constraint of no impact to the value of the car too. You'll find that mounting aftermarket wheels will actually reduce the value of the car, esp. Mercedes. So my search was for OEM 17" or 18" wheels. I finally came upon a set of staggered 18" wheels from the Mercedes CLS. Apparently that CLS owner upgraded his wheels to some ridiculous 20" and left the OEM 18". These 18" wheels work perfectly on my CDI, see attached pic of before and after.

Pros: Much better handling, steering response and braking/stopping distance. Nearly no change in ride quality due to the long wheelbase of the E-Class and OEM suspension. As to the balance, it seems perfectly neutral, no oversteer nor understeer.

Cons: The cost of tires will be higher with 245/40 and 275/35. Also I believe I've lost abit of efficiency due to the wider tires, maybe 2-3 MPG.

Alan Smithee

seahonu, the original poster specifically mentioned "the ideal combo of front versus rear width and offset". Although they fit, the CLS wheels are not the ideal offset for a W211.

krv-cdi, any OEM wheel for the W211 will be a perfect fit. I'd recommend one of the 5-spoke 17" designs; personally I have 18" sport package wheels and love them, but they are not optimal for the very soft suspension. Nor do they allow for rotation due to the different sizes front to rear, and they are a PITA to clean.

Tire compound rather than width are what will improve handling, but it will be at the detriment of tire life. Again, one of the OEM 17" would be a good compromise.

DerekACS

I concur with this very good advice.
My car will have the 17" Allmach 5-twin spoke wheels. These have been used as an OEM wheel for several years on the W211. I actually prefer the simpler, more classic styling of these wheels to the 18" 10-twin spoke ones that are supplied for the E350 Sport. The 17" Allmachs will also be much easier to clean. The 17" diameter is the MB Canada recommended upgrade size for the E320 CDI/Bluetec.

harkgar

The E350 comes with a no cost option with 18 inch wheels. I am certain this will fit the new Bluetec as well. It looks very muscular.

khaug

I replaced the OE wheels/tires on our '05 E320 CDI with 18x8" forged BBS RS-GT wheels and 245/40x18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. The offset on the BBS wheels is very close to the OE 18" wheels that were offered on the E320 models. This combo weighed 2#/corner less than the OE wheels/tires and the circumference of the tire was almost exactly the same (+1/4") as OE.

I was initially very pleased with my choice. The new tires/wheels actually rode better than the rock-hard OE Michelin "energy" tires. Noise and steering response were improved as well, and the wet-weather performance of the Goodyears is phenomenal! The only drawback I could discern was a reduction in fuel economy of ~8%.

Alas, The Goodyears began to get noisy at c. 5K miles. Now, at ~10K miles, they are so noisy they need to be replaced. FWIW, we have a set of Michelin Arctic Alpin snows mounted on 16x8" wheels which have not become noisy, so I doubt the problem is alignment.

I suggest you go to WWW.tirerack.com and peruse their offerings. I would avoid AMG wheels, as they are gravity-cast and hugely heavy. Good luck.

Untertürkheim

I personally like the Alresha wheels very much, although they are only available in 18", so if you're set on 17", you're out of luck. They appear to be the only forged wheel offered for the E-class, and they are very attractive in my opinion.

seahonu

As for what is considered "ideal", may be optimizing contact patch. That's what my objective with CLS wheels, ie. 8.5" width/front and 9.5" width/rear. And just to be clear from Alan's comments regarding the CLS offset relative to what is correct for E-Class, the rears are dead on 9.5" width at ET 33. The fronts are abit more at ET 28, versus OEM ET 38. That's only extends the fronts outward by only +10mm, ~5/16".

Alan Smithee

Huh? CLS rears stick out of the wheelwell on a W211...they are not "dead on", which means they are not "ideal". This may not bother you (or others that have done this), but don't give people bad information by stating they fit "perfectly".

seahonu

Take a look at the Mercedes wheels assessories brochure and within the W211 section, there's a variety of OEM wheels from 16" to 18". Specifically for W211, the 18" wheels have the following widths and offsets for various styles.

18 x 8.0", ET30
18 x 8.5", ET38
18 x 9.0", ET39 (rears only)
18 x 9.5", ET33 (rears only)

And for W219 (CLS), the OEM setup for 18" wheels are the following. Note that the rears are dead on, ie. the same for E-Class. So only the fronts will "stick out" slightly by 10mm (~5/16") with CLS wheels mounted on W211.

18 x 8.5", ET28 (differs by 10mm to OEM E-CLass)
18 x 9.5", ET33 (rears only)

Attached are pics of the CLS wheels on my W211, specifically front & rear pics. Note the side profile where the tires do NOT extend beyond the top of the fender/wheel well.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/191869-success-cls-wheels-e320-cdi.html

Alan Smithee

Rather than looking at a brochure, look at the wheels/tires on the car. Yes, they do fit, but the 18" CLS rears stick out compared to the 18" E-class OEM wheels. Kosherbenz has posted before/after pictures of his car to show this. As I said previously, if it doesn't bother you, that's fine...but they do not fit perfectly, and somebody looking to buy wheels should be made aware of this.

seahonu

Yes, its up to the owner to judge what's acceptable. I would maintain that the CLS tire/wheels do not stick out beyond the top of the fender/wheel wells, front and rear. https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=191869

Now as to the original question on optimizing for handling but not suffering ride, I would emphasize 18" wheels are near-perfect. Then it becomes a decision on what width and whether to go staggered, ie. wider rears. For the greatest contact patch, wider is better. Admittedly cost is the consideration for these wider rears, 275/35/18 ain't cheap nor would you be able to rotate the tires. I had chosen to the max OEM widths, 8.5"/fronts and 9.5"/rears.

Alan Smithee

Not necessarily. Wider is not better on anything but dry pavement, and even then, the suspension should be tuned to work with the size of the tires. The CDI's suspension is not.

Ask yourself: If 275/35/18 tires on 9.5 in wide rear wheels is optimal, why does MB fit the highest performing W211s with 265/35/18 tires on 9.0 in wide rear wheels?

seahonu

True, wider isn't better for snow/ice conditions. But for our heavier W211 in typical dry/wet conditions, it needs abit more tire than the OEM 225/55/16, esp. rears. I've found that by having wider tires, the car is much more balanced without so much understeer.

Now as to the 275 on 9.5" rims versus 265 on 9.0" rims, I figure MB didn't push the W211 as far as the W219, which has the exact same frame. Thus making the W219 abit more unique with greater wheel/tire packages.

DerekACS

Yes, this is true, but I did not want to go with a staggered 18" set-up for my Bluetec. The E350 4Matic has a Sport suspension, so the 18" tires/wheels are in tune with it.

The E320CDI/Bluetec has a softer suspension, so the 17" combo, recommended by MBC, makes more sense IMO.
However, several forum members with the E320CDI/Bluetec have installed the 18' tires/wheels and they have reported satisfactory performance.

In the end, it's personal preference. IMO, the 18" 10-twin spoke wheels are rather busy looking and they will be hard to clean. I prefer the more classic, sporty look of the 17" Allmach 5-twin spokes.

Andy0331

I put 18" AMG wheels (from an E55) on my '05, without any problems. The wider profile does stick out past the wheelwells a bit, but nothing that really bothers me.

Handling is improved, but does produce a harsher ride. It really doesn't bother me though, it was just more apparent at first. I do have a much higher fear of potholes now though.... LOL

As a major bonus, they certainly grip the road much better than the factory wheels/tires. Of course this is far more noticable with my Kleemann KD box; I could damn near smoke the factory tires from a dead stop.... far less wheelspin with the larger tires/wheels.

CE750

I put a set of the 2005/06 E500 wheels/tires on mine.. got them at a good price from a member that only had 200 miles on them.

Pics here: http://homepage.mac.com/sjsamaha/PhotoAlbum37.html

keeps that nice "stock" look and drives and handles a bit better.

toubia320

Hey guys, i recently purchased an '05 e320. I am looking around for wheels/tires to uprgrade from the stock 16s. I think its ideal not to go over 18" wheels, and i am really impressed with the cls55 amgs. I found replicas that are 18" 5X112, with an offset of 35... will these wheels work on my car with no mods etc...