The current 18 inch AMG wheels I have use 255 rear tires, which are pretty thin for a car with that much torque. Is it possibly to use 265 or 275 width tires without having to buy new rims?

 

No, the minimum width for 265 and 275 is 9".

You may consider buying a pair of E sedan's rear (18x9 et54) rims of the identical design.

 

http://assets.pakwheels.com/forums/2...heels(com).jpg

Those are the rims I have. Would fitting high performance rears such as Potenza Pole Position's be better than just fitting a slightly wider tire?

I'm just having issues with general off the line starts and fast (but not ridiculous) cornering. It just seems like its very very easy to lose the rear.

 

I (as well as several others here with 550s) had the same issues when I got my E550. Your car has even more torque.

I immediately switched to high performance and wider tires. I wanted to buy rear E sedan's rims only, but for their price (actually for price of one) I bought four 19" aftermarket rims instead.

If you do not want to buy/upgrade rims, then at least a switch to very sticky summer performance tires (I would go with Pilot Supersport or PS2) is a must on these cars. OEM all season tires just do not work on 550s.

 

Thank you. Looks like I'll have to upgrade. Could you point me to where you found your 19's?

I find it absolutely ridiculous that Mercedes think it is acceptable to fit 255 tires to a car with 400 ft-lbs+ of torque. Even my sisters 328i has wider tires.

 

Well the 19" wheels I have I bought on ebay two years ago (it is floaded with options from inexpensive to very expensive) are no longer made or imported (from China) 1pc replicas of the very expensive AMG styling VI 2pc wheels. I chose 19x8.5 front with 245/35-19 tire and 19x9.5 rear with 275/30-19 tire. The difference was felt immediately.

 

+1
ordered our '12 with the optional Dunlop summer performance tires. They spin somewhat, but nothing like the all-season tires I read about. When the Dunlops are replaced I'll buy the PSS.

 

Any pics?

 

Hello
I would like to change my tires. and a friend of mine found two tires for the back : 255/40Zr18
the stock continental that I have are 255/35

Will this cause any issue ?

thank you

 

Wider tires make a big difference

 

Did you put these wheels and tires on an A207? If yes, could you tell me offsets you used for front and rear?

Thanks

 

When I bought my lease returned '11 E550 coupe, it had Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season M&S and a several pull to the right. It was diagnosed as an alignment problem, then a "radial pull" and finally resolved using the slotted alignment bolts. While the tires still had plenty of thread left (car only had 17,700 miles), I landed up replacing the tires trying to correct the alignment.

I went with "Maximum Performance Summer" - Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Positions in the stock size(235/40 & 255/35) with Load Range “XL” and UTQG “280 AA A”. Their wear rating is only "280" but the handling and braking is outstanding. Especially when they're only around $800 installed for the set of four (currently $705 for the set of 4 at TireRack with free delivery).

One caution - not recommended for very cold weather. 4 years later, the car has a bit over 30,000 miles and the tire still have 5/32s of thread left - they will age out before I wear them out.

I run Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 Rs on the GT3.