what are the best size of tires
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2013
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w124.031 300e 1991
what are the best size of tires
Hi
i have a 1991 300e 24 valve, that came with sportline chassis (Code 650), there is 16 inch wheels on it right now with 205/55/R16.
i would like to keep the 16 inch wheels on it but i am a bit confused about the best size of tires, any ideas?
and what if i want to make the rear tires wider, how is that effects on the car, stability, fuel consumption ......etc.
Thanks
i have a 1991 300e 24 valve, that came with sportline chassis (Code 650), there is 16 inch wheels on it right now with 205/55/R16.
i would like to keep the 16 inch wheels on it but i am a bit confused about the best size of tires, any ideas?
and what if i want to make the rear tires wider, how is that effects on the car, stability, fuel consumption ......etc.
Thanks
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Joined: Sep 2008
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From: North East
04 E500, 00 SL500, 99 SL500, 94 E420, 92 500E, 92 500E, 92 300CE, 06 Lexus GX470
Speedometers and odometers on the 124's are calibrated for a 25" diameter tire. The original design tires were 195/65 R15's which equal a perfect 25" tire diameter.
The 16" Sportline wheels came with the tire size you quoted, which has a tire diameter of 24.9".
So keep that size, they are perfect.
If a wider tire in the rear is a look you want, go with 225/50 R16's, they also have a 24.9" tire diameter. But when you do that you lose the ability to rotate your tires for max wear.
An interesting piece of triva about tire sizes that most folks don't know, is that the second number in a tire size is the sidewall height, which is measured as a % of the the first number,(Tire width).
So 205/55 means the tire width is 205mm's and the side wall height is 55% of that or (205 x .55 = 112.75mm. ( For the 225 it's 225mm x .5 = 112.5mm)
To calculate the overall tire diameter it's simply adding the wheel diameter plus 2 times the sidewall height. (need to do a metric conversion to inches for the sidewall)
205/55 R16 = 16" + (112.75 mm + 112.75mm) = 16" + 225.5 mm = 16" + 8.87" = 24.9"
225/50 R16 = 16" + (112.5 mm + 112.5 mm) = 16" + 225 mm = 16" + 8.85 = 24.9"
I doubt that putting 225's on the rear would make much of a measurable difference one way or the other, you still have a sidewall height the basically the same as stock. It's looks more than anything else, but I'd be hard pressed to notice the difference 90% of the time, it's personal taste more than anything else.
I have 4 Benz, 2 with staggered wheel/tire's, & 2 all the same size. After a while I could almost care less about the staggered, the style of the wheels are far more important to me.
The 16" Sportline wheels came with the tire size you quoted, which has a tire diameter of 24.9".
So keep that size, they are perfect.
If a wider tire in the rear is a look you want, go with 225/50 R16's, they also have a 24.9" tire diameter. But when you do that you lose the ability to rotate your tires for max wear.
An interesting piece of triva about tire sizes that most folks don't know, is that the second number in a tire size is the sidewall height, which is measured as a % of the the first number,(Tire width).
So 205/55 means the tire width is 205mm's and the side wall height is 55% of that or (205 x .55 = 112.75mm. ( For the 225 it's 225mm x .5 = 112.5mm)
To calculate the overall tire diameter it's simply adding the wheel diameter plus 2 times the sidewall height. (need to do a metric conversion to inches for the sidewall)
205/55 R16 = 16" + (112.75 mm + 112.75mm) = 16" + 225.5 mm = 16" + 8.87" = 24.9"
225/50 R16 = 16" + (112.5 mm + 112.5 mm) = 16" + 225 mm = 16" + 8.85 = 24.9"
I doubt that putting 225's on the rear would make much of a measurable difference one way or the other, you still have a sidewall height the basically the same as stock. It's looks more than anything else, but I'd be hard pressed to notice the difference 90% of the time, it's personal taste more than anything else.
I have 4 Benz, 2 with staggered wheel/tire's, & 2 all the same size. After a while I could almost care less about the staggered, the style of the wheels are far more important to me.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
w124.031 300e 1991
Speedometers and odometers on the 124's are calibrated for a 25" diameter tire. The original design tires were 195/65 R15's which equal a perfect 25" tire diameter.
The 16" Sportline wheels came with the tire size you quoted, which has a tire diameter of 24.9".
So keep that size, they are perfect.
If a wider tire in the rear is a look you want, go with 225/50 R16's, they also have a 24.9" tire diameter. But when you do that you lose the ability to rotate your tires for max wear.
An interesting piece of triva about tire sizes that most folks don't know, is that the second number in a tire size is the sidewall height, which is measured as a % of the the first number,(Tire width).
So 205/55 means the tire width is 205mm's and the side wall height is 55% of that or (205 x .55 = 112.75mm. ( For the 225 it's 225mm x .5 = 112.5mm)
To calculate the overall tire diameter it's simply adding the wheel diameter plus 2 times the sidewall height. (need to do a metric conversion to inches for the sidewall)
205/55 R16 = 16" + (112.75 mm + 112.75mm) = 16" + 225.5 mm = 16" + 8.87" = 24.9"
225/50 R16 = 16" + (112.5 mm + 112.5 mm) = 16" + 225 mm = 16" + 8.85 = 24.9"
I doubt that putting 225's on the rear would make much of a measurable difference one way or the other, you still have a sidewall height the basically the same as stock. It's looks more than anything else, but I'd be hard pressed to notice the difference 90% of the time, it's personal taste more than anything else.
I have 4 Benz, 2 with staggered wheel/tire's, & 2 all the same size. After a while I could almost care less about the staggered, the style of the wheels are far more important to me.
The 16" Sportline wheels came with the tire size you quoted, which has a tire diameter of 24.9".
So keep that size, they are perfect.
If a wider tire in the rear is a look you want, go with 225/50 R16's, they also have a 24.9" tire diameter. But when you do that you lose the ability to rotate your tires for max wear.
An interesting piece of triva about tire sizes that most folks don't know, is that the second number in a tire size is the sidewall height, which is measured as a % of the the first number,(Tire width).
So 205/55 means the tire width is 205mm's and the side wall height is 55% of that or (205 x .55 = 112.75mm. ( For the 225 it's 225mm x .5 = 112.5mm)
To calculate the overall tire diameter it's simply adding the wheel diameter plus 2 times the sidewall height. (need to do a metric conversion to inches for the sidewall)
205/55 R16 = 16" + (112.75 mm + 112.75mm) = 16" + 225.5 mm = 16" + 8.87" = 24.9"
225/50 R16 = 16" + (112.5 mm + 112.5 mm) = 16" + 225 mm = 16" + 8.85 = 24.9"
I doubt that putting 225's on the rear would make much of a measurable difference one way or the other, you still have a sidewall height the basically the same as stock. It's looks more than anything else, but I'd be hard pressed to notice the difference 90% of the time, it's personal taste more than anything else.
I have 4 Benz, 2 with staggered wheel/tire's, & 2 all the same size. After a while I could almost care less about the staggered, the style of the wheels are far more important to me.
thank you very much for the quick reply
