Hey all,

Decision time, My car currently has 16's all around and want to upgrade to a larger wheel. I wanted to know for all you current 211 owners that have upgraded to 18's is the ride quality degraded to the point that you feel every rock in the road?. Do any of you regret going to 18's versus 17's.?. Is staggered better than same size all around?. Do I need to worry about the fender gap?

I always assume that more rubber on the road provided better comfort ride but advances in tire technology may have changed that .Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and if you want to provide some good advice on wheels and tires, I am all ears.

 

Every little bump on the road with 18"s? That's new to me and trust me, you won't be disappointed. Tires also have to be taken into account for road feel.

If you're going to upgrade from 16"s, a 17" upgade doesn't really make sense. With the 18"s, though, now that's an upgrade. Good luck with your decision.

 

18s are the way to go. All the E55s come with 18s and the ride feels just as smooth as a regular E

 

18's are the way to go on an E55 - especially for ability in tire fitment choice.

Put good (or at least decent) rubber on it, and you'll experience no degradation or problems at all.

 

I went from OEM 16's to 17's and I love them, I personally think a E320 with 18" is a bit over the top, or pretentious... If it were an E500 or E55 maybe.

Price the cost of tires on 17" and then 18" before you buy, it's enough to give one pause.

 

My dad got a E320 with 18". And it looks good! catch alot of attention from the people.

Here's the photo of the car.



As of the ride quality, we got the car with the 18", so couldn't compare with the OEM wheels. But i think the airmatic helps alot with the ride quality.

 

18's...no question about it!!

 

Go big...18"s!

Shop for excellent quality tires and do a search here for some experiences.

 

I have the 18 AMG wheels, right now I have my 17's on with Winter Dunlop M3's and I can't wait to put those 18's back on..

 

Definitely go with 19's. I put a staggered setup on my 2005 E500, 19x9.5 rear and 19x8.5 front. It gives the car a more agressive stance yet still retains the elegant look. The ride quality remains almost the same. With any wheel upgrade one would have to expect a slight degradation in ride quality, but it is nothing to raise an eyebrow to. You just have to be a little careful going over bumps, avoid potholes, etc. I also have the airmatic and was able to lower the car a bit, which further adds to the stance of the vehicle.

Just make sure when you upgrade wheels, in any size, that the overall rolling diameter of the car remains the same or close to the original. This means that you have to make sure that your tires are correct in size. With my staggered 19" setup, I use 275x30 for the rear and 245x30 for the front. Another thing is to make sure the wheels are hubcentric and require no adapter or spacers. A wheel sitting on the hub of your car rather than an adapter and a wheel with correct offset will ensure a smooth ride.

 

Damn how I wish I got airmatic. Thanks for all the quick responses. jameson75 what kind of wheels are those ?. those are similiar to the style I am looking for. I live in the Northeast (Boston)and the roads let just say "suck" up here. Potholes are everywhere so that was my concern with going with anything larger than a 18. I could see myself replacing wheels every other week.. I do plan to put a staggered setup on the car once I choose the tires and wheels.

 

I got a set of 19" staggered Zenetti Wheels n tires for sale. Here is the link:

https://mbworld.org/forums/classifieds/127079-fs-19-zenetti-heir-b-wheels-n-tires-e-class-w211.html

Let me know if you are interested.

Thanks

 

I have 19s and on comfort mode, it rides like a normal stock E, and having 19s gives you the option of going really aggressive on corners and having much less body roll.

 

Mine are 18's and the ride is excellent. The difference is minimal, about the same as going from normal suspension to sport 1.

 

Go 18" original E55 size,245-40-18,265-35-18.
No ride quality change and more stability but slightly more fuel consumption!

 

Anything less that 19"s are a waste of your money. I have 19s and they look like they were made for the car. With the right size tires (and don't get cheaps ones cause they look ghey) you'll have the nicest look and feel.
I don't feel much of a difference between my stock 16s and the 19s in ride quality to be honest. But it has been a while so I don't remember. I know the car is a bit slower now with the extra weight but the looks .. The car still gets a lot of looks even though its a few years old.

 

Given the two choices - I would go 17" For my E - I went 18" No real decrease in ride quality. If I had to do it over again I would choose 19"s.

And I would be interested in learning how larger diameter wheels and tires will give you "much less body roll".

 

Well, just to add more confusion to your brain... When I was ordering my cars, I was told to stay away from the 18's, and get the 17's instead of staying with the 16's. Reason? The sales rep correctly pointed out that although I live & drive in/on Long Island where the roads are good, the roads in NYC and surrounding areas have tons of temporary, lumpy blacktop patches as well as potholes, and that the 18's are not very forgiving to bad pavement or a pot hole, & I would be replacing tires and/or rims too often for not much more roadhandling in the 18's VS 17's.

A good argument here, but you have to evaluate your area, pavement & driving habits.

 

What about wheel well gap? Is there a significant gap noticable betwen the tire and wheel well when upgrading from the 16 to 18 inch rim? Does anyone have before and after pics, preferable with a non Airmatic car not lowered?
Thanks

D

 

I went from my my stock 17" appearance package wheels to 19" wheels and there was a gap. The gap was about the same amount of space that was there with the stock wheels ( smaller sidewall on the tire, larger rim ). Although the gap didn't look funny with the stock wheels, it did look kind of wierd with the upgraded 19's. I had to lower it via the airmatic (see pic above). For cars without airmatic, its either keep it looking like a 4x4, or get some lowering springs on it.

 

Living here in the Boston area, 19's are no way an option with the sink holes on the freeways, 17's or 18's are the only choices I have, I also don't have the airmatic so dropping the car is also not an option. The wheel well gap is an interesting point I wasn't thinking about, I like the look it has now with the 16's but not sure I am willing to sacrifice the gap if I go for larger wheels. On the flip side, I also like some of the new wheels that are out there and the agressive looks going with a staggered setup. Not an easy decision no matter which way you go.. I should have ordered the airmatic and it would be a no brainer.

 

you can still lower your car by replacing the springs. Pretty standard procedure.

 

Guys,

just my opinion, why it seems that there are nobody interested in putting 20" in their cars?

it looks great altough it sacrifice a lot of the comfort of the ride.

 

Hey, sorry to jack the thread, but I'm selling my stock 17" wheels on ebay

Hopefully you'll like it

 

Those are sweat rims. I didn't know you could get them in the non-clear coat in the US.. I don't get why you'ld take them off frankly, but heck to each their own... at $510 they're a great deal.