Benz-O-Rama

I'm on the fence about something. I'm getting ready to upgrade my wheels to either 18" or 19". Problem is, I don't really want to lower the car because I don't want to upset the smooth ride. But I don't want the 4X4 look either. Has anyone put 19's on their car without lowering? If so, how harsh is the ride and do you have any pics? Same thing for yall that are running 18" without lowering? Any harsher than the 17's? Any pics without lowering?

THANKS!!

lig

When I went from 16" to 18" there was hardly any difference in harshness. Suprised me, to be honest.

I went with 18" instead of 19" because IMO a standard ride height W211 does look very 4X4ish with 19"s.

Even the 18" setup begged for a slight drop to my eyes - but I wasn't going to keep the car for very long so I didn't bother.

AMG-fanatic

Trust me on this one: Lower it no matter how subtle of a drop you go for!

I've had the E55 AMG 18" wheels on my standard E320 ride height for almost a year but once I lowered it I couldn't believe how absurd my car must have looked like with my previous "ML320" setup!!

Two of my friends who saw my car after lowering it (on separate occasions), actually thought I installed bigger 19" rims!! The smaller gap between the fender and the wheels makes the car look and feel more sporty (and no I'm taking getto-type lowering to the ground, 30~40mm would be perfect)

And about the ride comfort, you could replace the stock dampers with sporty ones. I've been told that if you lower your car without changing the dampers you would restrict them permanently to a smaller range of motion. This basically means that if you run over a bump, the damper has a small space left to "absorb" the shock (since it's already partially compressed) thereby resulting in a stiffer ride.

So my advice would be:

1) 19" ==> DEFINATELY lower it, no excuses!!
2) 18" ==> Lower it, trust me!!

HaZeY

well, with mercedes suspension, the ride should just be fine. without lowering it. if you lower it like maybe 1.5 inches or close to that all around, it would feel more stiffer. the cat-eyes on the road will be more felt, and sometimes little dips feel a bit ruffer. just like AMG-fanatic said, it would be wise to change the dampers, but with a 1.5 drop, it's not noticeable. you'll be fine on stock dampers. the only time you should change out those is when you have a drop of 2.0 or more. the car won't be too agressive, harsh, or ruff. you could choose to just leave it without dropping it, it would drive fine, but in my opinion, a car looks alot sexier dropped. the harshness really depends on the tire. too thin a tire would make you feel every bump, but the suspension wouldn't bounce. just my 2 cents. it'll ride clean and decent either way you choose.

hellolarry

Hello. I just went from 17s to 19s on my 04 E500. I did not lower it, and it looks great. I am not a fan of lowered cars so that is my preference. Look at the lowered cars and see if you like that look. If you lower it, you will definitely want to raise it when you sell it.

Benz-O-Rama

How does it ride now? Same/harsher/much harsher ?

Thanks!

Got any pics? Would love to see what 19's look like without lowering.

hellolarry

It rides 95% as comfortable as on the original wheels. It sticks to the road a LOT better. I splurged and went with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s. It is great so far. Only been about 4 weeks. I'll get some pictures for you.

06E350Sport

I just test drove a bunch of '06 E Class sedans earlier this month before deciding on the E350Sport. The Sport has the staggered width 18" wheels and tires as opposed to the standard width 17's on the standard model. The taller and narrower tire on the 17's rides significantly smoother down the road with a little more wallowing in the turns. The 17's were also much quieter going down the road. The 18's are Much louder. All of that said, I went with the 18's on the sport model for the looks and performance over the ride and quietness of the 17's. So it really depends on how much you're willing to sacrafice. Although I have not driven an E with 19's, I'm pretty sure you are going to be sacrificing your ride pretty bad if you're going down to a very low profile tire.

hellolarry

Here are the pictures of my "4X4". Not lowered 2004 E500 with 19" wheels, 245/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires.

Benz-O-Rama

Thanks for posting!!!

Now is that with the airmatic set to comfort/sport1/sport2 ?

hellolarry

Sport 1

Benz-O-Rama

So,

now that I know what it looks like, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on a set of Mandrus Milleniums in a staggered 19X8.5 and 19X9.5 with 245/40 and 275/35

Plus, I talked to my dealer today and they said that they can lower the car via StarDiagnose for 100 bucks, plus an alignment which is another 100 bucks. So, for 200 bucks I can have it lowered and not void my warranty.

Or, I may use the washer method that has been outlined in this forum.

Decisions, decisions...

Here's the wheels I think I'm gonna get...

http://www.mandruswheels.com/millennium.html

What do you guys think?

KennyDFW

Larry - that looks great, and can you tell me what wheels those are? Where did you buy them (online?). Very nice looking

KennyDFW

Benz-O .....good luck! Discount Tire says (and the Mandrus website confirms) that they're on backorder in all sizes and they're not sure when new ones will be available!

hellolarry

Thanks! The wheels are from Lakeshore Wheels - very good price!
http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com

KennyDFW

That's odd - I went there and searched for 2005 E500 in 19" and the search came back with nothing!? What wheels I did find for the E500 were only 17's and 18's....

hellolarry

Hey Kenny, try this :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/19-WH...QQcmdZViewItem

Benz-O-Rama

For what it's worth...

Here is a customer's experience with Lakeshore Wheel and Tire that I found.


http://www.benzworld.org/forums/tire...heel-tire.html

hellolarry

Are you just trying to dis everything I say?

Benz-O-Rama

Huh?

Er.....

Nope, I just Googled Lakeshore wheel and tire, as I was considering them as a place to purchase my wheels, and came across that review from someone that had a bad experience with them, that's all.

lkirchner

Your car looks very nice but V8 Kompressor badges on the side!!!!!! I don't think that AMG appearance panels, exhaust and brakes made your 6 cylinder engine grow to a 5.4 liter SC engine: take them off you are only kidding yourself..

hellolarry

OK. Cool.
They shipped quickly to me and I got what I ordered.

FrankW

I'm selling my Carlsson 1/16BE 19x8.5 and 19x10. PM me if interested. I can also get you other wheels through my dot com.

KennyDFW

Well......I just made the jump to 19's w/ fairly low profile tires (275/30's in back, and 245/35's up front), and honestly - I notice almost no difference in ride comfort, and a significant improvement in handling. I think this is due at least in part to the fact that I ride with the Sport 2 setting at all times. I do have a bit more gap than I'd like, and will try to get my local Stealer to do the Star Diagnostic lowering move for me, but MAN, do I love the wheel & tire combo I picked out !!! (Axis Matrix wheels with a 9.5 to 8.0 stagger).

Would appreciate your opinions as I've only had the car for 2 weeks and am learning as I go. Excellent forum - excellent car!!

99bmw740il

i have the same drop going on my car next week, looks nice!!!