freskos320

are 17s to small for an e320 or should i go to 18s? Just need some advice i currently have the stock 16s looking for an upgrade.

Craftysince86

17s are pretty small for an E imo

freskos320

yeah ive been looking at them i cant find a pic of an e with 17 besides the stock wheels, its going to be my daily driver so im having a hard time deciding between the two sizes

deltadude388

I am going to 17 from 18.

Easier on the rims with the bad roads

gaazmon

i agree, 18s r good

freskos320

18s are the perfect size when it comes to appearance but the 17s are just practical im just worried the 17s will be to small by the way i heard that the 18s on a non lowered e look weird i do have the base model so no sport kit is that true?

Sportstick

Depends what you mean by "small". Do they fit? Of course they do...we run 17" dedicated winter tires, and could just as easily use the same size rims for the rest of the year. If your personal aesthetic sense isn't concerned with that one inch of size, you can take advantage of improved ride quality, less expensive tires, and small directional improvements in fuel economy and braking distance due to reduced wheel/tire assembly mass (but these will be minor).

The only reason we have 18" is that was the OE size on our car, but lots of other threads discuss folks running 17".

freskos320

so my next question would be if i were to run aftermarket 17 inch wheels would it be a little ricey or should i stick with a stock style of wheels?

Sportstick

I've had very good success with this company for two sets of wheels. There are a few interesting 17" wheel selections, and the quality of product and service has been great.

http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/index.php?cPath=23

freskos320

I've actually heard of them before they do have really good prices and I have only heard good things for them... Back to the 18s has anyone driven in snow with them I won't be changing these rims for winter seasons so would this throw 18s out of the question?

Sportstick

For winter/snow driving, a narrower tire is the better direction. The diameter of the wheel is not the main issue, although the larger wheels do tend to wind up pushing you to a wider tire. That is why we have our original 18" size for three seasons, but change to 17" snow tires for winter. BTW, if you will not change, the clear favorite all season performance tire to get through the snow as best as possible is the Continental DWS.

freskos320

do you think these will look good in 17s just want some opinions?

freskos320

anyone?

ap10046

If you are going for a smaller wheel size, try and look for a design that has thinner spokes and a small center hub, it will give the impression of a larger diameter wheel.

freskos320

I think I know what your talking about can you show me an example?

jcat

my e500 has 17" factory wheels with a 45 series tire, if it was lowered a bit you'd have a hard time telling they were 17's. The only way you can really tell is because of the wheel gap. That being said, I'm going to likely be going up to 18s for the spring/summer with a 40 series tire and also hopefully snagging a STAR setup so I can lower it myself, even moreso giving it the impression of having larger wheels.

freskos320

Eventually i was planning on lowering the car with the 17s but the thing that is turning me most off about the 18s are potholes and bent rims. But the 18s look great!

Dexion

You mean bent rims, blown tires, bad ball joints, blown shocks, and bad wheel bearings?

Yea.

freskos320

do you get that alot with the 18s i mean i live in baltimore roads arent bad at all but it only takes one pot hole really

Dexion

I have to drive through Newark NJ alot and its pothole city.

freskos320

Ive heard horror stories about those roads...

tripledeadheat

I've been reading posts here going back several years on the subject of changing wheel size to larger diameter on W210s. I've decided that 17s are the largest size that I'd go with (IMHO) due to ride quality. Please note, my E320 is a 4matic wagon bought primarily for driving in the Sierras so I'm concerned about clearance(snow) and I won't be doing any high speed cornering. A harsh and stiff ride on an E55 makes sense but not on my wagon. Don't get me wrong-I'd love a stiff riding E55 but that's not what I'm driving.

I'd also suggest reconditioned,used AMG wheels are good buys and look "right"
on Mercedes.

Dexion

^Lighter wheels the better, heavier wheels create that extra thud when going over bumps or potholes. AMG wheels as well as AMG replicas are normally light!

freskos320

i feel you im looking at 17s now and eventually going to lower my ride too i saw a w211 with 18s and a stock body, the 18s made it look like it was a 4x4 not a big fan of them. with 18s i feel it should be lowered unless it has a sport kit

jcat

the E class (07+) as well as AMGs came with 18s from the factory...the suspension is designed to work with them. If you run a 40 series tire, and are careful about big potholes and such, you won't pop tires or bend/crack rims. The ride quality from a 245/45/17 to a 245/40/18 will not be THAT much different, and you won't even have to recalibrate your speedo as it's less than 1% larger in diameter.

go to 1010tires.com and use their tire size calculator to make sure your new wheel/tire combo is the right size. To avoid recalibrating the speedo, you want to stay within 3% of your stock tire size. 4matic cars should use IDENTICAL tire sizes all around to avoid screwing with the all wheel drive system (different diamters = different rotational speeds = crunch crunch grind grind)