K-A

So, lots of people in this Forum have been complaining about harsh rides, tire blowouts (on 18's mind you, never mind those who go bigger), due to potholes. Not only here, and not only on about every single section of this Forum, but on most Car Forums, people are complaining about this more and more.

Also, blind spots are becoming issues, along with headroom, etc. etc.

This is a good article, calling out many of the design trends that are functionality (and safety) disasters. And it focuses mostly on everyday commuter cars (even giving passes to the likes of exotics, full blown Sports Cars, etc.).

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/design-disasters.html

This is one thing I always said when picking my E over the CLS's I was cross-shopping. I like Sedans so I don't think "plunging roofline = sexy look" automatically, and I think a car like the E (or 5-Series, or S-Class, etc., i.e dynamic 3-Box shapes) nails the "style/functionality" aspect perfectly, with a stately yet sexy proportional look, an airy cabin, yet maintaining a sporty dynamic, all at the same time.

BenzE350

I enjoyed the article and agreed with most of it.

When the right front rim violently struck bottom, it felt and sounded like a shotgun blast.
I experienced this too many times in my E350.

Large rims are overrated on cars used for everyday transport. In fact, to me, they’re a liability that costs more money and causes more stress than they’re worth.
Totally agree.

Based on the latest models coming to market, clearly they’re willing to compromise comfort, convenience and safety for the sake of style. The good news is that at some point the pendulum will start to swing back the other way, and the huge wheels, high belt lines and low roofs designers consider cool today won’t be in style anymore.
It all depends on sales. If people stop buying them the manufactures will stop designing them this way.

hyperion667

neat article.......interesting...
a lot of people do sacrifice they're tires huh? lol....
I thought the part about the 180 dollar tire was funny.....
mine are about 250-270 a piece.....
and also: there are obviously some rough roads out there/here....
some sensible driving always helps too.......

thanx for sharing this K-A

ImInPA

Yep. I agree with this article. Not really rocket science.

K-A

Yeah, I thought it was a good read, and a refreshingly enlightened car related write-up. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a comments section so calm and in a unified agreeing state as in this one, no personal attacks or anything (from my quick browsing), just a lot of people agreeing.

As for wheels, I like that M-B is one of the few manufacturers that still make their cars look perfect with 18's. Look at a new 5-Series with 18's, it looks like it has chicken legs, while the E looks great and proportioned very well with them. However, even 18's are blowing out right and left. I for one couldn't stomach 19+'s in terms of functionality, fortunately 18's have always bee my sweet spot.

It is true that the Designers design them how people will buy them. But there are plenty of cars that sell greatly without the drastic functionality trends of current designs. I think most just want to jump on the bandwagon. Like he said, hopefully the trend will suffocate itself, and a better balance will be struck soon.

My Chevy Malibu is a great example BTW. The "chop top" roof does add some excitement to such a normalized type of car, but it takes some getting used to, to maneuver around, and the interior does feel like it wants to "swallow you". The W212 for example, has an even more dynamic and sporty profile, but holds more of an airy interior feeling, and has enough of a generous green-house, whilst still looking low and coupe-like in profile.

Cars are all trying to be "all in one" nowadays, too much so in some cases, IMO, while some manufacturers do happen to pull it off perfectly.

RJC

19's are as far as they should go even on sports cars, have them on the Carrera S and they are fine, it's actually surprising how nice the ride is (must be that Porsche suspension magic) but anything larger even on a 911 is too much.

Some 18's can look just as large as 19's and some 19's can look as/smaller than 18's if the spokes don't extend far enough out to the lip of the wheel.

I always shake my head when I see 20's+ on some cars, looks like wagon wheels on a stage coach lol

ImInPA

I read in one of the car rags(C&D, R&T, or MT not sure) there was an article where they took a VW golf and tested it with wheel sizes from 15" to 20". There was a noticeable improvement at 17" in handling. 18" offer not significant improvements, and 19" and 20" actually caused noticeable ride degradation and significantly slower 0-60 times. The conclusion was that, from a performance and ride perspective, 17" was the sweet spot. I personally like the look of 18" and 19" (on some vehicles), but, 20+" just starts to look "pimped out" to my admittedly non-artistic eye. If anyone else read this review I would like to know your thoughts.

Saijin_Naib

IMO, the holy grail in mercedes rims looks are these:


But they weigh nearly 25lbs a piece!

Making the holy grail (in terms of performance), the lowly 98-2000 CLK320 wheels

Clocking in at somewhere in the low 14s a piece for a forged wheel in 16x7.

Jon2007E63P30

One other driving force is gov't regulation. Make the crush zone above an engine 6 inches and it forces a design like the camaro or charger. TheSLS went for a dry sump to avoid this. Had to pull the top of the engine down, regardless of the CG advantages.

K-A

I agree.

One reason that I love the OEM 18's on my car is that they extend out very far, and look bigger than they are IMO. Perfect style of rim to me.

El Cid

Love my 17's.

MagicJack

I can't agree more with the article. I find the 'high belt lines' the most irritating aspect of modern cars. I long for a return to the more functional design such as that of the 80's S-class.

alsyli

I completely agree. The one recurring thought I had in my mind while I was at the LA auto show was "Why can't I see out of this damn thing???" High cowls, high beltlines, sloping hood and trucks. It's sort of a disaster for those of us that need to park in tight spaces on a regular basis.

I can understand compromises for sports cars and coupes for the sake of style, but I really don't get why family sedans (I'm looking at you, Sonata) need slits as side windows. ::shrug:: For that matter, I really don't get why *ANY* FWD family sedan needs more than 230 hp, but that's a different story entirely....

One of the auto magazines (maybe Autoweek?) published an brief but interesting article on the effect of different rim/tire sizes on performance. 17" ones were a good compromise (I think they might've been testing a VW Golf? Can't remember) and anything above that ended up adversely affecting ride, braking (too much wt), and fuel economy (ditto).

threeMBs

Agree. This is one of the very few 18" wheel designs (TireRack's Sport Edition ST5 is an other, which is basically a copy of S-class oem wheel) that in fact look bigger than most (if not all) 2-pc 19" wheel designs.

Still a bit undersized (but much better than oem AMG 5 or 6 double spokes) IMO for W212 heavy rear-end due to relative luck of mass in the center of the wheel. I think they would be even more impressive had spokes were the same width (as at the lip) from the center to the lip (but, then of course it would look identical to AUDI oem A6 and A8 wheels from early to mid 2000s.)

K-A

The pinnacle of Sedan design, the W126!

I agree. Unfortunately, to get car manufacturers to do ANYTHING, it has to be regulated. Look at how incredibly efficient cars have become in just 3 years since the Gas crisis. Manufacturers were forced to stop kicking and screaming, and had to comply.

In Europe, automakers are being forced to ruin the look of their front ends (most at least, the E and S-Classes get heavy R&D $$$$ to maintain a classic front end), due to pedestrian impacts. Also, cars with small windows, like the new CLS, were forced to get these huge ugly mirrors on the sides, because there's a blind-spot requirement, where you need to be able to SEE them, lol.

Cars like the Sonata are lacking in major functionality, to try and emulate a Coupe-like look. Fact is, automakers are just trying to sell cars, but plenty of cars with solid functionality still sell strongly (and are Class leaders). Designers get paid the big bucks to come up with dynamic concepts that can look good WHILE being functional.

When I first bought my Malibu, my GF was driving it home. She couldn't even parallel park the thing! Due to the insanely high beltline and tiny back window.

RJC

Yes, especially the 500SE's (short wheelbase). Had a friend pick us up at the airport last week in his classic 126, I fell in love all over again; super solid, purely functional engineering, no fluff...classic old school MB quality and performance without the antiquey look.