Our 2015 E350 came new with 17" wheels, and I was thinking when we get new tires I might look for some OEM 18" wheels as a replacement. Don't understand MB's thinking but I think these wheels (17") are too small for a car this large. Has anyone out there with a similar car switched to a large wheel? Any thoughts on this idea would be appreciated.

 

Seems that people with 17's want to step up in size, and then people with a harsh ride on 18's want to step down to the 17's. I have the stock 18" AMG wheels I use in the winter and run a OEM 19" E63 AMG wheel in the summer with a high performance staggered setup. There are lots of posts on here if you do a search. Kajtek should be along shortly to post photos of my 18" AMG wheels that he uses as a garden hose reel. LOL

 

I have driven a similar car with 18's, and it made me glad that I had 17's. Much better riding car.

 

People have fit 20s on this chassis so 18 won't be a problem. My car came stock with 18s.

 

My white car come with AMG 18" where 3 of them had serious damages. Since I had 25 years old monoblocks by Lorinser, I switched the tires and as KEY indicated found good use for those Czech-made AMG wheels.

 

Got the 18's on my W211. A few bent rims and one cracked one. Glad I have the 17's on my W212. Only two bent rims on the W212 so far, none cracked. A few flat tires too. Way more on the 18's, got rid of a set after getting about 3 of them in a row.

I don't know what people are thinking when they think that a car needs huge wheels. Baloney skin sidewalls don't protect the rim or the wheel. Bigger tire, rim means more sprung weight.

 

Back in the day, four door sedans sold in America weighed far more than the W212, and almost universally were sold with 14" wheels. IMO, it's only in the last decade that "Plus-Size" wheels became "all that." Nowadays, I think the "Hot Wheels" style has gone way too extreme, bordering on ridiculous.

Couldn't agree more with this. My 2016 W212 arrived with OEM 18" wheels. (I think all model-end W212 Sports came with 18"ers, but am not sure.)

The 18s are handsome, for sure. But everywhere I drive, I scan the road far ahead searching for that eventual pothole. I would not like to be that driver riding my butt behind me, as I often brake for potholes if I can't change lanes...

My W212 could have come on the same style wheel in 17" and I would be just as happy.

 

18's you say? Oh yes, 18's are good. I have some to sell if you're looking

 

I still keep 16" from my sold W211. Once I wear out 18" than I rather put 16" who fit on my E250 (someone reported E350 have bigger brakes and 16" will not fit).
Occasionally we do have 2 cars on different size wheels and when you change them, you will notice more for fishtailing with higher profile tires on the 1st corner, so those who like crispy handling might not like it, but 16" still will provide good grip, when they take all street covers without loosing your tooth fillings.
In whole life before I never crack a wheel on car and made a lip only once when I being distracted, I had to make emergency braking and hit pothole on the shoulder.
But then my 18" Lorinsers at 25 years of age are still straight, so the crack seem to be mostly associated to Czech alloy.

 

DFWdude! So what you're saying is leave the 17" on the car and be happy? Always was under the opinion that a larger wheel (up to a point) meant better ride and less tire wear. Appreciate y'all comments.

 

Um, no. Not at all. A metal wheel has no flexibility, none at all. While the rubber tire is the "compliant" part of any wheel/tire combination.

In Formula 1 racing, the wheels are 13" diameter, primarily to control the size of the brakes that can be fitted. BUT, the teams have also come to rely on the generous amount of rubber sidewall to serve as a compliant suspension for an otherwise stiffly sprung race car. It stands to reason that the taller the rubber sidewall, the more compliance there is over rough pavement, and the opposite... short sidewall requires the physical suspension to do more work. And less sidewall rubber means easier transmission of vibration to the chassis.

Also, larger wheel diameters tend to come with wider tires, which are more sensitive to inflation values. PSIs must be closely watched, else there is more tire wear, not less. I'm in the camp that uses higher inflation values, to ensure the center of the tread stays inflated and wears the same as the shoulders. And this also contributes to a stiffer ride, even if slightly so.

The 18s on my 2016 (sport suspension) give a firm ride. Not a boulevard ride at all, except on the best pavement (where all wheel/tire combos ride about the same). Ride is smoother than on less sophisticated suspensions (like cheaper cars with more basic suspensions). I rather like the connected feel but it always comes with compromises. The W212 on 18s with 40 aspect sidewalls does not ride like a Cadillac. And I am happy with that. I suspect I would be happier with 17s, but not enough to change them at this point.

Some here will say that the ride doesn't differ between 17" and 18" even 19s. But that makes no logical sense to me. On a SEDAN, the larger the wheel diameter, the shorter the sidewall, by necessity. Several neighbors in my subdiv have big honking SUVs with fat tires on 22" wheels which would look ridiculous on a sedan (any sedan). Point is the combinations of wheels/tires available for a family sedan are much more limited, so one has to weigh the "look" of larger rims versus the ride that results. To do otherwise would not be very objective, IMO.

I'm retired, so drive frequently on local roads and learn/remember where the road craters are. If I had to drive more broadly over longer distances on unfamiliar roads in heavier traffic, scanning the pavement in addition to watching the distracted nuts around me would make me a nervous nelly for sure.

Sorry for length.

 

The thing you don't understand is that driving on the east coast where we have snow and ice all the time creates nice big potholes. Also when your'e stuck in traffic, you can't see the pothole until you're right on top of it and it's too late to avoid them. If you drive like an old man and leave a big gap, everyone will just cut in front of you.

 

Low profile tires will give you less sway on extreme cornering and that is why some drivers like it. All other aspects are disadvantage,. Low profile tires tend to cost way more than 50-55 height profiles.
Even Formula 1 is not using low profile tires considering all aspects.They need tires for performance, not for the looks.

 

You know F1 is going to 18" wheels in 2021, right?
Hmm...I wonder why? Oh yeah, because just like everything in Texas, bigger is better! LOL!
I'm wearing my 18" tires out as fast as possible so I can get those 20's ordered!

2021 F1 changes

 

Ah, after three days someone notes that indeed, in 2021, F1 wheels will increase to 18" diameter. But not to 20."

But sadly, not primarily for performance. According to a Pirelli spokesman, "This change is intended to reflect trends in the automotive industry, in which wheel rims are traditionally wider (dia) than those used in Formula One."... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/s...new-tires.html

"A development like 18 inches is a bit of an unknown,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of Formula One and car racing. “Not the size itself... But if we talk about the level of load stress for a Formula One car, it’s very different. We have to estimate the level of load stress and down force for the aero package that they are planning to have in 2021.”

Read between the lines, and this means that suspensions will need to change to be more compliant (i.e. do more work), because if they don't, shorter (stiffer) tire sidewalls will shake the cars to bits.

There was a time when new auto technology was pioneered by F1. But in this case, F1 scurries to catch up with "Hot Wheels" conformity.

(BTW, I have recorded every F1 race since 1982.)

 

Can not agree more! Got 18 OEM sport wheels and step down to 17 so much more nice to ride and cheaper to buy new tires!

 

LOL! yeah, just picking at the scab a bit. I also record and watch every F1 race I can, unfortunately I was not able to start until 2014. I am amazed at how compliant the suspensions are now over what they were years ago. it's amazing to watch those super slow-mo shots where you can actually see the articulation of the suspension, not to mention the flexibility of the front wings...wow! they've come a long way in a short amount of time. it seems the technology is advancing at leaps and bounds...except of course for the wheel sizes.

 

Just an opinion, but I too think the Hotwheels look has gotten out of control. I think the 17s look great on the sedan, and in Maine I wouldn't consider 18. That's one reason I prefer the Luxury to the Sport, and I like the hood ornament. I was at a dealer (in Mass.) a couple of weeks back, and a salesman was mentioning that many Sport owners there are going down to 17s for comfort and road conditions.

This topic reminds me of Matchbox when I was a kid. Everything was fine until Hotwheels came out in '68. Matchbox had to then introduce Superfast wheels (axles bent too easily). Not a good look for every car. I had my share of Hotwheels and the supercharger, but I always preferred the classic Matchbox with standard wheels.