Dingo L

Hi everybody

Do anyone here put bigger wheels to your W212? I mean overall diameter, not bigger rims.
Just curious, any experience to share?

Dingo

DFWdude

DFWdude

Short of a Formula 1 racecar, I can't find any big tires without big rims.

Ah, the internet has a new term for this practice... It's called "DONKING" a car. Yup, that sounds appropriate to me... https://jalopnik.com/your-guide-to-t...-donks-5974931

nota_amg

without raising the car's ride height, you would be hard-pressed fitting larger overall diameter tires to the car. I run 245/35 19's in the front which are just barely larger than the stock 245/40 18's and they have about 2mm clearance from the inner fender liner when turning.

Dingo L

I asked the question because l noticed the overall tyre diameter of W213 is 1 inch bigger than W212, would like to know if anyone here put W213 tyres on W212.....

DFWdude

Ah, now that's a better way to phrase the question.

I suspect the wheel wells are larger diameter on the W213, since the standard wheels are either 19" or 20" by design. But I can't get one to stand still long enough to measure.

nota_amg

Maybe I'm confused, but just because the wheels size is larger, doesn't mean the tire/wheel combo are any larger overall. Overall diameter and/or circumference is what you need to worry about, not wheel size(16" vs 18") as 2 different sized wheels with the proper tires can still be the same (or at least very close to) the same size, overall.

for instance, my car came with 245/40r18 tires. I now have 245/35r19's in the front and 285/30r19's in the rear. All 3 overall diameter numbers are within 1mm of each other.
Tire size breakdown of 245/40:
1st # = section width in mm (245mm)
2nd # = sidewall height as a ratio of the width (40% of 245 = 98mm tall sidewall)

Using Diameter as an example:
245/40r18 = 98mm sidewall
there are 2 sidewalls(one on each side of the wheel/rim) so overall height of the tire is 196mm
18" wheel is 457.2mm
457.2 + 196 = 653.2mm

So:
245/40r18 = 653.2mm
245/35r19 = 654.1mm
285/30r19 = 653.6mm

Dingo L

l know what you are saying, and that's exactly what l am asking, as in the first post.

W213 uses 245/45/18 or 225/55/17..... All of them are 1 inch ( or about 25mm) bigger in overall diameter.
l wanna know if anyone here uses W213 wheels on W212 and any problems created.

Thanks

nota_amg

Ok, gotcha.
in my personal opinion the difference is too great to work without causing issues(rubbing, incorrect speedo readings, etc...) but it's totally up to you if you want to try...

kajtek1

I recall topic from E class owner, who put bigger tires on his car when he bought property with gravel road leading to it.
E class over the years always has big wheel wells, so they do accommodate bigger or wider tires just fine, especially when you don't carry 5 people, but odometer and speedometer gets wacked.
As picture shows, some people do strange things with their drives, but I am on conservative side.
Being also Ford truck owner, I always laugh about different trends on those forums.
New MB owners comes to the forum where 1st question usually is "how do I bring it to stock performance?"
Ford Truck new owners come to the forum asking "where do I start my modifications?"
I saved this picture years ago and still admire it.

Dingo L

Thank you for all the comments, but l really wanna know if anyone here ever putting W213 wheels on your W212......

kajtek1

To check the fitment you need to get wheels specifications.
In the past the wheels from W210 and W211 were exchangeable, what also included SL and C class.
W212 comes with bigger offset and bigger rim diameter, even the tire rpms are the same.
If you have the chance, get W213 specs and compare.

nota_amg

OMG...YES!
The wheels are almost identical in fitment, so they will work with no issues. It's the tires(or tyres in your case) that WILL NOT work without causing issues...
Below are the 18" wheel specs for the W213 and W212 cars...

Dingo L

Hi nota_amg,

Thanks for the comparison, but should it be 245/45/17 for W212 and 245/45/18 for W213? These are the usual tyre sizes in Hong Kong....

nota_amg

I know there is some issues with translation, but tire size is only half of the formula. If you can tell me the diameter, width and offset of both wheels, along with the 2 exact tires sizes you have and want to go to, I can give you the best answer. Without ALL of the information, I'm just guessing.
But​, from the info you have given for the tire sizes, no, the tires will not work. The wheels will fit(assuming they are both factory wheels) but the tires will be too tall.

kajtek1

I see from the chart nota_amg posted there is 5 mm difference in offset.
When usually 5 mm difference is acceptable, adding bigger tires is asking for troubles.
Than there is only 1 way to make sure......

DFWdude

OK, I found a W213 (E300) standing still at the dealer. As suspected, the Wheel arch is slightly wider (30.5") on the W213 than on my W212 (30"). This is measured horizontally, through the wheel center caps.

It isn't much, but bares noting when considering swapping wheels with the newer car.

Dingo L

Thank you so much for all the information given!!

l guess it's not a wise move to use W213 wheels on W212.....
Anyway, if there's a chance, l will try one on my W212 to see if anything happens....

kajtek1

Lot of owners change the wheels for looks and if you buy used wheels from W213, you can always put tire size that will match W212 rpm.
Still the 5 mm different offset is thing to check.
On my W212 I have 20 years old monoblocks, who have smaller offset, sticking more out. No rubbing and I actually like the looks, although car collects more dirt on sides.
With increasing the offset your wheels will go more in. That might not look good, but again, 5mm is not noticeable difference.

Gazwould

Which would be wonderful if the tyres were actually produced to the stated widths and aspect ratios on the sidewall .

What's the overall diameter difference between 205 55 16 and 235 45 17 ?

kajtek1

Why it would matter???
Tires are not manufactured from steel, but from rubber where diameter and traveled distance will vary depends of rubber flexibility, centrifugal forces, pressure etc.
That's is why smart people compare rpm.

nota_amg

Dingo L

Finally found a w212 on internet using w213 wheels, looks like 1 inch diameter difference doesn't matter much....

BTW cars here in Hong Kong usually have very low mileage like this one, only 47k (km).

Gazwould

You also don't know then what actually happens in the real world..
T​​​​yre manufacturers don't keep to the sizes .

See if you can answer the question , what's the mm diameter difference between 205 55 16 and 235 45 17 ?

Dingo L

l guess you're asking the size difference between w212 and w213 wheels, it is 1 inch bigger in diameter ( w213 wheel is bigger).