dimitristx

Recently bought a 2010 CPO GL450. Came with 19" 5-spoke wheels.

First upgrade of significance will be the AMG wheel. Looks like it can be had both at 20" and 21". How would ride fare with either upgrade wheels?
Steering feel? Ride quality in city driving (potholes, etc)?

Thanks,
Dimitris

mrossmb

I have an S550 with AMG 20" Wish I had the 19's. 20's = harsh ride and rim damage via potholes and curb scrapes. Just my opinion

aeggroup

Do not compare S class 20" ride and GL.
GL factory tires for 20" wheels are 275/50/R20 and it has a lot of rubber for soft ride.

Shellbmb

There are few tire options for a 21" size rim. And they wear fast. i would stick with 19's or go with 20's if you must upgrade. That will give you lots more options.

cntrysthbst

mercedes rims are made soft to prevent damage to suspension parts and vehicle from what dealer said, our 450 with 18" AT tires even being air born has never had a rim issue, we did switch to black rims when we bought it instead of silver ones but still are mercedes 18" rims, our 550 with 21" tires has had 3 rim straightenings and its never been off road, the ride is smoother and softer in the 450, the 550 is more responsive, can drive it like a race car but is not as soft and smooth, you can feel the bumps more which freaks us out hitting manholes sometimes knowing that probably just cost us another trip back to get the rims straighted again, the bigger the tires/rims the worse it seems to handle in rain from we notice living in florida, both have ads suspension. it will cost you more to own larger rims as we have learned. we drive the 450 more cause we worry to much about damaging the rims on the 550 but the 550 sure looks good having the 21' amg package compared to the 450. well thats our input, sacrifices are make either way. hope this helps

MJ50

i've had 20s on my W163...
ride quality virtually remained the same...
i'd assume it'd be somewhat similar for GL...

2010GL550

I have the 21" wheels our on 2010 GL550 - the tires are a fortune. Stay with 20" if you are going to upgrade at all. You'll have so many more options and they will all be much less expensive than the 21" tires.

rtu

Agreed, 21" tires are very costly. Stay with 20" and you will have lots of tire options at reasonable prices. I bought Nexen 285/50-20 tires for $130 each and have no complaints. They are mounted on AMG replica rims. I did not notice any difference in ride quality from the stock 19's.