Hello All,
I have a decision dilemma, and I’d like to get some advice. Please.

I want the 21’ RWA AMG Wheels, but I want the ride quality of a wheel with more sidewall. On Friday, I had the opportunity to test drive a GLE450 with the 21 inch wheels and Air Suspension (not EABC), and the ride quality was not as smooth as I had hoped. What if I just put a taller tire on my future GLE450 with 21' wheels and EABC? In the tire size comparison chart below, I could get the same sidewall height of the 20’ wheel if I used a larger tire size: 275/50/21 on the 21. BUT... would that 1 inch of extra tire height on the 21 inch wheel cause a problem? Example: Tire rub during tight turns or “bottoming out” over a big bump.

I’ve read the other discussions on the forum, but I didn’t see anyone comment on just using a larger tire. The last thing I want to do is spend $85K on a GLE with EABC and not be happy with the ride quality or spend the money to change out all 4 tires only to create a problem for myself.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I have done the same thing with some other cars, I owned. ie going to a smaller wheel size but I put a taller tire to help with the ride. Instead of keeping the same 50 series look at getting a 55 or 60 series in the 20 inch and your can almost match the 21 inch tire size. Thats what I did. Also, look at snow tire packages for your car. Many times the manufacture will recommend an inch smaller tire but taller.

forget all the above, I miss read you post. I thought you wanted to go down a size on the rim. Sorry.

 

That is not recommended, nor very feasible.

1. A quick search of tirerack.com of front tires in size 275/50-21 shows they are very limited with only Dunlop & Yokohama available; rears in size 315/45-21 show no availability at all.
2. Looking at the front sizes, revs per mile would go down about 11.5%, a huge difference.
3. You would have to sell the stock tires, which would probably not be that hard in a year or two after the car has been out a while, but a huge hassle.
4. Mercedes works with the tire manufacturers to tune the tires to for the vehicle.

You'd be far better off just going with the RZV 20" wheel.

I find the stock 21s with E-ABC very comfortable, but everyone's idea of comfort and driving conditions are different.

 

Without knowing the exact specs, it seems unlikely that you'd be able put on a tire with a larger sidewall without experiencing some rub or bottoming out. If there were an optional 22-inch wheel, you'd probably be able to do it, but I'm guessing the 21-inch wheel/tire package fills out the wheel well about as much as it can.

 

There is a 22" option in Europe and coming on the GLE 53 here, but with even lower profile tires to keep the OD relatively the same - 285/40 F & 325/35 R.

 

Here is a photo of the 22' from the AMG 53. If I could have these in 20' inch, I'd go get my checkbook right now. I have read the GLE 53 AMG will have 20' wheel options, so when to DOG comes out I'll be paying close attention.

Thanks to each of you who responded. I'm going to stick with the 20' to maximize the ride quality. I absolutely love the look of the 21', but... I won't notice how nice they look while I'm driving down the road.
Thank you Again,
Kind Regards,
Neil

 

Those are hot.

 

Looks like these are the 20"s for the GLE 53, whichI'm not sure I particularly care for. Does look like a staggered fitment, though?