I am looking at some GLEs but it seems the best options I can find have the 20" AMG wheels instead of the 21" which I prefer.

My main reasons for preferring the 21" is both aesthetic, and also the fact that the rear tires are wider (315 vs 275). I can probably live with the aesthetic.

If I go with the 20" AMG twin spoke wheels, would I notice any loss in lateral traction/cornering grip versus the 21s? Or would the driving experience be similar but the 20s have better ride quality?

Also if I were to buy the 21" wheels later (either multi spoke or double-spoke), what do you think the cost recovery would be if I sold the 20s with tires?

 

I thought you couldn’t wait and buying that BMW?

 

the space in the back of the X5 isn’t great. Also I dislike the split tailgate.

I have a one month car rental till feb 5th so that’s the deadline. If I find a GLE by end of month I’ll do GLE otherwise X5 as fall back.

 

I think there will be plenty of grip with either. There is no real functional reason for those huge 21" rears, but they sure look good! The 20s give you an extra half inch of sidewall, but ride quality for either with Airmatic is good.
The 20s should be pretty marketable. Do you live where you need Winters (add to your profile)? You could use them for that.

 

i also doubt the extra width is going to do much difference to the performance. i have 21s on the car, not my first choice when i got the car but they definitely look very good (especially with the amg package). the 20s sits much more inboard especially the rear, but at the same time i am sure i won't be impressed when i have to replace the tires

 

by that do you mean that the stance is not right? the wheels seem inset on the rear?

i was a little concerned about that.

happy to swap wheels and give you the $1000 option price back!

 

We chose the 20s over the 21s for our 450 b/c, with the miles we intend to put on it, the cost of not being able to rotate them would be expensive over time.
I'm sure once I see the 21s in person, I'll be bummed.

 

It appears to me that although the tires are the same size all around with the 20" tire package, the wheels have a different offset from front to rear. The 19" package has the same wheels and tires front to rear and the 21" package has different tire and wheel sizes front and rear. If this is true, you may not be able to do a traditional rotation even with the 20" package.

 

Yes you would need to remove the tires from the wheels to do the rotation. You can't simply rotate the wheels. Tires are same front to rear, but offsets are different on the 20".

Another reason I don't like the 20" setup.

 

I believe that the 21" tires are non-directional, so shouldn't you at least be able to rotate them from side to side? I realize that's not as good as front to back, but it's an option

 

That's true. But unless you have an alignment problem there is no benefit from doing that.

 

That’s correct but its not expensive to rotate by removing each tire to rotate. I have 8300 on my OEM’s and will rotate them when switching from winters this spring. As I recall Discount Tire will do all four for less than $100 including RFBalance. The store I use has a first class operation.

As far as 20’s vs 21’s....IMO it’s a matter of personal preference (aesthetics) rather than performance. Larger tires might be more prone to hydroplane in heavy rain. The 21’s will cost more to replace-there will be fewer replacement tire options-they won’t last as long-but we didn’t buy a Mercedes to worry about a few bucks.

 

In the UK 22 inch wheels are standard on the 450, no other option.

 

The difference is 0.6"
You mean cost? At Tire Rack prices for Pirellis Scorpion Zeros the 21s are $143/set (12.7%) more, not a huge difference considering the frequency of replacement.

 

True, but I find the need for rotation overrated for this vehicle. On all my 3 previous MLs the wear front/rear is not dramatically different, and if you need to replace one end before the other it's not a huge deal (yes, I know same tread depth all around is ideal).

 

i don't know where you got the 0.6" information from.

from the chart, 21" rear width is 11" +49

for 20", you have either 8.5" +42 or 9" +44

If we extend the width of the 20" to 11" while maintaining the outboard boundary (which means all the widths go to the inside)

8.5" +42 would need 2.5" (63mm) inside, effective offset would become +75
9" +44 would need 2" (51mm) inside, effective offset would become +69

So even with the more aggressive 20" setup, the rear wheels are more inset by 20mm, which is almost 0.8". that is a lot by wheel offset standard. and this is even worse if the car has the AMG appearance package where there are rear fender flares.

I have seen GLE350 with AMG appearance package but with 20" wheels, the look of the rear wheel setup is very different than the 21"

 

Here is where the 0.6" inset comes from. The OP's original comparison was 20" AMG twin spoke to 21" AMG (both 21" styles have same spec.). There is no question appearance-wise there is a huge difference.

 

Agree. This is why I passed on the car with the 20” wheels.

If you look at this picture you can see the inset of the rear wheel is horrible.



Obvious rear wheel inset stance issue

 

something is not right about that chart calculation (given my experience in wheel setup), it's off my 5mm. but for sure we can agree on the appearance, when it comes to wheel offset, 15-20mm is very big difference

 

Unless somehow you need 21" wheels to clear larger brake calipers, go with the smaller wheel for ride quality and decreased risk of cracked rims. It is not going to make a significant difference in performance. The only reason to go with larger wheels in a practical sense (except to show off some bling) is to clear large brake calipers. You will be rewarded with less wheel damage and a more comfortable ride. I go for the smallest wheel possible that will clear my brakes. This means the smallest wheel that the manufacturer offers.

 

That makes a lot of sense, and is a true statement.

With that said, if I was being more practical, I would be purchasing a Kia instead of a MB.

 

I took the more practical approach and went with 20’s. My winter wheel set is also 20 and looks almost identical to the 21” Mercedes. One more reason to go with 21’s is they almost always have the best looking wheel in the larger size. The wider tires look nice but I’m not sure how many people even notice.

I have a friend with a Mercedes and 21’s that hit a pot hole in remote Southern Nevada and blew two tires and bent a wheel. He spent 6 hours getting a tow to a town with facilities to make the repair. They ended up flying home and left the car for about 2 weeks while they found the only matching wheel in the US, the tires weren’t quite as bad. That’s probably a worst case example but it could have been worse if he hadn’t been 125 miles from Vegas or the wheel had to ship from Europe. He figured he was out over $5000 counting just his out of pocket expense and the better part of 3 days.

 

Hi all, new to MB forum, and to Mercedes in general. I'm looking to purchase either a loaded 2020 GLE or rather base GLS in the Mar - Apr time frame. First let me say what an awesome forum you have, the best I've come across. This site is extremely helpful and informative, thanks to all who take the time to post.

This thread was eye-opening. If I understand correctly, the only way to be able to rotate all 4-tires (without removing the tires from the rims), is to get a vehicle with 19" wheels? If you get the 20'"wheels, the tire size is the same but the rim offsets are different (different RT distances), and if you get the 21-22" wheels both tires and rims are different.

That's nuts, is there anyway to get Mercedes 20" rims that have the same tire & rim offsets so you can rotate all 4 tires without removing the tires from the rims...and suffering the inevitable damage to the rims from rushed tire techs? Anyone know if you can special order if you do a custom build?

 

A lot of your choices depend on options like the AMG package or not. To me the AMG is a must have and if you custom order you just have the two choices 20 & 21 both with staggered offset. Some say the need to rotate is not a big deal....might just need replacement tires a little sooner. I have the AMG 20’s and plan to rotate them by remounting. Any good tire shop can do that without damage, more and more cars have fancy wheels today. I think I had about 9300 on mine before switching to my winter setup. Before putting the factory wheels back on I’ll probably have them taken off and remounted. The Road Force balance technology is my preference for balance. I might wait until 15,000 so that I cut the frequency of changing them. I haven’t researched that yet. At 10,000 you might only have to do it 3-4 times before needing tires or selling the vehicle. If damage is an issue go to a large chain store and take pictures of each wheel so that there is no question if something does occur.
Edit- Or have the Dealer do it at first service interval.

 

You are correct that 19s are the only "square" setup with same offset F&R. And you don't want 19s on a loaded GLE; they appear small and actually are an inch smaller OD than all the other choices, plus you can't get the AMG exterior package with 19s.

As I have opined before, I don't think lack of rotation is a big deal. My last 4 BMW M3/M4s all had staggered setup. You may need to replace one end before the other, but that is okay. And the all wheel drive does even out wear slightly, as opposed to my M4.