ronnie0738

Has any tried staggering wheel diameters say 17F/18R or 18F/19R? I wonder if that would throw off our ESP completely.

Denlasoul

It shouldnt if you correctly size the tires.

ronnie0738

^that's what I think too, but just wondering if anyone has experience with it.

KWiK

I haven't tried it, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work if you maintain proper tire diameter. Wheel widths & offsets would also have to be correct.

Here is an example that would work on W202 & W203:
F = 225/45-17x7.5
R = 255/35-18x9


I don't think I would like this look....

speedybenz

You could run a 255/40/17 front and a 265/35/18 rear. That would put tire size very close and might look decent.

You can run a 255/40/17 front if you pull the fenders a little and have a 8.5"x17", ET 35mm, front rim

Jeff

vadim

It just does not make any sense and would look downright silly, as these cars require that the overall wheel diameter be the same bewteen front and rear.

ronnie0738

overall wheel diameter on the C32 are close between the front & rear (24.9 & 24.7). i think if you match the sidewall width it should look ok....just a thought.

vadim

If you match the sidewall heights (same on the front and the rear), then the overall diameter of the rear wheels will be bigger since the rim diameter is 1" bigger. To keep the overall diameter the same between the axles, you would need to use tires with shorter sidewall at the rear, which would look... hmm... funny.

430

I think it would look fine. Vette's used have staggered wheel sizes and the crossfire currently does it

vadim

He is not talking about staggered wheels, but putting rims of larger diameter on the back. Unlike MB, Corvette is designed to have bigger rear wheels, so is Crossfire.

ronnie0738

opps, i didnt mean keeping the sidewalls the same just the overall diameters. I think the difference in sidewall height would be 1-1.5cm.

430

I was aware of what he was talking about. I was using staggered to refer to different height wheels vs width.

My plan for the SLK32 is if/when I replace my wheels I will run 17's in front and 18's in back. Why you might ask would I want to do that? I personally would rather stick with 17's all around but they do not make tires in the dimensions I want to run in 17's. I am interested in wheels & tires from a performance standpoint not cosemetic. I do not think that you will see much if any improvement by running 18's all around not to mention the increase in unsprung weight.

vadim

That's correct - nor will you see any improvement by using 18" vs. 17" in the back only for the same reason you quoted. On top of that, it would look silly.

430

I am not sure it will look silly. I have not gotten far enough into the process to search for photo's (I think one of the guys is running this setup) or photochop one.

My thoughts with the 18's in back is that the added width will allow for better traction, esp. in a straight line.

vadim

Diameter and width are not related. You would be better off using wider 17" wheels if performance if the goal, as 18" wheels are heavier (see your own previous post). Race cars never use big rims for that same reason.

430

I agree completly. The only problem was last time I looked for 265's in 17's I could not find the right height.