kramer347

I have a 2003 S500 with 19" staggered chrome lorinser knockoffs, last night I hit a pothole bent my front wheel and cracked my rear on my passenger side, the tires are currently 235/35/19 in the front and 275/30/19 in the rear, I think this was definitely a bad choice in tire size for this car, nevertheless, I need to replace them. I always wanted to go 20" but after last night I am a little afraid to, if I stick with the 19" I want to know if I should go with245/40/19 in the front and 275/35/19 in the rear? or can I go with something with a little more meat on it since I live up north and the potholes are bad. If I go 20" I really do not want a 30 series rear tire where I live so I am looking for feedback from the experts, thanks fellow benz pimps!

my06clk

235 35 19's were a mistake for that car.. that tire is waaay too small.
If you go with 245 40 19 and 275 35 19 it will be the correct size and you will have enough meat and the right size tire.

BTW. I have a set of those same wheels NON Chrome sitting in my Garage I am willing to part with If you are interested.

ssonss1

i think the tire sizes are fine...a cheaply made wheel might be the problem in this situation...the roads in vancouver are far from perfect, yet i still have friends with 30 series and 25 series tires riding around without any problems (asanti wheels, 3 piece) ... i wouldnt worry about going with 20's just look for a quality wheel...

my06clk

I ran those tires because that's all I had at the time till they blew out one after the other.. THis is why i said that they were the wrong size..

IF they get low on air as mine did ( pre TPMS replacement ) they will eat at the sidewall faster than at 245 40. especially if they are old. But I guess thats with any low profile tire right?..

But the inarguable point is that the speedometer is off by far running 235 35's like 5 or 6 miles...

My lesson with all of this was why use a different tire than what is recommended it seems they would do all of that measuring for a reason right?.. Just my thoughts...

westcoast5

since we are on this subject is there anyone that runs a 255/35/20 and rear 275/30/20? or do they usually run a 245/35?

my06clk

I did but I recently changed tires and went back to 245 35 20

I don;t know if it was the tire brand or profile difference or what but I like the 245 30 fit and look better.

I had 255 35 20 Khumo before..( loud an harsh, no road grip..)

Now I have 245 35 20 Nitto 555's Quiet and soft..I can feel them hugging the road.. I like them so far.. I forget I'm on 20's sometime.

I know that has nothing to do with the size.. I just wanted to toss that out there...

Tire Rack shows 255 35 20 for this car while everybody else on the planet lists 245 35 20. I don't know why that is.. posed the question to TR but never got an answer.. So I just took a poll from the forum as to what was running what. Most folks had 245 35 20.. so thats what I went to. The odometer is more exact at that size than 255.

westcoast5

Well i will be going with a staggered set soon and im debateing whether or not to go to 255 or stay 245 and I will be running the toyo tire. I just want to have the most rim protection I can for the size tire.

my06clk

255 aren't going to make "that" much difference in your rim. there is only about 3mm difference in sidewall between the 2.

Toyo are shaped like the Nitto.. kinda round so they should tuck nicely and they have the rim protection strip on them..

But in reality a hard crash or giant pothole and it doesn't matter which tire you have...

I like having my speedo as close to correct as possible so I have 245's plus the nice lady that lives inside my comand is a bit more acurate.

use this to make a comparison...

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

westcoast5

so you think that just staying with a 245 be ok?

my06clk

IMO it will be better.. I'm staggering in a short while also, thats why i went to 245.

I guess the concept of tire rack is that the 255 35 20 is a tad bit beefier than the 245 so in a non-staggered fitment it still looks good.

I don't agree with that because it all depends on the tire used plus all of the reasons stated above.. 245 is simply the best size match for that car in a +3.

Another wierd thing that I failed to mention and this may be why TR sells the 255 I don;t know, but there are a lot more purchase options for the 255 than the 245 brand wise. I don;t know why that is, but i'm guessing it is just a more popular tire in a 20 series. But That to me makes the 245 even more Hip.. because you will only see it on an S-class Benz not your neighbors Altima.

westcoast5

lol my neighbors altima does run 245's lol and rear 265 on some velocity rims or something like that. lol ayways I think I will just stay with the 245 front it should be more pronounced with the 275 rear as opposed to the 255-275 gap.

ssonss1

im running 245/35/20 upfront as well...nitto nt555...no complaints and i think the tires a PERFECT size for the front...255 will look too beefy on a 8.5" rim

JRAMGV8

I'd go with 19s

ekogutpl

i am running on 255/30/r20 in the front and 285/30/r20 on carlsson 1/11 and i had hit potholes and other things and i havent had any problems once again i think its jus the rims, iono about tire profile making a drastic difference

my06clk

Good Lord!! 285 30 on an S? Hmm I know the nav lady just loves you..

Your car can't possibly be dropped with those tires right? can you post a pic?