Celtic1

I am deciding whether to purchase the 2016 s550 sport or non-sport. Visually, I prefer the sport, but my number one priority is to find the quietest ride as I have a hearing condition called Hyperacusis, which can be described as extreme sound sensitivity with pain from sound. I was informed by one dealer that all 2016 sports have 20 inch wheels, which turns out not to be true as I was able to find one sport with 19 inch wheels; however, the 19 inch wheel sport does not have some of the options that i want.

My question: is there a discernible difference in tire noise between 19 inch wheels and 20 inch wheels, assuming that in both cases a quiet tire is being used? If not, I will get the sport. If so, I will get the non-sport. I will have to test drive the cars to see, but I'm curious as to anyone else's opinion.

Thanks!

BenzV12

Welcome, from what I have heard of type of tires make more difference than 19" wheels vs 20" wheels .They say run flat still makes more noises than counterpart non run flat tires on the same vehicle .
My current ride came with 20" run flat tires despite being a sporty car I find ride quality and noise level more optimized than that of the W212 E Class .

Nice Ride

I have a 2014 S550 Sport Package. Factory 19" with RF tires. Exhaust is identical as the Non Sport. Hope that helps. Good luck with your search. You should be able to work out a great deal on a 16...

Celtic1

Thanks- I will look into switching out the run flats to a conventional tire. Excited about the new ride!

Nice Ride

Don't forget to purchase a good Inflator Kit

mjsbenz

Think twice about switching out the RFs. I was stranded on the road with my non RF W212.

teksurv

I remember your thread from some time back about this, and I commented then. You have ~50 miles on a run flat once punctured, or a T-type spare for non-run flats. Changing the tire (as I recall from your original post, in a bad area) is either on you or roadside assistance. It's up to the driver, however run flats are harsher, noisier and introduce more cabin noise than standard tires. So for the OP, and the 99.9% of the time driving, switch them out.

Wolfman

Looking at the tire, your run flat would have looked the same way and you would have been stranded the same way.

There is an assumption that run flats will always remain drivable and that isn't the case at all...

mjsbenz

I have had runflats on a number of my cars....starting with a 2005 Corvette, and more recently 2015 535xi. The reason my non runflat tire looked the way it did is because I had to drive it for about a mile or so to get out of a bad area. I have driven runflat tires with a 2 inch hole in the sidewall to my dealer for replacement which was 7 miles away. And the tire held up and had minimal effect on ride and steering. I cannot confirm "always remain drivable" but it does work as designed.

Runflats serve an important purpose in maintaining control when a blowout occurs and getting you to a safe place. The newer designed runflats with the suspensions designed to manage the stiff sidewall, are just fine. The older designs were much harsher.

Wolfman

I have replaced the run flats on every car that came with run flats and all had a marked improvement in ride quality and performance. Those included the latest gen. run flats.

The issue most people have are not the run flat tires, but that there aren't any options to choose which type you like on your car.
Unlike BMW which only provides run flats, Mercedes offers them as options in several other countries outside the US. Conventional tires are default (in Germany for example).

Celtic1

This is slightly off thread topic, but am curious about opinions on whether the s550 4matic would be a noisier ride than the rear wheel drive, assuming an apples to apples comparison (I.e. Same tires, wheels) I have supersensitive hearing issues and I'm trying to find quietest car possible. All things being equal, I'd rather have an all-wheel-drive car. That said, I live in seven California and only see snow (and largely rain) when I go on road trips. thanks for any thoughts.