sjdille

This message is for those of you who are buying a new S580 or considering changing their existing 19” or 20” wheels and tire for 21”……don’t.
Several months ago I bought my 2021 S580 from inventory the dealer already had in transit. This one had 21” wheels and Pirelli P Zero tires. (as a side note, I was in the tire business for 31 years
and never liked Pirelli!). I paid the upcharge for the 21” because I wanted the car.
Three things:
1. The ultra low profile tires are a problem. With only a few inches of tire, my wheels come into contact with the curb when I parallel park sometimes, no matter how careful I am, causing abrasions on the wheel flanges. Never happened on my 2020 Tesla with 20” and my 2017 MBZ E300 with 19” wheels and tires
2. The ride in my car is nice and smooth, UNTIL I go over a rough piece of road and get an abnormal jolt and noise. I keep my tire pressure at manufacturers recommendations. It could be the Pirellis with their added “sound deadening “ piece they add to the inside of the tire. Not sure, but, again, never had that problem in any of my other cars.
3. And last. Yesterday I had my second blowout and tire failure since I owned the car. Driving on San Diego’s “third world” streets I hit a pothole - again - and blew the tire. In almost 70 years of driving that has never happened and I’m sure I’ve hit many potholes. My feeling is with so little tire between the rim and the road with super low profile tires, an sudden impact, even at 40 mph, may cause the tire to fail. I don’t blame Pirelli for this. And, at over $500 a tire to replace, I’m not happy!
So that is my opinion and advice. 21” packages may look nice and sexy, but don’t do it.

jay2o01

I ended up getting the 20” wheels with all season rubber, I was surprised to see MB ships Hankook tires as their OEM all seasons. I am also a bit concerned about the runflat low profile tires on the 20s. I’ve never bought hankook before, would have preferred michelins. Seems like MB went with odd choices for tires this generation.

ColeBlooded

Pirelli tires tend to have narrow and soft sidewall and often fail in potholes. Had the same situations in my wife's Maserati. Michelin tires have a nice beefy sidewall that's more suited for larger cars with low profile tires

sjdille

Believe it or not, Hankook is a quality tire, and has been sold in this country for over 30 years. And, I believe, has been an OE tire for at least a decade. My company was the first to import that brand in the late 80s and when it took off, Hankook took over distribution of the name brand and made us a private brand we named Solar. Sold many 100s of thousands of them. I visited the Hankook factory in Korea in the 80s and it was the latest in tech and equipment due to an agreement they had with one of the leading European manufacturers, I forget which one.
So, don’t sweat the quality issue, and like I mentioned, I never had a problem with my Tesla’s 20” low profile. Just 21” LP is an issue, I believe.

sjdille

Boy, that is an interesting observation on Pirellis. My experience with them years ago when I was in the business was tread life. Maybe a different brand with more sidewall strength would do better hitting potholes?

Streamliner

One of my favorite topics, as many here know. Most any vehicle, with most any tires, will drive & ride great on ribbon smooth roads. However, such roads are few and far between, especially in metro areas. So, if one is looking for a comfortable ride, with wheels & tires that don’t fail at the SIGHT of a pothole, you need to stick to smaller diameter wheels and tires with deeper sidewalls, period. 19’s are probably fine, 18’s would be much better. Ditching the run flats will make a big difference as well. As for tires, being a ride quality nut, my favorite is the Bridgestone QuietTrack. They are cushy, quiet and the best I have found for a big saloon like the S Class. Just my two-cents worth.

SW20S

The issue isnt the wheel size, its the thickness of the sidewalls. If you look at a lot of SUVs, on 21s they ride great but they have a beefy sidewall. My Pacifica has 20s and has a beefy sidewall and they ride fine. Those 21s on the S580 just have no sidewall...

The 20s on the W223 have about an inch more sidewall than the 20s on the W222, my choice in this generation would be 20s.

Streamliner

Well, only so much overall “diameter” will fit in the wheel wells. With current suspensions & tire availability, I think the equation is still smaller diameter wheels + deeper sidewalls - run flats = a more comfortable ride.

SW20S

As cars are redesigned though the wheel wells are enlarged to accommodate larger wheels. That’s why newer cars look stranger with smaller wheels. Wheel wells are bigger on the W223 and the overall tire/wheel package is larger in diameter.

My point is it’s not as simple as saying “20s bad”, because it depends. What’s at issue is the thickness of the sidewall, not the size of the wheels.

My Pacifica’s 20s have thicker sidewalls than my S560s 19s.

Rockland

I have 21” with the Pirellis. I learned something today. I was under the impression since I ordered and purchased the car that I had run flats. I thought the S Class came standard with run flats. Last night I hit a massive pothole in my town at night and in the rain. Blew my front right tire. Thinking I had run flats I slowly drove home 1.5 miles and towed the car to the local dealership last night. Turns out the 21”s do not come with run flats. My dealership that ordered the car for me never knew this. When you build your car on the Mercedes website there is no information about not having run flats available for the 21”s. So, I had a nice surprise this morning. The rear tire also has to be replaced to because it had a bubble in it. I never would have ordered the 21” rims if I knew it did not have run flats so now I might have to order 20” rims and swap. I agree 100% with the OP. Do not get the 21”s!

sjdille

An exact replica of what happened to me. On my first pothole tire failure - I had my second yesterday - I blew my front tire and the rear behind it had a bubble. Had to replace 2 tires. No run flat tires so I limped home and had the car towed to Mercedes the next morning. Got my car back this morning after my second pothole failure yesterday. These 21” low profile tires WILL NOT survive even small pot hole impacts if hit in a certain way. Now I’m so gun shy, my eyes are glued to the immediate road surface ahead instead of focusing on everything else.
It sure takes away much of the pleasure of driving my new $140,000 + car. And, believe me, this will happen to many more new S580 owners with 21” wheels and tires.

Baloo588

Michelins any day regardless if 21s or not. They are super smooth, quiet and more durable then the crap Pirellis. I have these Pilot 4S on my RS7 with 22 inch rims and same profile as the S580 rear wheels and never had blow outs, puncture. bubbles etc. Thats why I always ditch the OEM pirellis. They are soft.

jay2o01

You sure the 21s are non run flats (in a car with no spare)? If thats the case I want some of whatever Mercedes is smoking. My car didn’t even come with a jack or tire iron.

sjdille

True, not run flats. I did limp, slowly, to the dealer without being towed, however. The service advisor did confirm they aren’t run flat. And yes, what is Mercedes thinking?

Sleeper Benz

Could be that the 21" wheels are equipped with summer (non-all season) tires for their higher speed rating and as such that vehicle would have a higher governed speed from the factory, say 155 mph max as compared to a vehicle with all season tires and factory governed at 130 mph tops. I'm not sure where run flats max out.

robbor6386

I've had a similar issue here in San Diego as well with the 21' Pirellis. (2k miles on them) A pin sized hole on the inner sidewall of the passenger side rear tire developed somehow which results in a slow leak and the need to replace the tire. No donut/spare/car jack/tools included with my s580. Just an air compressor and temporary 50mph/50 mile sealant is how Mercedes arms you for this situation.
The stock Pzero MO-S version (foam insert for quietness per what i could find) that come from Mercedes are currently back ordered with no approximate delivery date. I went with the non-mercedes Pzeros and do not notice any difference in road noise/feel.
I drove my '14 Audi S8 ~70k miles with 21" wheels/tires (2 sets). I choose the Michelin options and didnt experience any sidewall issues but a few times with screws in the treads. When that happened, the oem jack/donut got me on my way in mins. Not sure why its not an option on the S580.
When the next Pirelli goes, I will be swapping out to Michelin.

sjdille

Just keep your eye out for our famous pot holes here in our lovely pot hole riddled streets of San Diego. Hitting one of those will cause a lot more damage than a slow leak!

Streamliner

Remembering my days as a Boy Scout: “Always be prepared!”

robbor6386

good call. Would a full size golf bag fit in the trunk with the donut?
I was shocked I can only seem to fit 2 bags with nothing else back there.

Streamliner

Not being a golfer, I don’t know. My wife and I like to take 4 & 5 day car trips. We get both carry-ons in there, plus most everything else we need. A jack & tool kit is stored under the truck floor.

If one hits a road hazard that shreds a tire or cracks a wheel and it isn’t close to a metro area, without a spare, you are going for a ride in the cab of a tow truck. Knowing that spare is there gives me great peace of mind.

SW20S

My guess is a golf bag wont go in the trunk of a W222 with the Burmester 3D even without the spare tire...it barely fits in the trunk of mine without the subwoofer.

akg1984

Are you absolutely certain about this? I had to swap out the 20s on my W222 in favor of the AMG 19s to avoid rim and tire damage issues. If the 20s on the W223 generation have an extra inch of sidewall compared to the W222 generation, that would be a huge upgrade. I love the look of the 20s but leaning 19s on my order. Any insights from those who have the 20s on the W223 generation would be very helpful. Thank you!

SW20S

Yeah, its just math. The thickness of the sidewall is the width of the tire multiplied by the aspect ratio as a decimal. Its not a full inch, but they are thicker. The W223 on 20s have sidewalls less than 1/2 an inch thinner than the W222 on 19s.

sjdille

not sure if that is correct. The aspect ratio measures the HEIGHT of the sidewall, not the thickness, which is what I am concerned about. I’d like to know if different companies have stats on the thickness of their sidewalls , and if they have to conform to minimum standards.
see definition of aspect ratio below

The two-digit number after the slash mark in a tire size is the aspect ratio. For example, in a size P215/65 R15 tire, the 65 means that the height is equal to 65% of the tire's width. The bigger the aspect ratio, the bigger the tire's sidewall will be.

akg1984

I see what you are saying. The tire width for the 20" wheels is 10mm more in the W223 generation vs W222. The sidewall height will be proportionally greater as well given the same aspect ratio (which remains same for both generations). Thanks!