I picked up my S580 AMG Line two months ago with the great looking AMG 21" wheels. Two of the tires had small bubbles on the sidewalks from crashing through potholes and the dealer installed new Pirellis on both before I took delivery. I made a mental note to go to a smaller rim given the abundant potholes where I live and positive reports from other forum posts. The manager at the tire shop (Pirelli distributor) I frequent mentioned he had a repeat customer he'd been recommending to make the switch but kept coming back for new tires, another good reference point for the switch.

Initial impressions since yesterday: more compliant ride, slightly quieter too. I still need to see how they do at higher speeds. Visually I liked the AMG wheels but these look pretty good too. Before and after are below;

OEM AMG


Asanti Black Label

 

I intentionally factory order cars because I can never get the smallest wheel size options....I'm with you. Once you go small, you never go back

 

Me too!


18” wheels on one of my S560’s.

 

Not as sexy, but far more comfortable! You can't see the wheels while driving, but can experience the enhanced ride quality.

 

There's a happy medium. My S560 had 19s and it rode great and looked great. M y S580 has 19s but I would have gotten the 20s. Driving them back to back there wasn't much difference. I actively avoided cars on the 21s

 

Last week in the span of 12 hours I blew out 3 tires on my 21 inch rims, 1 on a pothole in Pittsburgh, 2 on a pothole in Morgantown WV. I’m getting rid of the 21s. In 4 years I think I’ve blown out 7-8 tires. Just can’t take the car on road trips anymore. Can’t wait to get 20s and put run flats on.

 

I mentioned this back when this issue first came to light years ago, but I believe it bears repeating:

It is absolutely unconscionable that MB, in most cases, did absolutely nothing to help W223 customers who lived through this 21” wheel nightmare. It became very evident—early on—that the 21” wheels & tires fitted from the factory were very problematic on the big, heavy S Class. MB should have immediately offered NO CHARGE swaps for 19” or 20” wheels & tires, but instead told most owners that THEY were on their own and must bear the cost of any repairs or remedies. “Mercedes-Benz: The Best or Nothing!”

 

21 in rims are not big. What I'm very lost is what I'm reading here. There are an insufferable number of blowouts on the 223 on 21s??

I don't get how this is. Various cars of this weight category use 21s or even bigger... If we want to throw weight into this then sure the Rolls-Royce products are nearing three tons and they have 21's as well or bigger...

 

The fact that MB dropped it from the option since '25 speaks for itself.
for a vehicle close to 5,000 lbs with super low profile tires needed forged wheels and tougher side walls to not blow out the tires.

Have y'all seen the latest 140 years 140 places S class pictures after it arrived in Malaysia?
I found it comical that the same vehicle that was wearing the 21" stock wheels/tires combo is now on 19" after several months of driving through several countries!

I have custom forged 21" wheels with S63E's MP4S tires and never had any problems after 11k miles.
It's not the size of the wheels, it's the material and spec combo.

 

I know nothing about the subject but I thought that tire blowouts are a result of the rubber itself and not the way the rims are made? For reference a Ghost is 900 pounds heavier than an s-class and you can get it with 21s.

 

And Range Rovers come with 23" wheels.
The blowout ITSELF, yes, it's most likely the rubber/tires.
But several had cracked wheels as well, hence the mentioning of forged wheels vs. cast.
I bet Ghost has forged 21" wheels and that's with beefier tires (40/35 series)

 

Even if Mercedes had offered a free swap to a smaller size, I would have passed. Not that a car can be vain, but their owners certainly can be. 21s look good on our cars even if I have suffered through three blowouts myself.

 

There are two issues here: First, the very low profile tires on a big, heavy vehicle don't play nice with pot holes. Second, the actual 21" wheels MB used on the W223, were just not strong enough. In addition to tire blowouts, there were just TONS of bent & cracked wheels in this fiasco.

 

Looks like a C-class.

just teasing.... big wheels with low profile tires are functionally very dumb, even if they look appealing.

 

It's like a woman wearing high heels to Disneyland. Looks great, but doesn't work out too well.

 

You don’t have to go down to those frumpy looking 18s is the thing. Theres a happy medium.

 

yeah it was a huge mistake for me to not bite bullet and remedy this 4 years ago. No worse feeling than to be on the Interstate of WV and have to get your car towed and then stay a day and a half in a hotel while the tires are FedEx'd. Thankfully it was a weekday morning and outside Morgantown exit and not late at night in the desolate hills when the 2nd blowout happened.

 

Fully agree. I will also emphasize the the definition of "large" wheels differs from car to car. Take a Rolls-Royce Phantom and it drives just as good (and better) than the S with 18" and E-ABC. Each car has a limit to which large wheels start to impact the ride. In a car like the S, without E-ABC, I would 100% go with the smallest wheel possible if the goal is to get close to the most impressive car you could ride . The S with standard suspension drives really bad to me, compared to other models. Of course, "bad" is relative and depends on what you're comparing against. Someone coming from say a mainstream japanese sedans or vans will likely be impressed regardless. I'd take @Streamliner's suggestions on the wheels. Would I do 18" on an S particularly? Now: yes; In the past? no cause my previous baseline was also an S with med/large wheels. Depending on your previous/current ride, med size wheels might be tolerable to some degree but not enough to say that it is best driving car I have ever driven. I think the OP did the right thing and he is already feeling the benefits.

I've had so many S cars, and most recently I had two 222s and broadly we currently have a new one in the family. They all drove fine, but I wouldn't put any of them in the "most impressive car I have ever driven" ranking. The new one with 18" wheels and E-ABC they may get somewhat closer. Without that combination, with standard suspension, the S isn't that great to accommodate large wheels if you want the very best ride possible, the same way as other cars can accommodate them while still offering you the feel that the ride/refinement at a Rolls Royce level.

Knowing what I know today, I'd go with 18" on standard suspension if I happen to be stuck with a basic car with no E-ABC. Perhaps a case can be made for 19" or maybe 20" with E-ABC before meaningful compromises start appearing. The suspension feel is already a common complaint regardless.

 

I have no data points to support or disagree with a Phantom being as good or better than an S class with 18" rims, but I will say that people in general totally underestimate the importance of wheel sizes on cars. My guess would be, yes, a W223 on non RFTs on 18s is going to be one hell of a comfortable ride, probably beating 99.9% of cars on the road, and maybe even a Phantom.

The issue with Phantom is that the smallest rim size are 21s, and as an owner of one who has also driven one with 22s, the difference is HUGE. I can tell you that my A8s on 19s is probably the most subline ride ever as it pairs a totally aluminum body on 19s but you got me if we're now comparing W223s with 18s. I bet you the latter would win (even if that makes me sad).

I had the Ghost on 20s (smallest option), and dare I say it that rides better than my Phantom on 21s.

Yes 1" matters...a LOT on cars.

Although I got to hand it to you guys. The smaller rim options on the W223, to me, look totally fine. I can totally see how some people would be like "eww, sidewall". I'm now at an age where I don't give a flying rat's a** about what other people think. Comfort is king even if some nobody on the road goes "oh eww, 19s on an A8?"....leave me alone (lol)

Fun fact - so, my A8s on 19s. My Range Rover is on 21s. These are the two smallest options for both of these cars. People go on and on and on about how awesome the ride is on the Range Rover....like, reviewers don't shut up.

My gosh, A8s on 19s CRUSHES the Range Rover. We're not even talking about the same league. So 20s on the W223 - yes please.

 

that's such a perfect analogy...

 

Oh for sure. Imagine making choices just based on the hypothesis that people like so-and-so sidewall lol. I'd take some serious mental issues to make that priority over what I think is the most impressive ride for me, or what my wife and kids like or enjoy. My money, my car, and while I want it to stand out I also want to enjoy the ride as a priority. That's the #1 reason we pay this much for these cars. I'd throw it away next day if it gives me even vibes of discomfort or cabin issues.
Good to know about the Range R. Not surprised though, an SUV like that would never be even close to a refined sedan like the A8 in terms of ride quality. They are called flagships for a reason.

 

The taller sidewall also has a higher load index, making it a better choice when your car is fully loaded with passengers and luggage.

 

You nailed it. This is EXACTLY why I said earlier than the definition of "large" wheels differs from car to car. The air suspension tuning, the packaging and drivetrain, the weight distribution, size of the car itself.. All of that can allow cars to run larger wheels and still blow away others with smaller wheels. There is a reason, for example, that RollsRoyce cars run on larger wheels but are still very comfy. I had before an Alpina B8 and it runs 21" and it drove soooo much better than M850 or M8 with smaller 20". They are designed from day-1 for that. I think the issue here is that the S is actually designed around E-ABC as a must have for max comfort, to the fact you'd have to get down to sizes like 18 to compensate for the lack of E-ABC on a straight road. On curves and rough roads, there is no way around not having E-ABC anyway. Maybach for example comes standard with 20" as the smallest option but they have their own suspension calibration and their ride quality is superior to any other trim regardless of wheel sizes; they were designed with large wheels in mind form day-1 and comfort being priority for buyers of this model regardless of options and trims. E-ABC is unavoidable to get the true flagship comfort level that competes with other flagships. At this level, advanced suspension packages are the lowest cost-to-value package you can treat yourself with. The difference is mind blowing, but folks can still enjoy cars with standard suspension and call them the most impressive car ever driven; until they realize it can still be even better.

 

20” wheels are the perfect compromise between good looks and a comfortable, compliant ride, with much lower risk to blowouts and bent wheels. I have 20” wheels on my AMG and that was a must have non-option for me lol. Most of these come optioned with 21 wheels, but it provides the same benefits as the S Class in terms of 20 vs 21s, without compromising performance.

 

I'm now dating myself but I don't remember what EABC does. I do recall that it does actively lean into corners which is far more than a party trick. Bullet trains lean for a reason. It's an overall reduction in forces experienced by the human body.

This isn't an A8 forum so apologies while I share this. There's a predictive suspension option that reads the road ahead and actively lifts the car ahead of a speed bump. As it drives over the speed bump, it lets the shock compress instantly while keeping the A8 at the same height as pre speed bump. It cancels out the speed bump...

Technologies like this are completely missed by car reviewers. Rolls Royce does NOT have technologies like this. (neither does my A8, sad). I have very little doubt the E-ABC's of the World do things like this better than a passive system on RR. Yes, the "flagbearer" system "reads the road ahead" and yes the RR ride is...insanely good, but it's not active IMHO. There's more innovation with A8/S class than with RR, even if the suspension has a suspension...(yes, it really does) on RR.