BigGar

Has anyone had any problems with this?
I don't think there would be any clearance issues at the rear, but how about the front? Will the 255/45/R17 size tires work up there?
I bolted a set on the front and drove the car over varying road surfaces for 10 miles or so with no problems. I only encountered any rubbing at all at full steering lock and then they just barely touched the plastic inner fender. Full steering lock would only be used at parking speeds anyway. There was no immediate hard surface directly behind where they rubbed, so I don't think there would be an issue. They looked good too.
I would welcome anyone elses experience in this department.


Gar

RUCKDR

How about the overall diameter; if it is not the same, and it sounds like the diameter is bigger since they rub, your speedo will not be correct.
Perhaps 255/40 x 17 would be closer to the correct diameter. Not sure if that size exists - check with a tire store.
Later,

BigGar

The set already has the tires mounted.
I imagine they may be a tiny bit taller than the 245's, and yes, that would alter the speedo a little.
I think it's the width that causes the small amount of rubbing though.
255/45/R17 would be a plus one to a 245/55/16 I think.
What are the largest tires that normally mount to the front of the 129's?


Gar

Black129

the 255/45/r17 are 26.04 inches tall and the 245/45/17 are 25.68 tall so you may have some speedo errors. If you are going to mount the r230 tires I would strongly suggest along with luke from tire rack to get longer bolts because the r230 rim will reduce the amount of lug into the rotor by 2mm. It may not sound like much but I would not mess with it.

MeJay

While we are at this topic, will someone give me some suggestions on what to mount on my rims that I just bought.

Bought a set of used 17" AMG Monoblock off a CLK55. The tires on the rims are 225/45R17 in the front and 245/40R17 in the rear.

The tires on my OEM rims are 225/55R16 front and back.

My questions are:
1). Can I use the 225/45R17 and 245/40R17 on my car? Will this affect my speedo?
2). If the above is not right for my car, what size of tires should I purchase in order not to mass up the speedo?

My car is a '95 SL. Thanks for any help out there.

RUCKDR

MeJay, as I said above and what Blacb129 said, the diameter is the critical issue with the speedo. A better way to measure is the "rolling circumference"; measure the circumference of the tires since you have both in hand. Also, there are tire size charts that give the diameters as per sizes and wheel sizes, can't put my hands on a chart right now. Tire companies have these. There is a formula for this; I'll look it up, but have to go now.
Later,
Don

RUCKDR

OK, I found the Tire Diameter foumula:

TIRE DIAMETER CALCULATION

Tire Diameter = (Width x Aspect Ratio) / 2540 x 2 + Wheel Diameter(inches)

Where: Width is the first number in size (i.e. 225)
Aspect Ratio is second number (i.e. 55)
2540 is the conversion factor to inches
Wheel Diameter in inches

Example: 225/55 x 16
225 x 55/2540 x 2 + 16 = 25.74 inches
Example: 225/45 x 17
225 x 45/2540 x 2 + 17 = 24.97 inches

So you can calculate the diameters.

MeJay: your stock size is 225/55R16, same as mine, which is 25.74 inches diameter. As you can see the 225/45R17 has a diameter of 24.97 inches, quite a difference to the speedo.

Later, and Happy New Year !!

Don

scorchie

The real problem is if you use R230 wheels with ball seat mounts (just about any OEM wheel and a few aftermarket wheels), the 14mm lug diameter of the R230 wheel will not be retained properly by the 12mm lugs on the R129 chassis. It's really not a good situation.

-s-

MeJay

The wheels are from a '01 CLK. Hope the lugs are the same. Will dind out when I mount them this weekend.

MeJay

Don,
Thank you so much for the calculator. Now I need to find a tire size that will fit my car. Thanks again.

scorchie

Wheels from an '01 CLK, while the offset is a bit too high, still work well on the R129. Same lug sizes. My initial response was to the thread started, who asked about R230 rims... those do use a different lug size, but a more compatible offset.

-s-

Black129

http://www.sstire.com/tireheights.html. This is a pretty good chart for quick tire size reference.

Darren500

The car drove terrible - pulled left and right - I couldnt determine the exact problem but when I put back the 17" wheels i had from a 99 SL500 the car drove perfect again

antgli

Is there a solution to this? I just bought AMG Style III wheels from an R230 for my 94 SL500. I knew the R230 took 14mm bolts instead of the 12mm bolts. Do they sell 12mm lug bolts that can seat properly on the R230 wheels? I've heard some people having no problems with the 12mm bolts but they just needed the right length bolts. Hmmm...

iveza

will Front 255/35 zr 19 and Rear 295/30 zr 19 Rims from a 2005 sl55 fit a 1999 sl 500? Thank You.

Roberte

I looked into this several years ago and if I recall correctly, there are some certain lug bolts that were originally made for a VW Jetta that work for this. I want to say they have a 12mm shank, but a bigger head that accomodateds the 14mm shoulder. The bad news is that don't remember where I read this or exactly which bolts to get. But, this should give you a start as to where to start looking on this or the other MB forum as I'm pretty sure this is where I found the article.

Hope this helps.

jaybro

I have the exact same wheels on my 2000 R-129 No problems, Go to
RADUSADIRECT they have a 12mm thread with a shank length of 26mm and a 14mm ball seat P/N 20-4067-B

jaybro

Unless you have practical first hand experience you should not comment. The only real difference is the major thread diameter 12mm Vs. 14mm ( less than 3/16 ) and the ball seat diameter, With RADUSADIRECT bolts P/N 20-4067-B which has a 14 mm ball seat and the 12mm diameter thread the problem goes away. Use those AMG wheels. Keep in mind that these wheels and the SL hubs are hub centric,they do not rely on the lug bolts for concentricity.

SRHsl600

I have finally placed rubber 245/45/17 on wheels 17"that I got from a forum member in Texas. The strut flexible boot zip tie three flange retainer had to be rotated so that it would not contact the inside of the rubber. The boot otherwise would have been in contact with the sidewall of the tire at slow speeds to say nothing of the wall flex contact at high speeds. If there is a next time I will buy a narrower tire. ( don't intend to drive this but a few k's a year anymore)
Speedometer and cruise has little issue with the .3 inch difference in the original 16 inch wheel configuration.

ohollenbeck

jaybro is correct, there is a pretty extensive thread or two (in MBWORLD's FORUMS),on mounting 03 and up SL wheels on other types that are et compatable. The special lugs referred to solve the ball seat problem, which is really the only problem if the et is compatable. RAD even sells a longer version of those lugs that you can custom cut to the size you need for other wheel applications. There is one forum member who beleived that a 13mm ball is really correct, and that argument went on for some time. In the end after a few members tried the 14mm ballseats on the 12m lugs, it became appartent that the RAD solution was correct.

I put 04 SL55 22 spoke turbine wheels on my 99 SL500, just swapped the stock tires from the oem 5 spoke AMG's to the new SL55's and installed with the 12m x 26mm, 14mm ball lugs.... perfect fit, the SL looks great and handles perfectly.