SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: tire question

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Old Mar 4, 2023 | 11:59 PM
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tire question

Does anyone use same tire size on all 4 corners or do you all use staggered tires? All on stock rims
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Old Mar 5, 2023 | 03:16 AM
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Originally Posted by maxorbit
Does anyone use same tire size on all 4 corners or do you all use staggered tires? All on stock rims
When you say stock rims, do you mean all 4 the same or staggered rims? There were a lot of factory options on wheels. I have staggered tyres but they are on staggered rims.
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Old Mar 5, 2023 | 09:47 AM
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Tire size and staggered rims.

Originally Posted by maxorbit
Does anyone use same tire size on all 4 corners or do you all use staggered tires? All on stock rims
Although I’m new to the MB world, this is what I understand about staggered tires and wheels and my SL500.
Factory staggered wheels have the same diameter, (i.e. 18”), but the offset will be different from front to rear. Staggered tires will also have the same diameter but the width and sidewall aspect ratio will be different front to rear.
If in doubt, use the factory specified sizes.
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Old Mar 5, 2023 | 10:31 AM
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"stock rims" is a bit vague..... the base wheel in 03 was 8.5x17 on all 4 corners; they were not staggered and used 255/45 tires.

The optional 18" wheels were 1" wider on the rear so yes they were "staggered" with a 285/35 rear tread with 255/40 on the front 8.5x18 wheel.

There was also a 19" optional wheel.

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Old Mar 5, 2023 | 10:35 AM
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By MB's design, no we should not have the same size on all 4 corners. Cars built with staggered tires usually should not ever have matching aftermarket sizes. The TPMS and stability controls were built specifically for the miss-matched size. Best to leave this one as is.
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Old Mar 5, 2023 | 10:47 PM
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There is no similar experience
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by maxorbit
Does anyone use same tire size on all 4 corners or do you all use staggered tires? All on stock rims
Yes you need to define "Stock rims"

Here is a website that shows all wheel sizes available, along with tire sizes for each wheel.

Wheel size

Only use same size tires on same size wheels!
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by g0rsq
Yes you need to define "Stock rims"

Here is a website that shows all wheel sizes available, along with tire sizes for each wheel.

Wheel size

Only use same size tires on same size wheels!
yes I’m planning on 18” rims and they come in 8.5 or 9.5” wide rims. I want to keep simple and use 18/8.5” rims I could use a 255x40 tire

Last edited by maxorbit; Mar 7, 2023 at 12:27 AM.
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Old Mar 7, 2023 | 02:15 PM
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I got 18 x 8,5 and the 255 x 40 and no issues at all, of course I am not either a track racer or street racer...But in racing the rear tires are typically wide and low profile to increase the grip on turns!
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Old Mar 14, 2023 | 09:14 PM
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Thanks for all the info. I'm leaning towards stock wheels 18x8.5 on each corner with 255/40/18 tires on all 4. I'm not a racer or aggressive driver.
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Old Mar 14, 2023 | 10:17 PM
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My 2004 500SLAMG has the same wheels and tires on all 4 corners. It has an AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC transmission and Aluminum wheels 5-hole 'turbo' design 45.7 cm (18). The tires are specified on the door tag as summer tires. The tag also mentions staggered tire sizes.
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Old Mar 15, 2023 | 09:26 AM
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I have after market wheels on mine, but I mirrored what the factory set was. I really miss those factory wheels, they were quite trashed by the previous owner and no reasonable way to repair or replace them with the same AMG style that came on it.

285/30/19x9.5 on the back. I want to say the front is 255/35/19x8.5

Last edited by O_Dawg; Mar 15, 2023 at 04:32 PM.
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Old Mar 15, 2023 | 11:55 AM
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When I purchased my SL500 the car had 19x8.5 rims and series 35 tires. I didn't like the rims and do not like to have little rubber under the rim lip so I truly prefer the 18". The more rubber the better the suspension and less hazards due to pot holes!


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Old Mar 15, 2023 | 12:09 PM
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You are not even kidding, I try to be SUPER careful all the time and can feel every little bump in the road. I can see why the old factory ones were wasted so bad. If you aren't hyper aware of the road conditions, you could easily wreck them up.

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Old Mar 15, 2023 | 12:41 PM
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The owner's manual recommends Continentals, Michelin, etc. If you use those and a tire size specified in the owner's manual and on the door tag, U get a comfortable ride. My Contintental Extreme contact tires have a comfortable ride.
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Old Mar 15, 2023 | 01:01 PM
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It's got Michelin pilot super sports on it now, they were on it when I bought the car. Still pretty good shape, so probably won't switch them out anytime soon.
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