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That's exactly how my car's rear looks also with 285/30-20 tires.
However, the front gap on my car looks smaller due to taller 245/35-20 tires (vs. stock 255/35-19) - that's exactly the effect I expected.
That's how I normally "solve" MB's relatively large wheel gap - by going +1 on wheels but keeping same tire profile as stock. So normally 245/35-20 front and 285/30-20 rear (as I've done on my previous R230 with ABC and still do on my C218 with airmatic) would do the job, but that's not the case with SL's non-ABC rear. Since aftermarket wheels is the extend I would modify my cars, any non MB suspension parts are out of the question for me. I'll probably try 21" wheel in the back with a tire close to 28" (based on my car's rear gap with current 26.8" tire, there's more than enough room) probably PSS 285/30-21 or even 295/30-21 with front 255/35-20. Now I have to find wheels I like which are available in both sizes while being wide enough.
R231 with springs are just more difficult to lower. The ideal solution would be adjustable coilovers but I haven't seen any offered. Perhaps checking with Bilstein could help. They may know if there are compatibilities between MB models.
Otherwise the Eibach springs maybe an option. Either way it will cost $700-$1k to experiment.
Re. using larger tire sizes with larger wheels may not work when the gap is very large. Unless you like the fat bike look
Guys, to clarify. I know of no US dealers stocking these (Two numbers for sport suspension springs). I can get them if needed however I'd pull them from Germany. Also, what Wolfman pointed out about the US market sport suspension is valid, I haven't personally ever run a US market car that had the 486 option code.
-Kyle
This is significant. To confirm, are you saying the 486 option is the option that triggers the sport suspension?
I may act as the guinea pig. I'm debating between ordering the sport springs or the eibachs. I'm more than likely to go Mercedes.
My sl is delivered in about a week. I have super sports coming in 295/30/20 and 255/35/20. We will see how it looks.
That's exactly how my car's rear looks also with 285/30-20 tires.
However, the front gap on my car looks smaller due to taller 245/35-20 tires (vs. stock 255/35-19) - that's exactly the effect I expected.
That's how I normally "solve" MB's relatively large wheel gap - by going +1 on wheels but keeping same tire profile as stock. So normally 245/35-20 front and 285/30-20 rear (as I've done on my previous R230 with ABC and still do on my C218 with airmatic) would do the job, but that's not the case with SL's non-ABC rear. Since aftermarket wheels is the extend I would modify my cars, any non MB suspension parts are out of the question for me. I'll probably try 21" wheel in the back with a tire close to 28" (based on my car's rear gap with current 26.8" tire, there's more than enough room) probably PSS 285/30-21 or even 295/30-21 with front 255/35-20. Now I have to find wheels I like which are available in both sizes while being wide enough.
This looks pretty great. Eye of the beholder, but that isn't bad from my point of view.
My sl is delivered in about a week. I have super sports coming in 295/30/20 and 255/35/20. We will see how it looks.
What are your wheels' specs to use 255/35-20 and 295/30-20. Once 255/35-20s are fitted, please let us know if there's any rubbing on top of suspension.
3mb, can you take a picture of your current front and rear wheel gap using a straight on profile shot?
245/35-20 on 8.5" wide et38 with 20mm spacer (for et18, but it has room for et13 which I have now with 25mm front spacers).
285/30-20 on 10" wide et38 with 10mm spacer (for et28, but there's no poke due to me using the narrowest (11") section width tire available in this size). I tried 10" wide et25 with "regular" section width tire in this size (11.4") and wheel poked about 5mm. That's how I know that 11" wide et28 wheel with 295/30-20 tire (12" section width or a full 1" greater than above picture) will poke on non-lowered car by a "mile". (For 11" wide wheel I would use offset not lower than 40mm).
Can u post that picture so I can see your bigger wheel, same sidewall look?
My comment was for a stock, non-lowered car.
The last picture https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...ana-rf2-s.html still shows very minor poke, but its a "well" lowered car. As you know when car is lowered, the top of tire tilts in so one can run much lower offsets with minimum or no poke vs. same wheel.offset on stock hight non-ABC car.
Actually did not know that -- thanks for the advice. Called Rohana, and they said it will poke out, at most, 1/4 of an inch until I lower it. Implied it's basically only noticeable with a lot of scrutiny. Bah, roll the dice.
Just did a check on Tirerack, and if I recall correctly, your sumitumo's have a 26.7" diameter, and my super sports will have a 27" diameter. I imagine if you haven't seen any rub issues, I hope I won't either. Pretty marginal spread.
Can u post that picture so I can see your bigger wheel, same sidewall look?
In a post above I stated I'm thinking about it (21" rear and 20" front). I have not done it yet. The biggest problem I see is too much added weight at the rear and potential drivability issues with rear diameter of close to 28", not if it fits as I'm sure it will without rubbing.
Actually did not know that -- thanks for the advice. Called Rohana, and they said it will poke out, at most, 1/4 of an inch until I lower it. Implied it's basically only noticeable with a lot of scrutiny. Bah, roll the dice.
Just did a check on Tirerack, and if I recall correctly, your sumitumo's have a 26.7" diameter, and my super sports will have a 27" diameter. I imagine if you haven't seen any rub issues, I hope I won't either. Pretty marginal spread.
1. I stand by my earlier comment - 295/30-20 PSS on 11x20 et28 wheels will stick out by 1/2" on non-lowered SL. which is quite noticeable. My current rear set up is 100% flush - your proposed set up combination (wheel and tire) is a full 1" wider with the same offset which means it will poke by 1/2".
2. Diameter is not the issues - the wheel's width and tire's section width is. There's no rubbing issues because of a large tire gap, that's how I know that 27.8" 285/30-21 tire will fit without any issues while meaningfully cutting down on tire gap.
Since both of you want to have an aggressive stance, the cars also need to ride low to look right, otherwise it looks funky.
threeMBs, IMHO your cars look may not improve with 21" wheels. You will spend more money on the wheel package, the ride quality on 21" won't be as good and the car still won't look balanced.
Thinking that the springs will have less impact on the ride quality that the rims, I would go for the Eibach or Brabus springs and call it a day
Ransomed12, no way your car will look right with just the MB sport springs. Still too tall. Or so I assume. What is the model year you are getting? Reason I am asking is that I have decreased the spacer width with the 2017 model as the AMG package is less pronounced.
Wheels that stick out rarely look good on a car. Maybe change the order and get a different wheel offset for the rears?
Since both of you want to have an aggressive stance, the cars also need to ride low to look right, otherwise it looks funky.
threeMBs, IMHO your cars look may not improve with 21" wheels. You will spend more money on the wheel package, the ride quality on 21" won't be as good and the car still won't look balanced.
Thinking that the springs will have less impact on the ride quality that the rims, I would go for the Eibach or Brabus springs and call it a day
Below, are closeups of stock 255/35-19 and 285/30-19 (not my car, but all non-ABC cars are the same).
Then look at 245/35-20 and 285/30-20 I posted above. Tire gap reduction is obvious (not as good as lowering, but I won't use non MB suspension components, other than wheels/tires that is). Huge discrepancy in tire gap front to rear is begging for installing +1 wheel on rear (as compared to the front) while keeping the same profile as front. I'm not really into the lowering bandwagon at all "costs", as long as tire gap is acceptable to me I'll stay with +1 as I've done in the past. I'm sure 255/35-20 front and 285/30-21 rear will preserve ride while achieving the look that I want. What stopping me now is weight of about 65lbs for 21" combined with 2" greater than stock rear diameter, will "slow" car down.
Below, are closeups of stock 255/35-19 and 285/30-19 (not my car, but all non-ABC cars are the same).
Then look at 245/35-20 and 285/30-20 I posted above. Tire gap reduction is obvious (not as good as lowering, but I won't use non MB suspension components, other than wheels/tires that is). Huge discrepancy in tire gap front to rear is begging for installing +1 wheel on rear (as compared to the front) while keeping the same profile as front. I'm not really into the lowering bandwagon at all "costs", as long as tire gap is acceptable to me I'll stay with +1 as I've done in the past. I'm sure 255/35-20 front and 285/30-21 rear will preserve ride while achieving the look that I want. What stopping me now is weight of about 65lbs for 21" combined with 2" greater than stock rear diameter, will "slow" car down.
I am not concerned about using non-MB components. The springs mentioned here are at minimum equal but likely better in quality than MB. The MB SL springs are not high-end by any measure.
I hated the SUV-level gaps and felt it was ridiculous to have to spend money just to make the car look like "stock". Our S550 fro example looks fine just as it came with barely being able to fit two fingers between tire and wheel well.
That said, in my opinion, the wider the stance, the lower the car has to be. Anytime I can see the profile on top of the tire, it's too tall.
Because you are changing the width as well, the look and feel of the car changes. So it's not just how the car look from a side view.
Re. weight, just get forged wheels. Pricier but they make a huge difference with their lower unsprung weight and the car feels much more nimble to drive, disregarding the wheel size.
01-05-2017, 06:22 PM
