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This is with 245/35-20 on 8.5" et16 and 285/30-20 on 10" et28:
Stock:
H&R lowering springs lower by about 1.2" both front and rear. That will not be enough with 3" rear gap (do you have a side shot of your car?), so IMHO rear taller tires, 285/35-19, will be required. H&R spacers will also help.
This is with 245/35-20 on 8.5" et16 and 285/30-20 on 10" et28:
Stock:
H&R lowering springs lower by about 1.2" both front and rear. That will not be enough with 3" rear gap (do you have a side shot of your car?), so IMHO rear taller tires, 285/35-19, will be required. H&R spacers will also help.
Car looks great! Still a bit tall but the tires help.
At the time I thought a 1.2" drop have been great. Interestingly, the drop was more than anticipated in our case. The case of being too tall and too low (pre-spacers)
White Arrow Edition was made with option Mercedes chose and ABC unfortunately wasn't one of them. For instance it has night assist and I never drove the car in the dark. Everything else, from 2Look exterior to gorgeous 2 tone premium leather to alcatara headliner, I like a lot. Actually ordered Iridium Silver(my first color choice) with ABC, but since my better half wanted Dimond White as the first choice, when we saw SL63 and SL65 High Contrast Package cars in the showroom, we decided to cancel Silver and to wait for White Arrow SL550. Hence no ABC for me.
Now looking back, 295/30-20 rear would help just a bit further. However, this would require 255/35-20 front which based on my quick measurements would rub, but since I did not try it, I do not know in fact wether it would rub or not. But now I think I made error in calculation as I added full 5mm diameter difference (of 245/35-20 vs. 255/35-20) on top which made it clear it would probably just rub, however I should have added half of that difference, lets say 3mm, which now I think would just clear up top. Since I have two sets of 20" wheels both with 245/35-20 & 285/30-20, I do not want to bother now for only 3mm gain. I am content as is.
I can live with the front but the rear is ridiculous......
I am sure than installing 245/40-19 front and 285/35-19 rear tires with 15mm front and 20mm rear spacers will make a big difference (your ride will be a lot better too - higher sidewall and conventional tires). Since you're in FL, Continental's Extreme Contact Sport for under $1K would be great choice, or you could go for the ultimate - Pilot Sport 4S for about $300 more. Same tire(s) is(are) also available in 255/40-19 front and 295/35-19(with 15mm spacers vs. 20mm) rear if you want to be a bit more aggressive.
What about upping the rear rims to 20's and keeping the fronts at 19. Would that help and would it look more aggressive? I'm not a huge proponent of larger side wall tires. I would consider going up one size but not 2. Do people use 19's on the front and 20's on the rear? I had that set up on my old Vette
What about upping the rear rims to 20's and keeping the fronts at 19. Would that help and would it look more aggressive? I'm not a huge proponent of larger side wall tires. I would consider going up one size but not 2. Do people use 19's on the front and 20's on the rear? I had that set up on my old Vette
Answer is yes. But this will require different wheels. Tire sizes would be same as SL63/65 and many others here using on SL550: 255/35-19 and 285/30-20. Conventional tires, no run flats in 285/30-20. (FYI 285/30-20 and 285/35-19 have identical diameters, both will do what you want).
So, you are saying that staying with my 19" rims in the rear and stepping up to a 285/25/19 will look the same in profile and the tire will fill in the wheel well the same as stepping up to a 20" rim and pulling on 285/30/20s.... Then I don't need to do that
I'm still toying with installing the Brabus lowering springs.... But I may just put on the larger rear tire and add spacers and see how that looks first before messing with the suspension and not loving the ride....
So, you are saying that staying with my 19" rims in the rear and stepping up to a 285/25/19 will look the same in profile and the tire will fill in the wheel well the same as stepping up to a 20" rim and pulling on 285/30/20s.... Then I don't need to do that
I'm still toying with installing the Brabus lowering springs.... But I may just put on the larger rear tire and add spacers and see how that looks first before messing with the suspension and not loving the ride....
285/35-19.
As stated several times, 285/35-19 and 285/30-20 have identical 26.8" diameter (this is what you want to close wheel gap). Obviously they do not have the same profile - 285/30-20 (3.4" sidewall hight, which has nothing to do with tire/wheel diameter)) has identical profile as your current 285/30-19 (but 19's diameter is 25.8" instead of 26.8" for 20s), while 285/35-19 (3.9" sidewall hight) will have 1/2" taller sidewall (profile).
There several pictures of 295/35-19 (instead of 285/35-19) rear with stock 255/35-19 front posted in earlier posts of this thread. That car is also lowered. You can clearly see profiles of both to determine if it is for you. My main point is that 285/35-19 rear will close the gap enough, especially since you said you can leave with stock's front gap.
Thank you for your in depth explanation 3MBs. The tire sizes are confusing to me. I never learned the ratios. I'm used to looking for "fatter" tires, not higher profile ones....
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