I have deposit on a 06 SL55 , need rims to get the look I need and curious how much ride is affected with a set of 20's, my 550 I'm trading in has a great ride, does the 55 have same suspension and is the ride height the same on a 55 as a 550? when I was at the dealership I noticed how much lower (probaly 3 or 4 inches) SL63 was to a SL550 that where side by side. Thanks.

You can actually adjust the ride height on every SL55 (thanks to its hydraulic active body control). I have 20" rims on mine and I think that it still feels comfortable enough. I've 18" rims on my 996 Carrera 4S and I think that the Porsche is still way harder with its 18" rims, than my SL55 with the 20" rims.

I'm aware of the ride ajustment, wanted to know if SL55 is lower than a SL550 in teir lowest stock ride heights. I have a SL550 leased till Dec, just bought SL55 today.

I have HRE 20 inch wheels with PS2 on my SL55. It rides a little hard but not much difference in ride quality.

i have 20 inch wheels on my sl 55 and the ride is perfect . the 18 stock wheels felt more comfortable and quiet.

when u put the 20z on..... @ 1st u will feel more bumps ... after u wont even notice it anymore . the car has great air suspension anyways so u barely feel bumps with these SLz .

Also my car looks pretty low because of the 20z .... ide say i have 1 1/2 inch gap between tire and frame. looks low enough to be classy yet pimp.

heres a pic for u

When I bought my 03 it had 20's and I took them off and put on 19's. I think the ride was greatly improved but I did prefer the look of the 20's.

I took the Stock 18 " Turbine wheels off and replaced with 19" SL65`s
on PS2`s. Went to the 295`s in the rear. Its tight but it works.

You feel the difference with the 19`s. Its a rougher ride. I can imagine with the 20`s its even worse.

It all depends on what you want. I still like to drive mine hard in the canyons and I think the 20`s would be too much with the rough roads.

Just dont make it look too ghetto if you go to 20`s.

True... but the difference between the 19" and the 20" wheels (concerning ride quality) is by far not as big as between 18" and 19" wheels.

Originally I had 18" AMG wheels on my SL55. They felt very comfy, but they also filtered the road away to heavily, so I upgraded to Lorinser turbine wheels in 19". The difference was like day and night. Suddenly the ride felt stiff and agile. Now I upgraded to 20" wheels (same design) and to my surprise, the difference wasn't really noticeable. It does feel a little stiffer, but much less than what you would expect from the experience of the difference between 18" and 19" wheels.

My fiancee didn't even notice the difference (neither visually, nor in ride quality). No if that ain't proof enough!

Larger rims will affect handling, ride comfort and performance, all in a negative way, they improve the looks only and nothing else.
You are adding unsprung weight to your car, very bad thing for dynamics.
Wheel dealers want to sell you the product and will say what you want to hear....

use 19s, they dont give any trouble. 20s will cause various problems

Why the 10+ year necrobump?

I made some measurements and the stock springs have a higher spring rate than the KW HAS spring kit. Factory wire diameter is slightly higher, overall diameters are similar, and the KW HAS has more active coils. I believe they will suit the factory shocks better than the factory springs themselves! Just a small tidbit for those who are interested.