Hey guys, I was wondering if our factory wheels are staggered (iIhave 16x7-16x8 7 spoke) and if staggered wheels make that much of a performance difference to none staggered.

Thanks in advance...

 

Yes, the stock wheels are staggered on all US-spec SLKs. The rear wheels and tires are wider than the fronts.

Othere than just aesthetics, staggered wheels do two things.

First, they help prevent oversteer (or conversely, they create a tendency to understeer). Manufacturers like to design a car that has mild to moderate understeer because they feel it's easier to control for the average driver.

Second, they have a wider contact patch that gives more traction for maximum acceleration. This might be an advantage for an SLK32 AMG, but on a stock SLK230 or SLK320, the extra traction for acceleration is unnecessary.

If you were to get rid of the staggered wheels and tires go with the a non-staggered setup (e.g. 225/45ZR17 tires on 7.5x17ET37 wheels), you would gain more neutral handling and the ability to rotate your tires from front to back. It wouldn't make your car perform any better, but it would change the way it behaves when taken to the limits.

 

On my SLK320 (stock 215hp) I find that the rear-wheels tend to slip out a bit when I accelerate hard - particularly from a standing start. I could use some extra traction I'm thinking of moving from the stock Continental tires to a set of Bridgestone SO-3s to overcome this.

 

So when taken to the limits it wouldnt handle as well as with staggered wheels?

 

Hmm..

SLk32 owners tend to underestimate the 320, which is quite a bit more powerful than its 230 sibling. I too find that I needed more traction during hard cornering and downshifts and standing starts, so I am running 18X 8 up front and 18X 8.5 in the back. and it helps a little. (H&R and Koni Yellows helpa a lot too) SLK 320 actualy uses a lot more of the AMG parts (sway bars, bushings, rear end config , etc) than the 230...

 

I don't believe I'm underestimating either the 230 or 320. I owned a 230 and I have driven both manual and auto 320s. Neither will generate excessive wheelspin on takeoff.

BTW, The SLK320 does not share swaybars or the rear end with the SLK32AMG.

 

If I wanted to keep them staggered couldn't I just run 18x8.5s

225/40/18 on the front
&
245/35/18 on the rear

without any problems...and getting the same benefits as if the wheels were wider?

 

to slk320 - lets see a pic.

i have the sport pkg on my slk320, bt thinking of going 18" , just wondering what you got?

thanks.

 

Yes, that will work. You could even go with slightly wider 255/35R18 tires in the rear (that is actually what AMG recommends for the rear of the SLK with 18-inch wheels). BTW, the wheel offset should be 35mm for that setup.

 

Quick question about the staggered size rims. Since you obviously can't rotate them from front to rear, has anyone rotated them from left to right? Or does that damage the tires? Is it even necessary with the cheapo Continental ContiSport Contact tires that come with the SP1 sport package?

I'm soon approaching that mileage where they need to be rotated, but not sure if I actually have to.

Thanks!

 

As long as the tires are non-directional, you can rotate them from side to side. It doesn't damage modern radial tires. Some people claim to get a little more tread life, but not much.

You can also rotate unidirectional tires from side to side if you unmount and remount them so that they turn the correct direction when they're installed on the other side.

Personally, I wouldn't bother either way with Z-rated tires, especially if you're paying for the rotation. Most of them last around 18K miles on the SLK, and rotating from side to side isn't likely to extend their tread life even 1K miles.

 

Cool, thanks for the advice Brian. I'll just get them balanced, and save the remaining money for these friggin' sky high gas prices. :p

 

Sky-high gas prices eh...ever been to the UK? It's around $5.50 a gallon here just now...was higher a few weeks back. Good job it's only a lil country!

Regards,

Mark VN

 

With one exception, according to www.MBUsa.com the 2000 SLK230 Spec. Ed. came with 17" Evo II and 225/45R17 all around.

Now MB site might be wrong they also say that the spec. ed. SLK came with difference gearing

Gear ratios 1st: 3.86. 2nd: 2.18. 3rd: 1.38. 4th: 1.00. 5th: 0.80. Reverse: 4.22

NP

 

Good catch, I forgot that the 2000 Special Edition came with the same size wheels all around, and it was available only in the USA.

The transmissions (manual and automatic) in the Special Edition were identical to other pre-facelift SLKs. The ratios you gave are for the manual, but the automatic was still an option in the Special Edition.

 

Sometime I wish their website could give the correct info, I'd proof it for them if they'ed want to pay me.

NP