Do 19" wheels, vehicle lowering noticebly hurt ride comfort?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Do 19" wheels, vehicle lowering noticebly hurt ride comfort?
I am projected to receive my Black 2007 SLK-55 @ Jan. '08. I am going to place aftermarket wheels on it and have been searching this and other forums for a while now.
I do not want to sacrifice ride quality as I am happy with the ride as is. It appears the concensus is to go with 19x8.5 fronts and 19x9.5 rear wheels matched to 235/35 front and265/30 rear tires (at least according to YNOT and he seems to be "the man" regarding wheels/tires). I have read that there is no noticeable sacrifice in ride quality with this combo compared to the stock 18" wheels/tires. It's just hard to imagine that there would not be a noticeable change. Especially on rutted asphalt with wheel tracking.
The next concern I have is about lowering. I would only be interested in doing this strictly for esthetic benefit. My question is: is there really that much esthetic improvement in lowering this already low vehicle and if so, how bad is it going to drag. I suppose that all depends on how much it is lowered but any input would be appreciated!
I do not want to sacrifice ride quality as I am happy with the ride as is. It appears the concensus is to go with 19x8.5 fronts and 19x9.5 rear wheels matched to 235/35 front and265/30 rear tires (at least according to YNOT and he seems to be "the man" regarding wheels/tires). I have read that there is no noticeable sacrifice in ride quality with this combo compared to the stock 18" wheels/tires. It's just hard to imagine that there would not be a noticeable change. Especially on rutted asphalt with wheel tracking.
The next concern I have is about lowering. I would only be interested in doing this strictly for esthetic benefit. My question is: is there really that much esthetic improvement in lowering this already low vehicle and if so, how bad is it going to drag. I suppose that all depends on how much it is lowered but any input would be appreciated!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,990
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area
'10 Porsche Turbo PDK, 500e, GL450
my input
I agree Ynot knows his stuff ... but in my opinion you can easily use rims of 19x8 to 19x9 in front and 19x9 and 19x10 in the rear. The three sizes here can all fit the same tires.
Going to 19 will not affect your ride comfort ... if anything when I went to 19's for some reason it was more comfortable than the stock tires and rims. This could easily be explained by switching tires to both Michelin PS2s and Goodyear GSD3's.
My suggestion is if you go to the max size ... make sure you do not use Michelins. Use the Goodyears. Also if your going to lower the car significantly go with the 2 lesser sizes not the max size. At stock height the max size will fit with the Goodyears without any rubbing.
Also don't forget how easy it will be to scratch up your front bumper when you lower the car. This car is, as you say, already low so if you lower it that front bumper is going to be scratch magnet.
Going to 19 will not affect your ride comfort ... if anything when I went to 19's for some reason it was more comfortable than the stock tires and rims. This could easily be explained by switching tires to both Michelin PS2s and Goodyear GSD3's.
My suggestion is if you go to the max size ... make sure you do not use Michelins. Use the Goodyears. Also if your going to lower the car significantly go with the 2 lesser sizes not the max size. At stock height the max size will fit with the Goodyears without any rubbing.
Also don't forget how easy it will be to scratch up your front bumper when you lower the car. This car is, as you say, already low so if you lower it that front bumper is going to be scratch magnet.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
I agree Ynot knows his stuff ... but in my opinion you can easily use rims of 19x8 to 19x9 in front and 19x9 and 19x10 in the rear. The three sizes here can all fit the same tires.
Going to 19 will not affect your ride comfort ... if anything when I went to 19's for some reason it was more comfortable than the stock tires and rims. This could easily be explained by switching tires to both Michelin PS2s and Goodyear GSD3's.
My suggestion is if you go to the max size ... make sure you do not use Michelins. Use the Goodyears. Also if your going to lower the car significantly go with the 2 lesser sizes not the max size. At stock height the max size will fit with the Goodyears without any rubbing.
Also don't forget how easy it will be to scratch up your front bumper when you lower the car. This car is, as you say, already low so if you lower it that front bumper is going to be scratch magnet.
Going to 19 will not affect your ride comfort ... if anything when I went to 19's for some reason it was more comfortable than the stock tires and rims. This could easily be explained by switching tires to both Michelin PS2s and Goodyear GSD3's.
My suggestion is if you go to the max size ... make sure you do not use Michelins. Use the Goodyears. Also if your going to lower the car significantly go with the 2 lesser sizes not the max size. At stock height the max size will fit with the Goodyears without any rubbing.
Also don't forget how easy it will be to scratch up your front bumper when you lower the car. This car is, as you say, already low so if you lower it that front bumper is going to be scratch magnet.
