Went to see the John & Chip at CCW today to swap out my 295 PS2's for some Bridgestone 285 RE050A's. Check out the damage done after 11k miles of rubbing & "wiggling". Note the marks on the inside of the wheel wells. The passenger side was much worse than the driver's for some reason. Alignment job is next. 285 so far has been perfect with no rubbing or wiggle at WOT. Huge props to John & Chip for continued superb service.

 

More pics

 

wow, that looks like it could have been very dangerous if left alone

 

I had no idea that the tire would get so chewed up like that, we were all shocked at the amount of damage. I knew it was rubbing bad under WOT, but the wheel was never taken off until today. Potential disaster avoided. 295 PS2 is just too wide, lesson learned.

 

that was an accident waiting to happen

 

WOW, good thing you caught it in time. It looks like there are a good bit of tire chips around your town, , you'll be safer now. How's the RE050As compared to the PS2s?

 

Wow, I can't imagine the heat generated and the fuel economy you lost through that.

 

I know you and I have been round and round with this. But, given what you see. Is the 295 too wide, no matter waht? In other words, could a more agressive offset have avoided it or are you already too close on the outside of the rim? This is why i am so concerned with offset. I also wonder how much the entire driveline flexes under load. I know the toe links will help, but now I wonder if the flex in the tire itself is also a variable. I really want to make 295s work out, but am having a hard time getting the exact tire and wheel combo.

 

Wow...that's really not good. I see cords in one pic.
+1 on CCW. I just bought their Drag Pack setup for my Cobra. The wheels arrived yesterday, tires mounted and balanced and ready to go exactly when Chip said I'd have them.


S.

 

lol, 295's can work perfectly on the rear with a slight fender roll. I've seen and done it.

 

Wow, that is ugly. Is your car lowered?

 

Man, that's crazy. Glad you caught it in time.

 

I honestly think 295 wont work on the W211. this car is a good example of that as CCW likely had what they think is the idea off-set for the car. I dont think you can move the tire out enough towards the fender to stop this issue.

Furthermore, the suspension has a HUGE amount of flex under fore/aft flex and a great deal of lateral flex as well. There is a reason why mb is so cautious on wheel sizing and that simply is because as the car ages the felx gets worse and worse and they need to know that there will be no rubbing at any time at any age.

Watch the car on a dyno when it shifts at WOT or watch it as it hits the rev limiter. You have a inch or more of movement it seems and thats a ton. That likey is an exaduration but it still says you should have a margin of error. Heck mount a camera to your rear fender and film your driving in the canyons and see how much your wheel moves around under load. All that rubber moves all over the place. The toe links are a MUST if you have big wheels and big power IMHO.

IF I were to go for aftermarket wheels I would just go for 265 285 with CCW wheels and stick to 18x9 and 18x9.5 in the rear. Any bigger and you just are asking for trouble.

I just look at his rear wheels here and I think that he had to have the wheel hitting the subframe there a few times for the tire to be chewed up like that. If I had those wheels I would get rid of them and get a better fitment made for I am very cautious with these sorts of things

Glad he solved this issue and hope everything goes well. I still love CCW and I know some good friends who have cars with CCW wheels (sponsored cars) and they are simply amazing. Off-sets are hit and miss and I think this set of wheels are sitting a bit to far inboard for my tastes.

 

Sure it works with a casual driver who does not stress the car that much. If you are so close that the fenders need rolling, you will likely see Jangy tearing tires up with that kind of fitment.

If he took all the suspension play out of the car of course it would work just fine as it does fit inside the wheel well.

This comes down to a debate between a racer and people wanting to look fantastic and drive quickly sometimes. For Jangy light wheels with a bit smaller tires seems better. 10mm wont be that big of a difference in the end as far as grip goes.

 

Well, I have done 295 rear and 255 front for a customer who tracks his E55 and he has no problems at all with rubbing after we rolled his fender. I see from the pictures that the CCW were rubbing on the inside of the wheels, this was never an issue with the cars we have done with 295 rears. Intead we push the wheel out a bit more and would rather roll the fenders then to have the damage shown on the inside like the pics above.

 

I'm still planning on making 295s fit, although i now see that flex and not just static offset is important. I am hoping to get a more stable car once i get all of the bushings, etc replaced. There is definitely lots of flex back there and some is from the tires, but some is from the suspension. Adding that much traction to so much power is making it harder for the rear end to stay even and I want it all, so i need to figure something out.
I agree with Neal that 295s will work on an E55, if the fenders are rolled. Actually, I've helped a few set up their cars with 9.5 inch rims and had it work. What i am trying to do is keep from rolling the fenders AND go to a wider rim. 295s on a 9.5 is just a bit sloppy for me. Looks good, but doesn't react as i like.

By the way, those tires look tore up!! I assume there was some rubbing against metal as well to cause that kind of damage?

 

I dunno WTF caused that kind of scary damage. All I could feel while driving was the side to side oscillation "wiggle" under WOT. I never, ever felt that it could chew up a tire like that. My detailer never even saw it, and he is extremely thorough when he does my wheels without removing them. Maybe an alignment should have been done after the initial installation, I am definitely getting one ASAP now. I only have about 40 highway miles on the new rubber, so I can't quite make a good comparison to the PS2's yet.
I am bone stock other than the wheels/tires & stereo. No lowering was done, and I am definitely not rolling the fenders on a leased car.

 

WOW!

I'm surprised that with the sheer amount of rubber missing, you weren't noticably out of balance !

 

It might be the squared sidewall profile of the PS2's that is causing that. Neal has some nice rubbage pics from his days with the C55 on PS2's as well.

 

how did you not notice that happening?!

mine rub just a bit on hard turns and such and i can feel every bit of it..makes a good reminder to check them out often

mad props though for chewing up some expensive tires!

 

Maybe I was unable to hear rubbing because of my system banging constantly? I don't know, but I almost **** myself when John @ CCW pulled that wheel this AM. That was really scary to see knowing that I have been driving like my hair was on fire the last couple weeks. I keep close tabs on my tire pressure (no TPMS) and there was just no way to see that kind of damage without removing the wheel or putting the car up on a lift. I really had no indication from the driver's seat what was going on back there other than the infamous "wiggle".

 

I have had a few similar scares myself, but I don't know that they have ever been that bad. As hard as they must have been chewing..do you think that taking it down to an 85 will do the trick? I would almost be tempted to throw a 75 at it.

I have some crazy small tires in the garage...245/30/20's PS2s that I am dying to put on something...but I have no 20's on which to put them

 

I feel pretty good going with the Bridgestone 285. John @ CCW recommends this new setup strongly. To be honest, John was a little skeptical about doing the 295 PS2 set up 14 months ago and I was warned about potential rubbing. The photos show all the proof anyone needs that a 19x10 with a 295 PS2 just doesn't work. The wheels were made specifically for my car and I thought it would be cool to have the fattest tire on there that I could get. I am not that knowledgable about offsets etc, but I saw and learned quite a bit today, he knows wheels & tires as good as anyone.

 

So is the plastic liner the culprit or is it hitting on a suspension piece? doesnt seem like the plastic liner could do such damage,no? Either way your lucky to find it out now and not later!

 

So 285's on your same wheels is the key?