jayhawkblk

Ok guys I am still learning about these cars. i am use to working with BMW's. I am ready to get some wheels for my 55 but can decide if i should go 19's or 20's. I have always run 20's on my BMW's but I see a lot of you all running 19's on these cars. Is there any particular reason why the 19's over the 20's aside from weight? I am considering the Forgestar F14 or the Monarch RS's I was going 3 piece but I dont want to spend that much on wheels anymore unless I come across a great deal.

BenzoBoi

If you want to go fast(er) over lookin good....18's or 19's

If you want to look good over going fast(er)....20's

jayhawkblk

I think I want to go fast an look good doing it. What size are your wheels? I like those a lot.

BenzoBoi

Those wheels are the HRE M40's Monobloks. They are actually long gone. Sold them a while back. They are 19's.

AMG_RL

I personally prefer 19's just because the whole car can sit lower once you drop it. with 20's however, the wheels tuck in alot nicer than 19's into the fender wells. the unsprung weight that is lossed by staying with 19's is also a huge plus in terms of persformance

jayhawkblk

What are you running now?

This is a tough call wheather to run 19's or 20's.

BenzoBoi

20inch BBS LM's. Or at least I was. Had them on for about 3 weeks. Then I took them off and put my stockies on so I could go to the track and have some fun. Never put it back on since. They were at my friend's shop where I put the stockies on and I picked them up a few days ago. I LOVE the look of the car with them on but it slows me down too much

jayhawkblk

LOL sounds like you need some more go fast mods.

BenzoBoi

Trust me...I have enough power I just bought these wheels off of a guy who had them on a CLS. The tire sizes are a lil bigger then they should be for my car and I tend to rub a slight bit when I get a lil "aggressive" on the pedal in Sport II.

jayhawkblk

I know I heard your car was pretty nasty. But can you really have enough power? Well I just went and looked at some wheels. The Vossen CV1 and the 086, and 083, then there is the Forgestar F14's in matte black, or the RS's I cant decide on which ones to get. They all cost about the same.

BenzoBoi

If you don't mind me askin...where have you heard about my car? Just wondering...

Oh and it's not about can you really have enough power...it's more about can you get all of it to the ground.

The Vossen wheels are nice and so are the Forgestar's. Good luck wit yer decision. I know it's hard choosing only one set.

Hammer Down

ha ha this really made LOL BIG TIME!

cal1

What’s your tolerance for a vibrating steering wheel at freeway speeds because of tweaked rims? If it doesn’t bother you, go for 20s they will look awesome. I’m guessing there are a few potholes in Lawrence. I run the stock 18s on my SL and still had three out of four bent rims repaired and I don’t drive the SL in the winter.

pearlpower

I bent my 20s 7 times in just 3 months. Now rolling on lighter 19s and could not be happier. Just not worth the trouble unless you want to ride on 2-3 matching wheels at a time while the other(s) are being repaired.

Sunir

19's are safer w/ larger sidewalls on the tires (potholes) plus less unsprung weight and better performance for accel and slowing down, plus 1 is a good comprimise between overall perfromance and looks...

however that said, nothing looks better on these cars, especially the SL because of it's larger wheel houses, than a nice drop on 20's period!

I'd say if your going for 2 sets...go 20's for show and occasional use and stock for Daily/city driving or get a set of drags if you plan to go to the strip and run the 20's on the highway...

emoving

I have 20s.....no vibration and no bent rims.

allenjdmb

what will bend/break a 20 will also bend/break a 19. Anything outside of the factory setup requires a little care, some more than others depending on where you live and how you drive. And even the miniature factory wheels are not immune if the situation is bad enough...
Better get what you like. I can't tell you how much time and money I"ve wasted when I should have just bought the right thing to start with. It's sorta like your TV--rarely does anyone get it home and say "man, I wish I had bought the smaller one".....

tgoss

19's get my vote

Sun, if you don't like those LM's I'll gladly take them off your hands

pearlpower

True to a point. While keeping the same rolling diameter, the extra sidewall on 19s adds needed protection to the wheels over 20s. Now if someone wants to run +1 side ratios for added protection on their 20s then this would afford the needed extra protection at the expense of appearance and possible rubbing depending on any lowering.

My tire person told me I was nuts to go with 20s on this car as the rears were only 25 series and the fronts were at 30. Lesson learned.

Now my Acura also had 20s but did not have any wheel issues as the ratio specs were 35 all around which matches my current 19s. This matched the stock rolling diameter on the Acura. Sure there are situations that will bend any wheel, but for me, 20s wasted alot of time and money. So far not one single issue with my 19s. Perhaps roads elsewhere are better suited for 30 series tires.

It also depends on the style of wheel as some style lend to a larger wheel look and others give the wheels a smaller look. I also had XL front tires but that did nothing to curb the damage.

245/40/18=3.9" sidewall
245/35/19=3.4" sidewall
245/30/20=2.9" sidewall-a full inch less of protection vs stock and .5 down from a 19.

My 19s (top) and 20s (bottom) for comparison

vegas55amg

+1 vote for the 19's

20's just don't leave any sidewall to soak up bumps, and they are alot heavier. I have Brabus 19's on my E63, and Forgestar 18's on my CLK55. both sets are +1's over the factory setup, and both allow me to run wider tires with 35 sidewall ratio.

If you are considering Forgestars, I say go for it, they are incredibly LIGHT (and damn good looking too, especially for the price!) I dropped my boxed wheels off at Discount Tire to get new tires mounted, when I came back, the store asst manager walks up to me and goes, "damn those wheels are unbelievably light! where did u get them?" and this is from a guy who spends all day hefting tires and wheels. I weighed them on my bathroom scale after I got them (thus the inexact measurements......) , and the front 18x8.5's were about 18-19 lbs, and the rear 18x9.5's were just about 20-21 lbs. Even going with wider tires, and bigger and wider wheels, I saved several pounds per corner on unsprung weight.

By sticking with a +1 fitment, and buying lightweight wheels (like Forgestars) you will actually be saving weight from your stock setup!! that probably won't be the case with a +2 fitment in 20".

allenjdmb

Pearl, that is good math and accurate. But that's not the entire story. As you probably know from messing aroud with them, those numbers are not always accurate or consistent. In other words, a 245/35/19 is not always a 245/35/19, depending on the brand and construction. That doesn't matter all that much, but what does matter is the nature of the construction of the tire and the compliance of that tire. In other words, hiting a pothole with a 245/40/20 Michelin (one of the most compliant sidewalls out there) versus hitting that same pothole with a 245/35/19 of some other (stiffer sidewalled) brand may not yield the result you expect. Really, it's all about what you prefer, and I agree, if you're looking for another second at the track or strip, the 20's probably aren't your best bet. I'm still a little amazed that people would want to do anything at the track with a 4500 LB sedan, but what do I know, I"m old anyway. (BTW, this is also a large factor in the post above about your steering wheel "shaking". More compliant 20's may ride better than super aggressive 18's and be "truer" . I know that's a bad word.)
OK, flame on.