Duane

Can we get some side by side shots to see the difference. I had 20 inch on my sl55 and thought the ride was fine. Peter from wheel experts told me the 20 inch on the e55 rode very tough when he ran 20 inch. I am in Miami so the roads are overall pretty good so wheel damage is not a concern. My e55 is due very soon and I need to decide on wheels.

MB Fanatic

I also rode in a friends E55 with 20" rims on it, and the ride quality greatly deteriorated over the set of 19" wheels he had on it earlier. My advice would be to get the 19" wheels.

Duane

I think a lot has to do with the tire as well. The 19 inch use a 30 series vs the 20 inch which rides on a 25 series.

lorinserbenz

If you run 20's you would run a 30 series sidwall too.

20's ride the same as good as 19's. Most people that buy 20's get cheap tires thats why they ride rough. Stay away from the v treads, they are noisy and rough.

Duane

Are you sure they both run 30 series, I thought they were different. From what I understand the tire selection is very limited in 20 inch i.e Pirelli.

Kar don

get 19s, the 20s just look goofy on the E55 imo.

Brav

Yep.. tires will make the biggest difference at that point.

lorinserbenz

If you run a staggered setup in 20 inch your tire sizes would be 245-35-20 in the front and 275-30-20 in the rear.
Michelin, Pirelli, Yokohama, Falken, Nitto and pretty much all tire makers offer 20 inch tires.
A 25 series 20 inch tire would be way to short for an E class, that might work on a Honda Accord.

Duane

Thanks for the feedback, what tire sizes would your run with 19 inch wheels.

MBH

Personally I would go with 19's. The ride quality of the 20's is not worth it.

Best Wishes,
MBH

e554jlp

Where in Miami are you located? Talk to Ben at Wheels Boutique (located between bird rd and miller on 72 ave) he knows he stuff very well. If I am not mistaken he has done many E55 on 20" wheels so he might be able to get you in contact with someone for a test drive.

Ray J

I own Peter's old car with the 20's and personally I am amazed at the ride quality, its very good, I have driven an E55 with 19's and did find the drive a little softer however. Yes you can put 285/30/20 in the rear, if it hasn't been lowered.
Another reason why I don't have a problem with the ride is possibly because my previous car was a 911 which had been lowered 1 inch. That was a much harsher ride than this.
The 25 sidewalls however to make me nervous, I would go with 19's!!

Beowulf

There's almost a one-inch diameter difference between a 275/30/20 and a 275/30/19 (using S03's as a guide, it's 26.5" for the 20's vs. 25.6" for the 19's).
Given the stock 2.65 gears, going to 20's means you're effectively going to a 2.56 ratio. The looks are a personal thing, but going to 20's means you're sacrificing some acceleration capabilities for a bit more top speed and fuel economy. Likewise, you'll need to put up with a 3.5% slow speedo error without software reprogramming.

adx

I would go with 19". I have had 20" and 19" in other vehicles and noticed no noticeable difference initially however, after a few months due to wear the ride got rougher and and louder. Since the W211 is a 4000+ lb pig, I am not sure if 20" is the way to go.

Duane

Thanks guys, I am friends with Ben from wheels boutique. I know met him in the porsche community. ADX what size hre's are you running?

BenzoBoi

Take Peter's word. He is a very very good friend of mine and he knows his stuff. I too had 20 hre's with toyo proxes T1-S ' on my car and it rode fine. Just the usual 20 inch complaints. It obviously didn't ride as nice as 18's or 19's. If you plan on cruisin in the E, then I say get 20's. I just decided to get 19's this time around because I knew that 20's weren't exactly helping with the engine upgrades that I had planned. Hoped that helped...

adx

Running 19s.

VelocitE55

You dont have to go to 25 series tires just because you have 20's. The standard way to do it is 35 series up front and 30 series in the rear. With a nice drop, 20's are stunning on the E55. That excludes nasty cheap chrome wheels. If you actually spend good money on a nice set of multi-piece rims with a polished lip, you cant go wrong. 19's are great, but for cars with wheel wells of this size, 20's are awesome and totally do-able.

At the end of the day, its all about personal preference. You will definetly have better ride quality on 19's, but the look of a nice set of 20's and a drop is untochable.

ekaz

I have 20's on mine with Toyo T1-S with 35 and 30 series. No complainants besides the usual stuff. I agree,if you're planning on cruising, get the 20's. I even ran with the 20's at the track....long story (damn peer pressure LOL). I have a few pics posted on my website www.ekaz.net/e55.htm

Vic55

To match up to correct plus sizing from 18's to 20's you go with the new Pirelli's in the rears at 285x25x20- this keeps the diameter the same. Obviously with a 25 series tire, the road feel is more intense but I like the 20 inch diameter wheel on the E class for looks. For performance the 19's are the better choice with reduced rotational mass and improved comfort vs. the 20's.

You already have the monster 996TT for speed and super handling... get the 20's with the 25 series setup to avoid any potential rubbing even if you lower it. It will look awesome.

MB SF

I would listen to Peter. We talked about various options before he set me up with these Brabus 19s. Ultimatley it is your decision, but if you do not like your new 20s you would have already been warned. I got the 19s and love them!!

HollaBack

I want to get 20" HRE's on my E500 with AMG package. Is it better to run 8.5" in the front and 10" in the rear, or 9.0" in the front and 10" in the rear? Would it cause any rubbing with 9.0" in the front? Are 30 series tires not a good idea if you want to lower the car? Will 10" rub in the rear or would I have to go with 9.5".

ekaz

I have 9.0" in the front and 10.0" in back. No rubbing issues.

lee2375

Hey guys, thanks for believing in me

There are 3 basic setups to fit 19 or 20" wheels for the W211:

1. 19x8.5/9 front with 19x9.5/10 rear, 245/35/19 front and 275/30 or 285/30/19 rear. This setup keeps the overall diameter close to stock. Lots of tire options with this setup.

2. 20x8.5/9 front with 20x9.5/10 rear, 245/35/20 front and 275/30 or 285/30/20 rear. This setup will ride virtually the same as setup 1 (plus side) but will be slightly oversize by exactly 1" diameter, or 1/2" radially speaking (negative side). Lots of tire options with this setup.

3. 20x8.5/9 front with 20x10 rear, 245/30/20 front and 285/25/20. This setup will ride a bit harder than 1 or 2, but will keep OD close to stock. Only one tire option with this setup as of now - Pirelli P Zero Nero.

NOTE: if installing 285 rear tires, the rear wheel needs to be a 10", if fitted to a 9.5 it will rub 8 out of 10 times.

Personally, I do not like oversize setups (one exception being the Lexus GS and SC430 cars), so I would pick either setup one or setup 3. Hopefully this will help sort this stuff out.

Let's Roll

I currently have the OEM 18" AMG 5 spoke wheels on my '04 E55. I have started searching for a second set of rims so that I can keep one set for everyday use and the second set for racing (autocross and track).

For my second set of rims, I have thought about going larger, like 19". If so, should the 19" rims be used for everyday use or for performance?