maxswede

What’s everyone running? How many wheels have you bent? Tires popped? Spouses enraged?

People still running 20s in the North east or seeking asylum in 19s?

Discuss!

bobblehead

19 oem wheels for winter setup - no issues

20 oem forged wheels - 1 cracked wheel. Had it rewelded and it is holding thus far.

Master Blaster

20" OEM twin 5-spoke wheels - no issues with the wheels, but lost a center cap and wrecked the sidewall of a tire hitting a pothole.

Originally had 20" aftermarket wheels for my winter setup, but cracked one on a pothole. Switched to 19" OEM wheels for winter setup and no issues since then.

This has been over ~23,000 miles driving in the northeast.

atl 2 chi

21 Inch Vossen Evo-4 Forged wheels in the summer.

20 inch OEM Forged wheels in the winter.

No cracks to date. Knock on wood.

I did bend one Vossen wheel beyond repair back when I had my C63S.

LMinn

This is starting to make me wonder if I should stick to my original 20" winter tire plan or go down to 19" for a bit more peace of mind. I've never gone down a size for winters before, and I did pop a tire on a pothole once...

bobblehead

19" will give you a more comfortable ride (taller sidewall 40 series). It depends if you want the look (20 or larger) or a slightly more comfy ride (19).

maxswede

is there space to just fit a higher sidewall tire on the 20" wheel, so go to 265/40r20 (from 265/35r20) up front and 295/35r20 out back (from 295/30r20)?

Keith66

I'm not sure myself if this would be okay, but I do know on modern cars a "safe" rule of thumb is to maintain the original outer diameter of the tires that were shipped on the car from the factory even when going with a custom setup. Otherwise it could be a gamble of if they may interfere at some point, such as a dip in the road while the steering tires are turned, etc.

You can change the width, offset, wheel size, wheel diameter and as long as you maintain the original OD you will not have any OD issues (unless you are too wide), or speedometer variations.

The "safe" way to achieve more sidewall and a more comfortable ride (subjective) is to decrease the wheel diameter but maintain the original tire OD, such as going from 20" wheels to 19" wheels with tires that have the same OD as original.

Maybe what you posted will work, IDK.

Good luck!

Solo wing

I did a similar thing to my Coupe. Installed the oversized S-Class tires and all is well.
245/35/20 to 245/40/20
275/30/20 to 275/35/20

Huge improvement on all aspects. Just make sure the tires clear the steering knuckle/upper control arm bolt.