I recently changed cars and picked up a CLS 63, (030). Almost all the dealers I talk to are pushing 20" rims. 9" wide front and 11" wide rear. The side walls are getting pretty short! I live in the North but do not drive the car in winter. Major city roads with cracks, and pothole patches.

What are your real world experiences with 20" wheels vs. 19" wheels?

C'mon guys and gals. ------Or are the 42 viewers the ones without 20's ?

I want new wheels for my SL and all the tire places are pushing 20's. IMO, the 20's ride rougher. My neighbor has a CLS w/20's and the ride is ok but not great, but in DC, the roads are terrible and he's afraid he'll bend a rim. Save your money and stick with the 19's. Post some pictures once you get your new wheels.

On the R500, I have 20's and the ride is great. Smooth, and no roughness.

On the CLS, I have OEM AMG 18's, which will be changed out with 20 Vossen's 083's next week. From what I hear from most with 20's the ride is based upon the aspect of the tires. Lower profile means rougher ride I gathered. My friend has a CLS55 with 25 aspect tires, and to tell you the truth it feels great. It may also play into brand of tires? He and I both use Michelin Pilot's. He uses PS2's and I use A/S Plus.

So, I am going with at least 30 aspect series and I will let you know after installed. I am getting with Discount Tire also, as they wanted to make sure I could not run 35's in the front and just 30's.

Interesting thread.

Real world? 20 is too big,IMHO, you end up with no sidewall and bent rims. I vote for 19.
Assuming you are going to keep the same overall diameter of course.

One thing you are overlooking- MB has cars that come with OEM 20's on the car (SL for instance I saw at the dealer and was surprised to see 20's?) and some suv's. So saying 20's are too big is pretty much null and void. Not to argue the point, but it is what it is.

It would be good to hear from others that have 20's as there are many here that do.

Yes the ride is a bit different. I like the look of the 20's personally. It's not my DD and most florida roads are not bad. I run 20x10 rear and 20x9.5 in the front. The sneakers make the comfort to me. I have Mich ps 2 305/25020
rear and 255/30/20 front.
To me if you want the look you may have to sacrifice a bit.

Mike, good I saw this. Now, I am looking at running 285/30/20 in the rears on the 20's I have. Right now the OEM's are 35 so that shouldn't sacrifice much ride comfort should it? That was one of my worries.

Not to jack the thread, but relevance for info to the OP.

According to the brochures, the only SL that has 20s is the SL65 AMG Black Series, which has 19s in front and 20s in back. The fact that AMG wasn't comfortable putting 20s all around is not exactly a great endorsement.

As for the SUVs that you've seen with 20s, their tires are larger, so that is not a fair comparison. Some GLs come with 21s, but they still have a 40-series tire.

The SUV piece was just regarding SUV's, not to mix them so to speak.

That is rather odd on the SL 19's F/20's rear, I will check into what others are using 20's if any. I as the OP would like to hear some more feedback from people that have 20's though to gather a full "experience" of 20's.

I was on the fence for about a year, but finally took the plunge. My questions were around the same as the OP's, ride feel, possible banged lips, etc. After next week, I will post back on my feel and comments going from 18's to 20's as well.