18x8.5J offset 35 Brabus rims

[Adam230K]

Ok recently as some of you may know, i came into posession of some genuine brand new gorgeous monoblock brabus' tyres.

Although my car has half its guts out all over my friends garage at the moment (gearbox change), i still wanted to discuss what kind've sizes of tyre are adequate to fit on these tyres for my particular car.

Now i checked out the Tyre fitting chart on alloywheelsdirect.net (the one stickied on this section of the forum) and its telling me that i need 225/40/18 on the front 2, and 255/35/18 on the rear!

It also says in the "notes" bit that i should do the following;

for the front;

FA1 Bend in and flare the wheelarches
FA2 Steering limiter required
FA3 Plastic wheelarch liners require work
FA4 Flare the wheelarches
FA5 Front section of wheelarch requires work

for the rear;

RA1 Bend in the rear wheelarch lips
RA9 Corners of the bumper require work in the area of the bumper

Now i think this is a bit ludacris and that i can just get 245's all round with 35 profile?

Any specialists here that can help me out on this issue? I'd be most grateful

 

[Shude]

To make it simple for you, 225 front and 245 rear widths were the widest fitted from the factory and by most tuners. I believe it is possible to squeeze 235 on the front and 255 on the rear depending on tyre brand and model.

Neither MB nor any tuners fitted 8.5" wide rims on the front, however this was a popular rear width. 8" wide at the front is about as wide as you'd want to go for comfort.

You can fit 8.5" wide rims all around on your car but you'll only have a fraction rim protection on the front as 225 tyres are only a quarter of an inch wider than that and the extra is shared on both sides of the rim.

As your car is a facelift some of the bodywork mods won't be needed as bigger rims were fitted to the sport models so some provision was made at the factory.

If it were me I'd go for the tyre sizes you've listed but check on tyre brands/models to see if you can get the same type of tyre for each corner (not always possible) and if you can get 245s on the rear instead of 255s you might save a penny or two.

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

I have a similar problem, have just bought 8 x 18 fronts and 9 x 18 rears and have lots of conflicting recommendations on tyres?!

Doubt you'll need much arch work tho... Post some pics when they're on!

 

[Shude]

I have a similar problem, have just bought 8 x 18 fronts and 9 x 18 rears and have lots of conflicting recommendations on tyres?!

Doubt you'll need much arch work tho... Post some pics when they're on!

You need 225/40/18 front, 245 or 255/35/18 rear. The 225 front 255 rear are probably the best combination but as I said earlier, try to find a brand/model available in sizes you want before settling

 

[Alps]

i second shude on the tyre sizes, have run those sizes for years on my 202 without probs. if you are going to lower the car, then only use pirellis on the front, others (michelin, conti`s, dunlops) seem to rub, due to the angle of the tyre wall! rear is fine with any brand

 

[Adam230K]

I can get 225/40/18's Goodyear Eagle F1 for £97 each, and 245/35/18's for the rear (Also Goodyear Eagle F1) for £133 each.

If i went for 255/35/18's the cheapest premium brand tyre would also be the goodyear eagle f1, but they would cost £150 each.

So now i'm just stuck on choosing between 245 or 255 for the rears. 245's are cheaper and are fine i'd say, 255's are just 10mm more, does it really matter? i dont mind paying the difference if there's any considerable difference in performance (which i highly doubt). I guess i'd just have more traction with the 255's right?

 

[whitenemesis]

Your first sentence is a bit confusing!!?

Regarding traction, you won't notice a difference between the 245 and 255 but you may in handling. Subtle differences in sidewall flex due to the fit on the rims.

Tyre compound and tread pattern will have the greater influence on traction

 

[Shude]

I can get 245/35/18's Goodyear Eagle F1 for £133 each, and 245/35/18's on the rear (Also Goodyear Eagle F1) for £97 each.

If i went for 255/35/18's the cheapest premium brand tyre would also be the goodyear eagle f1, but they would cost £150 each.

So now i'm just stuck on choosing between 245 or 255 for the rears. 245's are cheaper and are fine i'd say, 255's are just 10mm more, does it really matter? i dont mind paying the difference if there's any considerable difference in performance (which i highly doubt). I guess i'd just have more traction with the 255's right?

Quite a price difference, but i seriously

245/255 rears aside, what did you decide for the fronts?

 

[Adam230K]

I've done some interesting calculations and i want to share them with you guys. These calculations are all in mm and i'm assuming that 25mm = 1 inch.

At the moment i run 225/45/17's, so the overall diammeter of my wheel (in mm) with the rubber on it is:

17x25 + 2x(225x0.45) = 627.5mm

17x25 is the diammeter of the rim, and the 225x0.45 is the length of the profile of the tyre x2 because u have it on the top and the bottom of the tyre. Now, i'm safely running this setup on my car, with no rub (it rubs only on full lock to the left, not the right, and its very hard to notice).

So 225/40/18's on the front give:

18x25 + 2x(225x0.4) = 630mm
Which i guess is fine, its an overall increase of 2.5mm.

Now the rears, if i went for 245/35/18's i'd have:

18x25 + 2x(245x0.35) = 621.5mm

Which is also fine! So i guess i can safely take the setup of 225/40/18's on the front, and 245/35/18's on the rear!

But this leaves the question of the offset, ET35. I've heard that i'd need spacers in the rear, is there anyway of determining this? or is it something really simple thats done at any wheel fitters and i'm just being silly about it?

P.S. I edited my previous post, as i accidentally quoted wrong numbers

 

[Chris Murray]

Hmmm.. a bit overcomplicated! Throw away the circumference calculator too!
Use 225/40R18 all round or with optional 255/35R18 rear. No need for adapters.

 

[flango]

You need 225/40/18 front, 245 or 255/35/18 rear. The 225 front 255 rear are probably the best combination but as I said earlier, try to find a brand/model available in sizes you want before settling

Exactly what I fitted to mine (pictures in gallery) no mods at all needed
Shude bang on the button as usual

 

[flango]

Hmmm.. a bit overcomplicated! Throw away the circumference calculator too!
Use 225/40R18 all round or with optional 255/35R18 rear. No need for adapters.

Totally agree staggered fit on mine bolt straight on

 

[Adam230K]

all those calcs was doing was to show the current size of my wheels with their rubber, and what the new sizes would be with their rubber. seems to be safe, might need spacers if they dont clear my brakes/suspension tho.

 

[Alps]

rage,

fyi, c43amg has used goodyear F1`s in the 225 and 255 sizes without a problem. go and get em!