8" wheels - 255 or 275 tyre?

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Dee James

Active Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
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291
Location
South Woodford
Car
2003 ML 270
apologies if this is a silly question but i`m new to the world of 4x4`s and want to make sure i`m ok from a safety point of view is it ok to run 275/55/17 tyres on a 8" wheel?

from what i can see my ML270 has 8" wheels which i believe should have a 255/55/17 tyre rather than a 275
 
Hi Dee,

I attach a link kindly given to me when I had a query on here about tyre sizes :

Tyre equivalence: Car tyre tips - Pneus Online

Seems, from this, both 255 and 275s are too big for an 8" rim, so suggest you check it is 8 and not 8.5?

Hope that helps,

Stuart

I hope the chart is wrong......my ML has 8.5" wheels from the factory with 265 tyres which according to the chart are too wide for an 8.5" wheel.
 
It does seem that the chart I posted is a little limited, but I can't see where, on the one posted by RichardF, it says a 255 width is suitable for anything less than an 8.5 rim, which kinda matches the advice in the link I posted?

Am I missing something (wouldn't be unusual!).

Stuart
 
No one has given you a correct answer yet...so here goes... you cannot put a 275/55 tyre where a 255/55 is specified.
 
Swotty said:
It does seem that the chart I posted is a little limited, but I can't see where, on the one posted by RichardF, it says a 255 width is suitable for anything less than an 8.5 rim, which kinda matches the advice in the link I posted? Am I missing something (wouldn't be unusual!). Stuart

I checked that link and taking the profile into account it says 7.5 to 9 is ok for a 275
 
renault12ts said:
No one has given you a correct answer yet...so here goes... you cannot put a 275/55 tyre where a 255/55 is specified.
I thought that but when I went online to a few tyre suppliers and put my reg in they all came back saying 275 and when I got the part worns put on the place said the same yet the manual says 255 which is why I started this thread
 
Last edited:
Pre facelift ML = 275.55.17
Facelift ML = 255.60.17

Then when the W164 came out we were chasing emissions and better mpg figures, so they changed again to 235.65.17.

Many of us have swapped for 235.60.17, you get far less tramlining, the car feels sharper, and you reduce your MPG too, plus there are more 'eco' tyres in that size.
You can get tyres that are 69db noise compared with 72-76db on the 275s. the difference between 68db and 72db is massive btw.
Rolling resistance is down considerably too, hence the better mpg.

I went from 255.60.17s to 235.65.17s and saw my mpg jump from around 440 miles per tank to just under 500 every tankful.
I then decatted the ML and saw my first 500+ tank, 516 miles between fill ups I think it was.
 
I thought that but when I went online to a few tyre suppliers and put my reg in they all came back saying 275 and when I got the part worns put on the place said the same yet the manual says 255 which is why I started this thread


What he was saying is you can't put a 275.55.17 tyres on a car that is speccing 255.55.17.

The xxx.55.17 is a percentage of the width, your profile, and to keep the rolling radius the same you need to adjust the profile.

275 wide is 55% in profile height.
255 wide needs 60% in profile height.
235 wide needs 65% in profile height.

Hence if it was saying 255.55.17 going to 275 would need you to drop the profile by 5% to keep the rolling radius the same.
 
What he was saying is you can't put a 275.55.17 tyres on a car that is speccing 255.55.17.

The xxx.55.17 is a percentage of the width, your profile, and to keep the rolling radius the same you need to adjust the profile.

275 wide is 55% in profile height.
255 wide needs 60% in profile height.
235 wide needs 65% in profile height.

Hence if it was saying 255.55.17 going to 275 would need you to drop the profile by 5% to keep the rolling radius the same.

the handbook says 255/60/17 for a 8 inch wheel and 275/55/17 for a 8.5 inch

from what i can work out my wheels are 8 rather than 8.5 so should have 255/60/17 but various online sources i`ve checked say you can fit a 275 on an 8 inch tyre with no issues so although MB spec a 255 i should be ok with a 275?

As the tyre place said 275 was the correct size i think a visit this weekend is in order to see if they will admit a mistake although i won`t hold my breath . . .
 
Pre facelift ML = 275.55.17
Facelift ML = 255.60.17

Then when the W164 came out we were chasing emissions and better mpg figures, so they changed again to 235.65.17.

Many of us have swapped for 235.60.17, you get far less tramlining, the car feels sharper, and you reduce your MPG too, plus there are more 'eco' tyres in that size.
You can get tyres that are 69db noise compared with 72-76db on the 275s. the difference between 68db and 72db is massive btw.
Rolling resistance is down considerably too, hence the better mpg.

I went from 255.60.17s to 235.65.17s and saw my mpg jump from around 440 miles per tank to just under 500 every tankful.
I then decatted the ML and saw my first 500+ tank, 516 miles between fill ups I think it was.

tramlining is what made me think they were the wrong size, it just does n`t feel "right" somehow

i will go back this weekend and politely tell them they have fitted the wrong size and hopefully they will be good about it . . . 235 does seem the way to go, i will get my wife to see if they have any before i visit :thumb:
 
Did you get all 4?

What was on before?

Explain that the earlier ML from '98-01 had 85" rims and 275. The facelift is 8" with either 235.65 or 255.60 17's.

If they were part worn they shouldn't really care.

Just say it feels really weird to drive, hence why you looked up if it was correct.
 
gIzzE said:
Did you get all 4? What was on before? Explain that the earlier ML from '98-01 had 85" rims and 275. The facelift is 8" with either 235.65 or 255.60 17's. If they were part worn they shouldn't really care. Just say it feels really weird to drive, hence why you looked up if it was correct.

Yep, that's the way forward I think - I will phone and see if they have the 235's - when I picked it up it had 225/60 on but they were really bad on the inside edges so I took it to the nearest place straight away, they told me 275 was the right size. It was either a genuine mistake or they wanted rid of the 4x 275's they had

Thanks again your comments have been really useful
 
Update time : went back to the garage this morning and they had a matching set of four continentals in 235/65/17 so I'm currently waiting for them to be fitted. Thanks for all the advice on this
 
gIzzE said:
Pre facelift ML = 275.55.17 Facelift ML = 255.60.17 Then when the W164 came out we were chasing emissions and better mpg figures, so they changed again to 235.65.17. Many of us have swapped for 235.60.17, you get far less tramlining, the car feels sharper, and you reduce your MPG too, plus there are more 'eco' tyres in that size. You can get tyres that are 69db noise compared with 72-76db on the 275s. the difference between 68db and 72db is massive btw. Rolling resistance is down considerably too, hence the better mpg. I went from 255.60.17s to 235.65.17s and saw my mpg jump from around 440 miles per tank to just under 500 every tankful. I then decatted the ML and saw my first 500+ tank, 516 miles between fill ups I think it was.

So, I've now done about 60 miles on the 235/65/17's and for the benefit of anyone looking at this thread I have to agree with the above, the car feels much much sharper than on the 275's and the difference in road noise is huge - the car is just much nicer to drive. Thanks for your input on this glzzE
 

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