Advice Please!

[124fan]

Hi everyone,

We've just bought an E320 cdi avant + sport, and I'm unsure about the 18'' AMG wheels! The dealer will change them for me, and give me 16'' avant wheels if I choose to.

I'm concerned that the ride will not be as nice with the 18'' and the wear will also not be as good as we do 20k / year. Can anyone give me some advice and help me make up my mind!

Thanks folks

 

[kjay]

I've had no experience of the E class but I went to 18's on my C class coupe.

sizes f = 18x8.5 with 225/40's
r = 18x9.5 with 265/35's


Origional size was 17x7.5 with 205/40's ( i think)

It only afected the ride quallity slightly.

Am sure your car would look better with 18's.
Choose a good quality tyre with good ride comfort though - see reveiws.

Perhaps you could find someone else's car with 18's to test drive.

Jay

 

[crockers]

Keep the 18" AMGs ...if later you dont like them sell them -- I bet the dealer is more than willing to swap......for CHEAPER wheels..

 

[DC_insider]

Don't swap them for 16"s. E320 Avantgardes come on 17"s as standard.

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

You will get a better (more comfortable) ride with the 16" wheels. The 18" wheels require lower profile tyres which have shorter sidewalls and give a less compliant ride.

Your best bet would be to keep the 18" AMG wheels on the car, then sell them later. You can buy 16" wheels and tyres on eBay for much less than you will get for the AMG wheels and tyres.

I have a set of W211 16" wheels and tyres that I would be willing to sell. Please send a P-mail (private email) if interested. I will shortly be advertising them in the Classifieds section.

 

[Diesel Benz]

18" wheels would look better and would give a bit better steering response. 16" would drive smoother, tyres would wear significantly less and more evenly, road noise would be higher on 18" wheels, new tyres cost a lot more for 18" wheels.

On my past W211 I had 245/45/17 tyres and they did not drive straight as well as the 16" that were standard at that time in my country. Ever since I've had the smallest wheels that are available, 17" wheels on the W221.

Depends also a lot on the roads one drives.

 

[230K]

Hi

The 18" wheels will use more fuel. For me going from 17 to 18" makes 2-4mpg of a difference.

230K

 

[gina2201]

Definitely 18's! As others have said they will be worth more and I found going from 15's to 18's not much of a difference in ride quality, in town and motorway driving, if there was, it was worth it for the looks!

 

[marcos]

Don't swap them for 16"s. E320 Avantgardes come on 17"s as standard.

Possibly now but in 2004 the Avantgarde came with 16" as standard. I know as I upgraded mine to 17" twin spokes and my dad kept the standard 16" and complained like a dog about it being too harsh, personally I think he was jealous as my wheels looked a damn site better than his.

 

[124fan]

Thanks everyone, that helps...I'll take the 18''s and see how we get on, can then get another set of wheels if we are not happy! Perhaps a set with winter tyres would be a good idea, and then we'd have our show wheels for the good weather!

Can't wait until next week...will hopefully get a pic up to show our new motor off!

Cheers

 

[glojo]

I would very respectfully suggest you read this thread. The car is not useless and I doubt the driver is useless either.

Low profile tyres in the eyes of some, look nice. Wide wheels in the eyes of some, look nice. Under normal driving conditions, on our public highways your car will handle superbly on 16" wheels. In very wet conditions, snow, or wet grass the wider the tyres the worse the grip.

AMG wheels look nice and are worth more money. The 211 Avantgarde looks nice and is worth lots of money. we are now entering the season of snow, ice and very slippery conditions. Hindsight doesn't pay the bills.

John

 

[124fan]

I've found a set of 16'' Avantgarde wheels in nice condition no kerbing, but a little blistering (very little), the tyres Goodyear NCT5 (225/55-16's)are about half worn and the set can be bought for 280GBP.

I hear that the NCT's are not that great in the wet, which sort of defeats the purpose (for winter wheels) but does it sound like a good deal? If I go ahead with this (waiting to hear from you folks), can anyone tell me what bolts I need, the guy may have some he will throw in, but I'd need to know that they were correct.

Cheers,

 

[portzy]

If the 16''s, (assuming they are MB OEM?), are for sacrificial purposes then they sound like a good idea/deal to me and a change of tyre might be in order as you say but, I have no experience of other makes other than Michelin.

The bolts, more than likely, are like for like but just check the amount of thread exposed outside the inner face of the existing wheels and, if its the same as on the 18''s, then they should be fine.

Portzy.

 

[jimti]

Just a thought, if they are not the same as the original wheels fitted to the car, make sure they fit over your brake callipers before you part with your cash

 

[124fan]

Just an update, I purchased the 16'' rims on the condition I could return them if they didn't fit. Well I fitted them yesterday morning, and they made the car feel and handle a lot better! The ride is softer, more comfortable and quite a bit quieter, handling is more responsive, I believe I've made the right choice, and they actually look very good with a bit more tyre showing, beefier!

Now to do some more research on winter tyres, I think there's enough thread on these NCT's for 15k. I'm lying towards Michelin Alpins or Goodyear Ultragrip, these I believe are fine for all year driving and you then have the added safety in wet and wintery conditions. Has anyone driven on either of these tyres to give a thumbs up or not? I'm a little concerned about road noise, and don't wish to make a blunder and buy the wrong thing.

Cheers,

 

[grober]

225/55-16 H rated NOKIAN WR's £78-80 from MY TYRES. http://www.mytyres.co.uk/start.html Or slightly more expensive Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 that are V rated at £133-70 They replace the earlier pilot alpins which were the top rated tyre on tyre test http://www.tyretest.com/ for several years. An intermediate price tyre is the VREDESTEIN WINTRAC EXTREME at £102-70 which is their current favorite. I used to use the old Wintracs as an all year tyre. Be prepared for all weather / winter tyres to be noisier than a summer tyre. You soon get used to them though.

 

[124fan]

Just to say that thanks to Fandango a fellow member on here I now have a set of winter wheels and tyres for my C250.

I had them balanced and fitted this morning, and was surprised that they were as quiet as they were, I was expecting much more road noise, but no, its very respectable, the handling is very light, due to the huge depth of thread I imagine!

So now I'm ready for the snow! and some experimenting when it arrives. If they make as big a difference as others research shows, then I'll be after a spare set of 16'' rims for the E320.

I hope to keep you posted!

Best Regards,

 

[124fan]

Well on Christmas Eve the temp dropped right down and we had -3C in the early evening. We were heading out on our Pre-Xmas run delivering presents to friends and family, took the C250 to try the tyres in these conditions.

We came across two different accidents both due to the road conditions, I felt our car loose traction on a couple of occasions, even though I was driving carefully (the road conditions, ice and no grit or salt). I felt confident while driving, but this may well have been down to having tyres with M & S stamped on them.

Still waiting on some snow!

Cheers

 

[124fan]

Further update....


My wife used my car today because of the snow and came home this evening very pleased...in winters past she had abandoned the car because it just sat and span the wheels, even in 'W' mode. Today by driving carefully she could go everywhere she needed through snow, slush etc. Driving into car parks with no salt or grit and later it had rained and was a mess..no problems. I wondered if our driveway would be problem when she came home, but no, she drove right to the door.

Its an additional expense on us motorists but in the interests of safety for ourselves and our cars I feel it is money well spent.

Cheers