Damn confused now

[Iyse]

I'm planning on getting 18s for my 98 W202, so I was looking around for a place to buy tyres and went into somewhere advertising a sale. I talked to him about fitting tyres to 18s and putting them on the merc and he said I'd need 245/40/18s, which would only last maximum 17000 miles because of the thickness.

Now I've seen the rims I want in 17 inches with 225/45/17 tyres on, which I'm assuming would last longer because they're less thick.

Is it worth me to just go with 17s instead of 18s so that I'll save money on replacing tyres, or is this guy talking crazy talk?

 

[Dieselman]

I think he means that due to the extra width there will be less bump absorbtion within the tyre and the steering wheels will scrub the edges more. Both will wear the tyre more heavily.

 

[Will]

Iyse - a few things!

That size tyre is WRONG for a W202 on 18s! With a 40 profile, you are looking at a 225 section tyre. I have staggered 18" AMG Monoblock Style IIs (8J front, 9J rear) running 225/40/18s on the front, and 255/35/18 rear. 245/40/18s would be too big, 245/40/17s would be fine (on the rear that is!).

Welcome to the deep pockets big tyres brigade! Hardly makes any real difference in price between tyres for 17" or 18" wheels, they are both big bucks! For a set of proper tyres (ie, not penny pincher no-name russian ones!), you are looking at around £600-800. You may save around 10-20% by going for 17s, but not a lot in it IMHO.

Also, when you are spending the wrong side of £500 for a set of tyres, it is probably worth your while getting a wheel allignment check - if you wear a tyre out quicker it will cost you more than the check/adjustment would have done.

Try and stick with proper OEM wheels. Aftermarket wheels are often of poor quality - the exceptions being very high quality wheels, such as Brabus, Carlsson etc (made specifically for Mercedes vehicles). The other problem you may encounter is fitting issues (offset, width etc) I would choose a good condition second hand set of OEM wheels over new aftermarket rims every time.

Before you lay your money down for anything, ask around first (on here would be a good idea! ). My point being that if the tyre shop can't even get the tyre sizes right, what is the chance of them choosing wheels that fit properly!

With regards to wear - well it depends on a number of factors, but I suppose overall you would expect the fronts to go on the outside edges first, and the rears tend to wear the middles first. If you go for the same size wheels/tyres all round, you can rotate them around and perhaps get slightly more miles out of them. At the end of the day, if tyre wear and the cost of them are a problem, 17s or 18s may not be for you. I don't do huge miles in my W202, and am comfortable knowing that my tyres should last me a fair while (for the cost of them I am hoping so!)

HTH,

Cheers,

Will

 

[WLeg]

Iyse - a few things!
Try and stick with proper OEM wheels.

Cheers,

Will

because with aftermarket you will need to have them specified on your insurance policy - if you get OEM AMG, you should still tell them, but it shouldn't effect the policy...

 

[Shude]

Welcome to the deep pockets big tyres brigade!

Sorry, but with 18" wheels compared to 17" wheels you're actually the "big wheels but small tyres" brigade. Less tyre (at least profile and probably the same width) on an 18" rim

 

[GrahamC230K]

because with aftermarket you will need to have them specified on your insurance policy - if you get OEM AMG, you should still tell them, but it shouldn't effect the policy...

if you get OEM AMG, you should still tell them, but it shouldn't effect the policy........much!

I still get an increase for clearing factoy optional alloys.

 

[Will]

Welcome to the deep pockets big tyres brigade! Hardly makes any real difference in price between tyres for 17" or 18" wheels, they are both big bucks! For a set of proper tyres (ie, not penny pincher no-name russian ones!), you are looking at around £600-800. You may save around 10-20% by going for 17s, but not a lot in it IMHO.

Sorry, but with 18" wheels compared to 17" wheels you're actually the "big wheels but small tyres" brigade. Less tyre (at least profile and probably the same width) on an 18" rim

Hmmm....wordplay eh? I think most people would understand what I meant by describing an 18" tyre (255/35) as BIG (compared to a 15" 195/65 one!). If you want another take on that, the section in my example is bigger, and I suppose so is the Internal Diameter! My point about the 'big tyres brigade' being that no matter which way you look at it, an 18" 255 section tyre is BIG, especially for a W202! What I was trying to communicate was that 17" and 18" tyres are both exbenzive, and there is not a great deal of difference in price (maybe 15-20% as a guide?).

Cheers,

Will

 

[Shude]

What I was trying to communicate was that 17" and 18" tyres are both exbenzive, and there is not a great deal of difference in price (maybe 15-20% as a guide?).

I think the profile of the tyre is pretty much what decides how expensive it is, this is an expression of sidewall height and overall width so pretty much the smaller the profile the higher the price.

 

[Will]

I think the profile of the tyre is pretty much what decides how expensive it is, this is an expression of sidewall height and overall width so pretty much the smaller the profile the higher the price.

Hmm..again I would disagree from experience.

I bought 4x 225/55/17 Goodyear Eagle F1-GSD3s for a Lexus LS400. These were much more expensive than 225/45/17s were on my last W202, and more expensive than the 18" tyres on my current W202. Higher profile + greater load index rating = more expensive tyres!

The profile is an expression of height of the sidewall, given as a percentange of the sectional width, not the other way around!

Cheers,

Will

 

[Iyse]

So if I'm getting 18s that indeed ARE aftermarket, for my own reasons, would I get away with having 225/40/18s all round or do I need a "wider option at rear", which is what some companies seem to call it?

 

[Will]

So if I'm getting 18s that indeed ARE aftermarket, for my own reasons, would I get away with having 225/40/18s all round or do I need a "wider option at rear", which is what some companies seem to call it?

Nothing wrong with running 225s all round. If they do the same wheels in different widths, it would be a nice touch to have a staggered set up IMHO.

What wheels you got in mind.

Will

 

[Iyse]

I want these style:

Have done since I started looking at wheels, and since then, TWO other people have got them in 19s. I was gonna go with 17s, but I reckon whats the point if I'm spending all that money and other people have got 19s...

Also, the wheels come with centre caps, so the Merc badge is in the middle giving an OEM look.

 

[MainMan]

because with aftermarket you will need to have them specified on your insurance policy - if you get OEM AMG, you should still tell them, but it shouldn't effect the policy...

Oh yes it does. Even if the wheels were an optional extra at time of purchase and wouldn't have resulted in a higher premium if you'd specified them, if you put them on subsequently the morons regard it as a modification and load the premium. I know. I've had that argument with several insurance companies.