From 19" with runflats to 18" with conventional tyres !

[Scooby_Doo]

My W205 C250 4matic was delivery miles when I bought it back in April and if I had specced the car I would have added the 19" AMG alloys , with runflats ,it came with anyway. From the start I've felt that the ride was a little too firm and jittery for my liking and planned to change the runflats eventually.
Saw a set of 18" AMG alloys on ebay and as they appeared to be in excellent condition decided to bid on them , got them for £500 . The plan before buying them was to keep one in the boot as a spare and maybe put winter tyres on them to use as and when.
When I got them home from London and had a good look at them I found that as well as 3 of them being "as new" the tyres had about 6-7mm of tread on them and decided to put them on the car as they were , easier cleaning 5 spokes than 14 spokes over the winter.
Bad move ?? The ride is now so much smoother and comfortable that putting the 19"s back on isn't such an attractive option. The 5 spoke AMG wheels look good , a set of non run flat tyres will probably save me about £450 and they're easier to clean.
Will I sell my 19"'s , no chance , they do look nice and I might change my mind and go for the hard , jittery ride again.

 

[Mactech]

Given the rule of thumb that the ride quality is proportional to the distance of the rim from the ground, then adding the stiffer construction of run flats.....I can see where you are coming from

 

[guhvies]

Your should be able to get Michelin PS4S for the 19" rims which are not run flats if you decide to go back to them.

 

[jdrrco]

I swapped the "standard" 19" which came with my CLS for a second-hand set of 18" which had come off a CLS55 and it made a huge difference to the ride quality and road noise. No appreciable difference in handling either.