Staggered Alloys on W210 E220 CDI (Facelift) ABS, ESP & BAS Malfunction

[neihig]

Hi,

As of yesterday i'm now running with the following staggered wheel set-up on my 1999 (facelift) W210 E220 CDI:

Front - 205 55 R16 7J ET37
Rear - 225 50 R16 8J ET32

Its not a set-up that is recognised for the W210 on the single place to check Mercedes AMG BMW alloy wheels & tyres, UK wheel alloys, but they seem to fit fine with no rubbing and plenty of space round the wheel arches and brake calipers. These Cygnus alloys are of a 1999 CLK, with good tread on all tyres. The overall diameter and circumference of the new wheels are within 2mm of my old set-up, its just the width and offset of the rear wheels that has significantly changed by 8mm less clearance inside and extend a further 18mm outside.

They fit well and the ride is comfortable, however approx. 5 miles into each of my test drives i get the three ABS, ESP & BAS malfunctions with the visit workshop message. The handling and normal braking does not appear to be affected.

As i am a newbie do you think I have made a big mistake and this staggered wheel and tyre set-up is an absolute NO NO on a W210, have i overlooked the need for spacers or differant lug bolts? or is it coincidence and i have disturbed a sensor when changing over the wheels one by one?

 

[goldenii68]

Hi,

As of yesterday i'm now running with the following staggered wheel set-up on my 1999 (facelift) W210 E220 CDI:

Front - 205 55 R16 7J ET37
Rear - 225 50 R16 8J ET32

Its not a set-up that is recognised for the W210 on the single place to check Mercedes AMG BMW alloy wheels & tyres, UK wheel alloys, but they seem to fit fine with no rubbing and plenty of space round the wheel arches and brake calipers. These Cygnus alloys are of a 1999 CLK, with good tread on all tyres. The overall diameter and circumference of the new wheels are within 2mm of my old set-up, its just the width and offset of the rear wheels that has significantly changed by 8mm less clearance inside and extend a further 18mm outside.

They fit well and the ride is comfortable, however approx. 5 miles into each of my test drives i get the three ABS, ESP & BAS malfunctions with the visit workshop message. The handling and normal braking does not appear to be affected.

As i am a newbie do you think I have made a big mistake and this staggered wheel and tyre set-up is an absolute NO NO on a W210, have i overlooked the need for spacers or differant lug bolts? or is it coincidence and i have disturbed a sensor when changing over the wheels one by one?

If none of the 3 malfunctions appeared before, get the car put on a STAR , could be a wheel sensor yes but best have proper diagnostics so you can have a process of elimination not guesswork, hope this helps

 

[neihig]

Thanks. I never had these, or any malfunctions before with my old scuffed and rough alloy wheel set- up. It has only just started following change to shiny new staggered alloys and tyres set-up.

I hope its coincidence but can't help wondering if the wider rims and tyres on the rears are causing the ecu? to read differantly and display the three malfunctions.

I really like my new cygnus alloys...i'd hate to have to take them of if they don't work!?!!

Do you know anybody else running a similiar staggered wheel and tyre set-up on a W210 Elegance with or without these problems?

 

[High-Lo]

I have had 16" staggered Cygnus on my 2000 facelift W210 E320 Avantgarde and they were no problem at all. In fact I liked the Cygnus so much I ended up replacing them for 17" ones instead. They too worked 100% fine with no errors at all.

 

[neihig]

Great, thats good news. I like the Cygnus alloys too and think they suit the W210.

Did you just bolt them straight on using your old alloy wheel nuts, and no needs for spacers?

My existing wheel nuts sit flush with the alloy wheel face on the fronts, but are 10-12mm sunken on the rears, i think this is because of the offset differance and the fact that my old rears were 7J and these new ones are 8J.

I'm keen for some positive news as i'm doing a 250 mile round trip this friday, hopefully with my new alloys still on, and could do with some reassurance re. the ABS, ESP & BAS malfunctions...

 

[230K]

Hi

Try putting the original wheels back on and see if everything is ok???

230K

 

[neihig]

Important Update:

We are thinking along the same lines 230k. I've just replaced my rear cygnus alloys, 225 50 R16 8J ET 32, with my old corvus fronts, 205 55 R16 7J ET 37, to match my new cygnus fronts and meaning I have the same tyres sizes and rim widths on all four wheels and guess what...

20 mile test drive with NO MALFUNCTIONS.

So this leaves me thinking is it tyre size (circumference/diameter) or rim width that is causing a problem?

Should I see if my local tyre fitter can put my old 205 55 R16 tyres onto my new 8J cygnus alloy rims or do you think it is the width of tyres front to back that is causing a problem?

High-Lo - did you have differant tyre sizes on your W210 when you fitted your 16" cygnus alloys?, or were they all the same spec...

Look forward to your responses...

 

[230K]

Hi

Are the tyres all new?? Sometimes a combination of old and new tyres is enough to stop cruise control working because the 205/55 and 225/50 set up have virtually identical rolling radii.

230K

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
The fault is occuring because of the difference in tyre profile size, nothing at all to do with wheel width.
Changing the tyre profile changes the rolling radius of the wheel.

 

[neihig]

Right, do you think 205 55 R16's are suitable on an 8J rim.

I'm amazed by the effect these differant sized tyres have made, even though the overall tyre circumference/diameter differance seems to be less than 2mm between 225 50 R16 and 205 55 R16...

Is my W210 that finely tuned!?!!

 

[230K]

Right, do you think 205 55 R16's are suitable on an 8J rim.

I'm amazed by the effect these differant sized tyres have made, even though the overall tyre circumference/diameter differance seems to be less than 2mm between 225 50 R16 and 205 55 R16...

Is my W210 that finely tuned!?!!

Hi according to this site Visual Tyre Size Calculator | Kouki Tech the minimum width on an 8" rim is 215 so 205's "could be" too narrow for an 8" rim but surely they are on the 7" rim anyhow???

230K

 

[neihig]

All my 205's are on 7"rims.

I've googled 205's on 8J rims and there is a lot of debate for and against.

I suppose all i can do is talk to my tyre fitter, if they won't fit then it looks like I might have a spare set of corvus alloys...i'll just have to save up for the clk to fit them on!

Lets keep our fingers crossed...