Winter Wheels and Tyres

[Jack13]

HI everyone

This is my first post and my first Mercedes car too so I have a lot to learn....please be gentle!

I recently bought a 2016 Mercedes CLS 350d AMG Line Premium that currently has 19” AMG Turbine alloys (I think that’s what they are called) with Pirelli P Zero tyres on it. As you might imagine as the weather starts to get colder and wetter I was thinking about switching my current set to something more suitable and wanted to go with an all-season tyre and alloy wheel. Many discussions suggest buying another set and swapping them. Something I have never done previously So know little about it. I understand from researching that I should in theory be putting 255/40/R18 on the car all round although at the moment my car has fatter real wheels than fronts.

I need someone‘s help to understand exactly what I need, the size of wheel, offset numbers, tyre pressure sensors, tyre options I should consider.....it is all a little confusing if I’m honest. If anyone has an idiots guide to help me out or in fact anyone who has bought something that’s working for them and could give me a steer to a website that would be great.

I see lots of sellers selling used wheels and tyres but have no clue if they would fit my car so.......

Many thanks in advance

 

[sgregory124]

HI everyone

This is my first post and my first Mercedes car too so I have a lot to learn....please be gentle!

I recently bought a 2016 Mercedes CLS 350d AMG Line Premium that currently has 19” AMG Turbine alloys (I think that’s what they are called) with Pirelli P Zero tyres on it. As you might imagine as the weather starts to get colder and wetter I was thinking about switching my current set to something more suitable and wanted to go with an all-season tyre and alloy wheel. Many discussions suggest buying another set and swapping them. Something I have never done previously So know little about it. I understand from researching that I should in theory be putting 255/40/R18 on the car all round although at the moment my car has fatter real wheels than fronts.

I need someone‘s help to understand exactly what I need, the size of wheel, offset numbers, tyre pressure sensors, tyre options I should consider.....it is all a little confusing if I’m honest. If anyone has an idiots guide to help me out or in fact anyone who has bought something that’s working for them and could give me a steer to a website that would be great.

I see lots of sellers selling used wheels and tyres but have no clue if they would fit my car so.......

Many thanks in advance

I'm in a similar position to you - just trying to find winter tyres for my C class which also has staggered wheels. If you do a search on here you will find loads of threads on the subject. Also, try checking sites like blackcircles.com or camskill.co.uk, you'll be able to enter your registration and both sites will give you options for your car.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Welcome to MBClub.

If you’re thinking of buying all season tyres - and they’re available in the right sizes - then there should be no need to put them on a different set of wheels. This is is because they’re designed to stay on the car all year round.

There are far fewer choices when it it comes to all season tyres, both in terms of manufacturers and sizes, so you may need to look at winter tyres - choice is still limited compared to summer tyres, and you ideally should change them in summer and winter.

A few questions to see if we can set you off in the right direction: Which size tyres are fitted currently? Also which wheel and tyre size is mentioned for winter use in your manual? Finally whereabouts are you.

 

[Jack13]

Hi
Sorry fo the late reply. I am thinking that I would buy a set of alloys and wheels because the tyres I am thinking about purchasing are the Michelin cross climate+ and I believe as my car has a staggered set up, they do not come in sizes that match my rear wheels but do match my fronts.

My front tyres are 255/35/r19 96Y and rear tyres are 285/30r19 96Y

I wondered whether I should bother having a staggered set-up and go (as I think my manual suggests for winter) and switch to 255/40/r18 all round.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I don’t much fancy skating off the road in very slippery conditions come December/January and interested to now what others have decided (Although admittedly I haven’t yet driven it in terrible conditions).

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi
Sorry fo the late reply. I am thinking that I would buy a set of alloys and wheels because the tyres I am thinking about purchasing are the Michelin cross climate+ and I believe as my car has a staggered set up, they do not come in sizes that match my rear wheels but do match my fronts.

My front tyres are 255/35/r19 96Y and rear tyres are 285/30r19 96Y

I wondered whether I should bother having a staggered set-up and go (as I think my manual suggests for winter) and switch to 255/40/r18 all round.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I don’t much fancy skating off the road in very slippery conditions come December/January and interested to now what others have decided (Although admittedly I haven’t yet driven it in terrible conditions).

Personally I favour winter tyres in Autumn & Winter, and Summer tyres in Spring & Summer - changing over when the clocks change usually works well.

All season tyres are a great compromise, but they’re not quite as good as summer tyres in warm weather, not as good as winter tyres in cold weather.

However winter tyres and summer tyres have their compromises too - storing and changing over not be convenient for some, especially those in UK.

Without a staggered set up, be aware that your rear wheels & tyres will look narrow and a long way into the arches, like space saver wheels.

For year round use you may (or may not) consider this to be an aesthetic compromise too far - but that’s subjective and comes down to personal preference.

 

[Jack13]

Personally I favour winter tyres in Autumn & Winter, and Summer tyres in Spring & Summer - changing over when the clocks change usually works well.

All season tyres are a great compromise, but they’re not quite as good as summer tyres in warm weather, not as good as winter tyres in cold weather.

However winter tyres and summer tyres have their compromises too - storing and changing over not be convenient for some, especially those in UK.

Without a staggered set up, be aware that your rear wheels & tyres will look narrow and a long way into the arches, like space saver wheels.

For year round use you may (or may not) consider this to be an aesthetic compromise too far - but that’s subjective and comes down to personal preference.

So you would suggest keeping sizes the same and simply swapping out the wheels like for like? Seems sensible.

Have you had any experience of particular winter tyres that sit well on Mercedes cars? Any retailers that sell additional alloys (or wheels and tyres combo) at good prices? Looks like I may switch as you say pretty soon ad the weather seems to be turning.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

So you would suggest keeping sizes the same and simply swapping out the wheels like for like? Seems sensible.

Have you had any experience of particular winter tyres that sit well on Mercedes cars? Any retailers that sell additional alloys (or wheels and tyres combo) at good prices? Looks like I may switch as you say pretty soon ad the weather seems to be turning.

I’ve used winter tyres from Michelin, Continental and Pirelli and they have all been excellent - I couldn’t pick between them, they’ve all transformed the cars they’ve been fitted too.

On some cars I have dedicated winter wheels with winter tyres permanently mounted, and on some I switch over the tyres - it depends upon whether I can get a set of wheels at the right price.

In terms of timing our cars already have their winter tyres on - the weather has been cold and wet and so I changed earlier than I would usually, and the difference is very easy to notice even now.

Ask your local tyre retailers - and Mercedes main dealers - whether they offer a wheel/tyre hotel - they’re becoming more common in the UK. Pirelli look after mine (all brands) at their HQ in Burton-on-Trent.

If you plan to switch them yourself then picking up a good secondhand set of wheels would be best, so you’re in complete control of how and when you switch over.

Personally I find a tyre hotel much more convenient. Pirelli don’t charge me for storage but do charge me £10 per wheel per change over which I think is more than reasonable - outstanding service there.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I would go for matching brands and model on both the front and rear to make sure that there’s similar grip on both axles.

It looks like you can get Continental TS830 and Pirelli Sottozero Series II to fit both front and rear tyre sizes

 

[tonysmb]

I've used separate sets of winter wheels & tyres for many years now and find quite a noticeable difference (in a good way) between them and the original fitment, particularly when the weather is cold, which is what they're designed for. I find it far easier to simply switch to the different wheel/tyre combination rather than faffing about having winter tyres fitted on the original rims, balanced and then doing the same in reverse in the spring. Those costs would soon add up as well.

The handbook should list the appropriate sizes for the car and they're often narrower with a higher profile than the standard-fit.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The handbook should list the appropriate sizes for the car and they're often narrower with a higher profile than the standard-fit.

That did indeed used to be the case but it seems that these are no longer listed, at least for some models.

 

[Jack13]

Winter tyre sizes are not obvious in the handbook. I took the sizes I quoted earlier in the thread from a bit of googling I did. Most suggestions are to fit same size all round but as Bobby suggests I'm not sure I like the narrow look at the back (especially not on the cls with its wide shoulders).

 

[cduk]

I've had some good success with Pirelli Sottozero tyres - they got me to where I needed in really wintry conditions. As for places to buy complete sets, a couple immediately spring to mind (no affiliation with any, but the set I bought was from eBay which have been fine). It also depends if you want to go new vs. used and OEM vs. third party, or whether you have space to store the spare wheels/tyres at home:

1. Ebay (where I got mine, and store them at home and change them myself)
2. MyTyres
3. MrWinterWheels
4. Mercedes dealer
5. Tyre hotel

There ought to be a tyre pressure sticker near the drivers door which states the recommended size for winter tyres for your car, they should be listed as the "M+S" (Mud and Snow) option.

 

[W1ghty]

Have a look at Camskills and Tyreleader as well for good value tyres delivered

 

[PaulXC]

My winter wheels and tyre combo is Continental TS830 tyres on 5 Spoke 18" genuine Merc alloys. Cost £700 s/hand from Felgen , Reifen und Kompletträder auch mit RDKS und Montage bei Arena-Wheels in Germany. Saves my diamond cut 19" wheels from the salty winter roads,

In fact, just put them back on today.

 

[TheJudge]

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[Jack13]

So after doing a bit of ringing around no one seems to have Pirelli or continental winter tyres in the size of my rears so I have been quoted for some Nokian WRA4 fronts: £159 Rears: £179 and £10 per tyre to store them for 6 months (payable when I switch back). Done some googling and they are not horrific reviews although now unsure what to do.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

So after doing a bit of ringing around no one seems to have Pirelli or continental winter tyres in the size of my rears so I have been quoted for some Nokian WRA4 fronts: £159 Rears: £179 and £10 per tyre to store them for 6 months (payable when I switch back). Done some googling and they are not horrific reviews although now unsure what to do.

Nokian don't have a strong brand in the UK, however they're known for their Winter tyres especially. If they can store the tyres then this may be another advantage.

Can't they order tyres in? That's very strange to be unable to source them. They're not common in the UK so they're rarely on the shelf, however there's often stock in the UK, or available from mainland Europe in a day or two.

If you're unsure about the Nokians try buying your tyres online and arrange the local fitting yourself. They may be less willing to store the tyres for you if purchased online but worth asking if convenient for you.

 

[Jack13]

Hi All

Thanks for the help and advice everyone. I finally purchased a set of alloys and tyres from a company in Germany. Went for a smaller size after consulting with my local Mercedes dealer to confirm they recommended the size I wanted and bought four 255/40/R18 to create a square set-up rather than the staggered one I have for summer.

5 spoke in himalayan grey with Pirelli SottoZero 240 series II on. My car is grey so hopefully they will look good once on the car. Didn’t want anything particularly flash. Should save me messing around with original wheels and constantly swapping out the tyres too!

 

[glojo]

Living on the English Rivera Yes we day have a few days of sunshine this year. We have never, ever fitted winter tyres but reading some blurb about a type of Michelin all-season tyre, I confess to thinking about fitting them when the tyres wear down on our next vehicle.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Hi All

Thanks for the help and advice everyone. I finally purchased a set of alloys and tyres from a company in Germany. Went for a smaller size after consulting with my local Mercedes dealer to confirm they recommended the size I wanted and bought four 255/40/R18 to create a square set-up rather than the staggered one I have for summer.

5 spoke in himalayan grey with Pirelli SottoZero 240 series II on. My car is grey so hopefully they will look good once on the car. Didn’t want anything particularly flash. Should save me messing around with original wheels and constantly swapping out the tyres too!

View attachment 104180

I fitted grey wheels to my cls and hated the look , wish I'd gone with silver . Each to their own though. I've recently dropped to an 18 inch wheel on my e350 with Bridgestone all weather tyres , and I must say they have been brilliant so far.