Winter wheels

[farmer7]

Okay, so I've been back and forth a bit trying to decide what is best to do for the winter, I was going to have Michelin Cross Climate 2's put on my own wheels and just leave them on all year.

I'm now leaning towards buying a good used set of wheels and putting dedicated snow tyres on and just swap them for the winter. I'm in the north of Scotland at 1100ft we always get snow/frost and icy road conditions. Also my wife will be using the car for a 20 mile commute so I think dedicated snow tyres is perhaps the best choice.

A few questions for those more knowledgeable if I may.

1. I have 19" wheels, 245 front and 275 rear. Can I just swap to 18", 245 and 275 if an 18" set came up for sale? I wouldn't mind a little extra sidewall for the road quality over the winter!

2. I'm minded to stick with genuine MB wheels. Unless anyone knows of decent aftermarket brand? Might non-MB wheels affect insurance?


3. Just out of interest are the wheels on my car cast or forged?

4. My car is an E220d AMG line, does this have the same front calipers as an SE? I'm just thinking if I was to make the swap to 18" I would want to be sure they would clear the calipers.

5. Does anyone have a spare set they are looking to move on?!!! 18" or 19".


I've attached a couple of pictures showing my fuel flap and the wheels on the car just now.

 

[MrGreedy]

I got a set of these from a kind member on this forum:

Pardon our interruption...

They are 17s and I couldn't be 100% sure they would fit over your front brakes, but if they would, the higher side wall might be good for poor roads. I note there is a 17" option on your fuel flap, so you might even be able to got to 17s.

Tyres on the example I linked are 245/45/R17, which is too different to your current setup and you would need to get 245/50/R17 to be less than 1mm difference in rolling circumference, but this is an uncommon size, so I'd say avoid thisparticular set, so I just list it as an example.

They are not staggered setup, so all 4 wheels are the same. I suspect having narrower rear tyres in snow is no bad thing. Plus you can rotate them year to year to get more even tyre wear, so I think if you included a non-staggered setup in your search, you will have more to choose from. My summer tyres/wheels ARE a staggered setup, with wider rear.

I have Continental Winter Contacts on, as do two of the tyres in this listing, and you can see they are a MO (Mercedes specified) tyre.

When I got the alloys, I just had they refurbished immediately, and a standard powder coat isn't very expensive.

I really like the Winter Contacts, and I'm looking to replace them for more Winter Contacts.

 

[MrGreedy]

These are for the w212

Pardon our interruption...

245/45/R18
Part No. A2134011400

I'm not saying get this set, but if you find some locally it would be easier to go and have a look before buying.
They were originally supplied diamond cut on the face, but looking on ebay and Autotrader, plenty of people have just refurbed these with a plain powder coat.

 

[MrGreedy]

Pardon our interruption...

Three for £120. A fourth for around £100 and this makes a cheap set.

 

[farmer7]

I got a set of these from a kind member on this forum:

Pardon our interruption...

They are 17s and I couldn't be 100% sure they would fit over your front brakes, but if they would, the higher side wall might be good for poor roads. I note there is a 17" option on your fuel flap, so you might even be able to got to 17s.

Tyres on the example I linked are 245/45/R17, which is too different to your current setup and you would need to get 245/50/R17 to be less than 1mm difference in rolling circumference, but this is an uncommon size, so I'd say avoid thisparticular set, so I just list it as an example.

They are not staggered setup, so all 4 wheels are the same. I suspect having narrower rear tyres in snow is no bad thing. Plus you can rotate them year to year to get more even tyre wear, so I think if you included a non-staggered setup in your search, you will have more to choose from. My summer tyres/wheels ARE a staggered setup, with wider rear.

I have Continental Winter Contacts on, as do two of the tyres in this listing, and you can see they are a MO (Mercedes specified) tyre.

When I got the alloys, I just had they refurbished immediately, and a standard powder coat isn't very expensive.

I really like the Winter Contacts, and I'm looking to replace them for more Winter Contacts.

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about a non staggered set up and I thought the narrower rear would help with grip but then I was thinking having a lesser contact patch would increase stopping distances?
Or would having more weight on a smaller patch counteract that?

Thanks for the links below, I did consider that style but think I would rather something a bit nicer looking. I'll have them on the car until the April so aesthetically I'd prefer something a bit nicer looking!

I'll certainly look into the Continental Winter Contacts. Thanks again!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Living where you live, then I would definitely be using winter tyres rather than all season or summer tyres. Over the course of the year the winter tyres will perform better than summer tyres.

You can run modern winter tyres all year round if you wish, I have run two cars in winter tyres all year round for the last few years with no ill effects, and it’s tropical here in comparison to you.

You don’t have to fit staggered wheels for winter, you’ll see on your fuel flap the very bottom tyre size for that scenario, in which case the rear wheels are the same size and offset as the front wheels.

 

[DSM10000]

See here for ensuring comparable rolling radius :

Tyre Size Calculator

A better easy to use tyre size calculator. Use our tyre size calculator to find tyre diameter, width, sidewall, circumference, and revolutions per mile.

tiresize.com

 

[SpikyMikey]

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about a non staggered set up and I thought the narrower rear would help with grip but then I was thinking having a lesser contact patch would increase stopping distances?
Or would having more weight on a smaller patch counteract that?

Thanks for the links below, I did consider that style but think I would rather something a bit nicer looking. I'll have them on the car until the April so aesthetically I'd prefer something a bit nicer looking!

I'll certainly look into the Continental Winter Contacts. Thanks again!

This may be of interest:
https://www.motor1.com/news/696279/wide-vs-narrow-winter-tires-explained/

 

[JHS]

Ended up giving these away!

Thread 'For sale RONAL alloys.'

Nov 21, 2023

4 x 8J/19 ET 43 RONAL Mercedes alloys with TPMS valves. 2 wheels have kerb damage.
Used as winter wheels on my S205 for 2 seasons. Now surplus as change of car looms ever nearer and they are taking up room.
Non staggered, originally for E Class but used them on my C Class without any bother. Mercedes ref:A213 401 36 00.
Complete with longer bolts and locking bolts. No tyres.
No welds.
Originally purchased from a member on here.

Also 19" emergency spare. marked as Audi but I believe that it will fit MB as well but you would need to confirm this.
For sale as a job lot at a bargain price...

• JHS
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Classifieds - Mercedes Parts or general for Sale

 

[farmer7]

Living where you live, then I would definitely be using winter tyres rather than all season or summer tyres. Over the course of the year the winter tyres will perform better than summer tyres.

You can run modern winter tyres all year round if you wish, I have run two cars in winter tyres all year round for the last few years with no ill effects, and it’s tropical here in comparison to you.

You don’t have to fit staggered wheels for winter, you’ll see on your fuel flap the very bottom tyre size for that scenario, in which case the rear wheels are the same size and offset as the front wheels.

What sort of mileage would you be getting out of a quality winter tyre for year round use?

The only thing that springs to mind was I read a test where some winter tyres in the summer had significantly longer braking distances over summer tyres.

I would certainly consider same sized front and rear if I could find wheels to suit.

 

[farmer7]

This may be of interest:
https://www.motor1.com/news/696279/wide-vs-narrow-winter-tires-explained/

Very interesting. Makes it nice and easy, forget about the width! Thanks!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

What sort of mileage would you be getting out of a quality winter tyre for year round use?

The only thing that springs to mind was I read a test where some winter tyres in the summer had significantly longer braking distances over summer tyres.

I would certainly consider same sized front and rear if I could find wheels to suit.

Every driver, car and tyre is different however I get well over 20,000 miles from a set of premium (Continrntal, Pirelli, Michelin) winter tyres. I think the Continental winter tyres that I have on a SUV at the moment have done more than 30,000 miles (all year round) with plenty of tread left - they’ll be replaced based upon age before wear.

Over the years I’ve run all sorts of cars with winter tyres all year round - saloons, SUVs, and sports cars - and as a general rule of thumb I would say that I cover a noticeably greater distance on a set of modern premium winter tyres (Continental, Pirelli, Michelin) before needing replacement, than a set of modern performance summer tyres.

Regarding braking distance, switching so you have the best tyre for the season will always give you better performance in warmer weather, however the two cars I’ve run year round on winter tyres don’t give up any noticeable performance in terms of braking and handling in warmer weather. It’s sure to be there but not noticeable.

On a bone dry, hot day, and driving hard and fast enough to keep the tyres in their operating window (for temperature), then the summer tyre will perform better. On an average day, on an average journey, on the road, at lower speeds driving more gently, with cooler temperatures and wet, damp or mixed surfaces, then the winter tyre will perform as well or better.

The reason being that modern low profile tyres are high performance or ultra high performance tyres and the average driver simply can’t get enough heat in to them to reach and stay within the operating window that they were designed for. This is especially true for Pirelli PZero and the reason that in the UK PZero summer tyres have a poor reputation.

There’s always a compromise with a tyre. It’s not possible for a tyre to perform the best at all extremes of performance however I personally believe that a car with winter tyres all year round will require a smaller compromise in performance than a high performance summer tyre all year round.

 

[MrGreedy]

One of the reasons I run winter tyres and wheels is so that at least once a year I can get them off the car and into the bath for a full on decontamination and clean.

Would anyone actually be that sad and surely this must be a joke you say?
Of course

 

[SpikyMikey]

One of the reasons I run winter tyres and wheels is so that at least once a year I can get them off the car and into the bath for a full on decontamination and clean.

Would anyone actually be that sad and surely this must be a joke you say?
Of course

No more of a joke than someone removing the rear light clusters to clean them in the dishwasher. I mean, no-one would do that, right??