I have decided to purchase a set of Michelin MXV4 tires for my 1995 E320. (I also reviewed various Dunlop, Bridgestone Potenza, and Kumho tires.)

PerformanceProducts4Benz.com has a special on the 205/65/R15 MXV4's, and I was wondering how the wider tire might differ from the OEM 195/65/HR15 size. Which tire would you suggest? Are there any questions you might ask (i.e. speed rating) before purchasing?

From the PerformanceProducts webpage:

Michelin MXV4 195/65/HR15
Our Price: $130.82

Buy 3 Michelin MXV4 15" Tires & Get The 4th Free (205/65/R15). Set of 4
Our Price: $447.00

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1982 300D-T (sold)
1988 300E (sold)
1994 E320 Wagon (sold)
1995 E320
1998 E300D-T
1999 E3204M Wagon
2001 E320
2005 E320 CDI

A wider tire is not a problem, but the one you mention is bigger in diameter - your speedometer will read low, acceleration will be a bit less, and you could have clearance problems in bumpy turns.

Steve

__________________
'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

205/60-R15 would be a better fit I think. I ran those on my 1989 300E, they worked fine and I enjoyed the ride.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

I mistakenly believed that both tires having a 65 indicated the same diameter...thanks...would OEM be the best bet at this point?

__________________
1982 300D-T (sold)
1988 300E (sold)
1994 E320 Wagon (sold)
1995 E320
1998 E300D-T
1999 E3204M Wagon
2001 E320
2005 E320 CDI

A 205-60-15 will have an overall diameter very close to the original 195-65-15, thus avoiding the clearance and the "wrong speedometer" problems.
I have switched to 205-60 when I replaced the original set of 195-65 tires back in 1992 and never looked back.
More rubber on the road, more air under the rim, better load carrying capability make it a no brainer.
(and I think it improves the look of the car too)

The diameter of a tire is equal to the width in MM divided by 25.4 times the aspect ratio (.65) doubled (1.3) plus 15 (wheel diameter) - or 24.98" for the originals and 25.49 for the 205/65s, or 2.0 percent larger. The general rule is you need to stay within 3 percent. 205/60s, 215/60 and 205/65s all work fine. But that's not that great a deal, not worth getting a size you don't want. Plus they don't even tell you which MXV4 it is, or the speed rating - pretty sloppy I'd say. Try TireRack - very good and one of our sponsors.

Any tire that is the correct diameter for your vehicle will look about the same mounted on your rim - from the side, which is how you will usually view it. In other words, as you increase the tire width, you must keep the side profile the same dimension. Since aspect ratio is profile/width, this will get lower as the width increases.

Generally, dry-road grip improves as tread width increases, but deteriorates as tire-width/rim-width also increases. Thus, simply increasing tire width won't necessarily improve handling or grip. A wider tire AND wider rim will almost always improve handling. Ride comfort would improve by increasing tire width without increasing rim width, as long as tire weight does not increase, but this is rarely the case.

As a practical matter, the 205/60's on your rims are a marginally smaller in diameter than the oems, and probably weigh about the same. Because your rims are wider than par for your oem tires, you could expect some handling improvement without much increased ride harshness over bumps. 205/65's would probably ride harsher, due to the extra weight, and handle little or no better than the oems, in addition to the other issues with larger diameter tires.

Steve

__________________
'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

RGL:

Tire size decoding 101:

example: 195/65/15

195 = tire width in millimeters (about 7.7 inches)

65 = the height of the tire. Not the total height from the ground, but the height off of the rim lip to the tread surface (termed the 'aspect ratio'). It is expressed as a percentage of the width. In this case, 65 means the sidewall is 195mm x 0.65 = 127 mm (about 5 inches tall)

15 is the wheel diameter expressed in inches.


It's the dumbest thing, describing a dimension in a mixture of the metric and SAE systems. It's the type of thing that makes Mars landers not land very well sometimes.

__________________
Brian
1995 E320 wagon

I have also gone from 195/65's to 205/60's and haven't regretted it since. I also switched from (in my opinion) expensive and noisy MXV4's to other other brands, of which I like the Hankook's best so far.

__________________
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

And as others have said the 205/60 is a great match on the 124's. I ran the MXV4's in that size for over 2 years on the 95 E320 I had and loved them. I thought they were the quietest tire I had ever owned and would never switch back. Also the 205's looked better on the car then the 195's, they were noticeably wider and filled out the wheel well better in my opinion. The 195's always looked too narrow for my taste. Anyhow it's just my opinion and I hope it helps!!

__________________
86 Nissan 720 P/U - 285K miles and counting!!
91 Volvo 240 - 218K miles and still going strong.
00 Mercedes E320 - 111K miles and lovin it!!!

The wider tires will be a little harder to keep balanced and stress the suspension parts a little more. Also wet and snow condition's grip will be less good with a wider tire if you are in a place where that is a factor (like here in indiana).

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Item Description Availability Qty. Price Each Item Total
205/60HR15 Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus Blackwall
for UNSPECIFIED VEHICLE
In Stock 012345678 $115.00

$460.00

Is H the proper speed rating?

__________________
1982 300D-T (sold)
1988 300E (sold)
1994 E320 Wagon (sold)
1995 E320
1998 E300D-T
1999 E3204M Wagon
2001 E320
2005 E320 CDI

H is the proper speed rating - verifiable in your owner's manual. Original size 195/65s are only $99 / $396.