I agree, I put 225/60x15's on 1986 alloys on my wife's SD and the comfort and handling improved greatly. Plenty of wheel clearance - about the same as the old 205/70x14's

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Houston, Texas
1984 300CD 235K miles, Elvira, one owner
1987 300TD 180K miles
1974 TR6 78K miles Sarah Jane, one owner
OBK #27

OE tires are chosen based on a lot of factors, and often, handling performance is not a major one.

I switched to the plus zero (one up on the first #, one down on the second, just like the OP's) on my Honda for the little bit extra width and stiffer sidewall. I think wider and stiffer is better because I want the extra grip.

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1984 300TD

When I bought my 1987 300D it had mismatched tires on it, to include a 205 tire in one position and 195 tires in the rest. You can see some difference with the tires placed side-by-side, but it isn't that much. When I replaced the tires, I went with the 195 size because it was OEM and I also decided that the car might get slightly better fuel mileage on those tires.

Any place you go for tires will only put H-rated tires on this car. It is a matter of opinion on whether you actually need an H-rated tire or not. Just be aware that the H-rated tires cost about twice as much and last about half as long as something like the Michelin X radials. Most places will install what you want to buy if you bring them loose wheels taken off the car.

The 1987 W124 is set up for a "harder" ride than the later 90-93 W124 cars. The difference might be described as that between "sport" and "comfort". So I think the 1987 car matches European market demands and the later cars were tuned for American demands.

On the W126 cars, I recently became aware that the SDLs started out with 7-inch wide rims and then later backed that down to 6.5-inch rims. Can someone fill me in on why MB did that? And did the recommended tire change with the rim change?

Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles