What size wheels / tires fit E500 - 18" & 19" - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 07-27-2002, 11:04 PM

I am a new owner of an E500 with stock 225/50/16 tires. I see a lot of Mercedes wheels and tires offered, but I'm not sure what all my options are. Will 19" fit? What about "staggered" wheels. Will S500 fit without "adapters"? Do they have to be of a year before 1995? I saw some 255 40 19 AMG ORIGINAL MONOBLOCK AERO II RIMS, but wasn't sure if they would work well. Will rims for 1996+ E-series fit? What are the offset, etc that I need to verify to know they will fit?

Thanks for any info you can offer!
George

Chiragp · #2 07-28-2002, 12:33 AM

Rule of thumb, look for something from an SL (r129) class. They E500s have a real low offset due to the flares. I personally like the 18x8" up front, 19x9.5" rear combo, I believe BBS wheels.

There are a few optinons, combo etc. See what you come up with.

E DREAM · #3 07-29-2002, 07:18 AM

I just bought a set of 19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear for my 500e. The correct offset is 32 for this car. I have 235 35 19 front and 265 30 19 rear for tires. Mine are due to arrive UPS any time now. So I will see what fruits for my year or so of searching will bear soon. I was considering 18x8.5 & 18x9.5 for a long time 245 40 18 front and 275 35 18 rear. If you consider BBS, they have 18x8.5 front and 18x10 with offset 35 as their recommendation. I have driven various 500E's with different wheel/ tire combinations also. After much research, I learned that putting wheels/tires any larger than these sizes on our cars will require sheet metal MODS. Not my thing. George, If you want more info , contact me at drmspce@aol.com , happy to discuss my findings with you, I am local to YA .

Chiragp · #4 07-29-2002, 04:26 PM

The offset varies widely on how much the width of the rim is. My stocks were int he 50s, currently using a 1.5" wider tire, and using 37s.

The E500 have alot more play due to the flares.

I've seen Brabus V multipiece wheels in 18x8.5" up front, and 19x10s in the rear of an E500 (Picutres are floating around the interenet) The car had 285/30/19s in the back!!! and 245/40/18s up front. Ever since I've seen the staggered setup (of width and height) of wheels on many RWD cars, I've fell in love with them. They make the ar look more muscular, and its a nice savings. It makes sense to, since most of your bent wheel scenarios occur with the front wheel, and going down to an 18" allows more cushion then a 19" would. Yet you still reap the benefits of a wide tire in the back.

See the link below where Extreme E500 has been working on his auto.
Need Tires....

A side note, saw an E55 take a stock M5 on, and killed it because the E55 had 315/35/17s in the back, to help with traction on take off. Shows you that traction is important when getting power to the ground. I don't remember what wheels they were, as they look custom made. But I believe they were 17x10" in the back, and 17x7.5 up front" with 245/45/17s.

I guess with the right amount of $$$ anything is possible, still trying to figure out where that widebody kit came from, since it looked like the stillen kit on the CLKs, but for an E. O well.

Hope that helps.

#5 07-30-2002, 09:33 PM

I have 19'z on my E500...19x8.5x27H and 19x9.5x27L....19'z are perfact depending on the style your going for...if more looks than performance then 19'z...if all performance-go with 18'z...but I perfer 19'z...

Albert S.

#6 07-30-2002, 10:40 PM

Albert, you have any pix of your ride? 19's must look awesome.

#7 07-31-2002, 04:40 PM

I have many pics...just don't have any with it completed..and i haven't installed the wheels yet...don't have tires...

n2lw · #8 08-10-2002, 11:06 AM

I just put AMG Monobloks with 245/40/17 on my 500. I kept it at 17 because most of my driving is Highway and I wanted to preserve the ride.
Luke at Tirerack was very helpful and I got them through him.
Grip and handling were much improved
Good luck

#9 08-10-2002, 01:53 PM

Here you guys go......got some pics and finally bought only 2 tires one for front and the other for rear......f= 235/35/19 (19x8.5)
and R= 265/30/19 (19x9.5)...........

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwAAAGMSqt44hgwMx!Wz0rhVZ73E9w3oP7Bzata5M66K4HsIAJ*APyyLOR*KN4tUVfVC70CXw12McprW5pA8lw/My-Car-28.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwAAfGMSq944hgwMx!Wz0ovaYBvRIrHlYdh1GF9J8XPrNZ2ItcsgqUWcTIkCQAJJIbD*wmu3ZB9I5Oero7Rtxg/My-Car-37.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwBpZV8SCN44hgwMx!Wz0nZLiu2ZEDfajS3RbXbWBHEZYRpDwktVZ7imGEKnJqAdhTgSye*uiYTjw42b4Xlw4Q/My-Car-42.jpg[/IMG]

#10 08-10-2002, 01:55 PM

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwAAAGASMd44hgwMx!Wz0iPwQh24u6gw*5EGMDa3m3*0B390Gqq6KqMT*MZKHJcmELlUOmbvzBwXm3kZ1C5z*A/My-Car-43.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwBfEGESWt44hgwMx!Wz0i52Lr54bhFgqBQhwCDFKo4rUjkcRxLCt3Rmi!pMSDiife3Cs1YaziUwe1wMo*6lhg/My-Car-44.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwAAAGASMt44hgwMx!Wz0h2c4SqKaevpiak6raNJbkXJqXqhqHA!NFGGlMVv*v*O!28BHTMNDcd2x3rvJe191w/My-Car-52.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwAAAGESW944hgwMx!Wz0ldLgAHl6ISfEe*mrfhBLDH0zDmILEWFuA6p*M1zI!Dx4DHutNVUi*afTtjwKheEng/My-Car-53.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0NwB6DF8SCd44hgwMx!Wz0oEPQeXiQWi0izkoLcJ!mxXxdM0gVckY8D6meL9FJUzRz55w7fHqL*PXMONd!QqLnw/My-Car-51.jpg[/IMG]

oh yeah.....one more thing.....My off-set is 27h and 27L.....this off-set is perfact for the E500.....i have abt a 1/4 of break clearance in front...but my back is only like 1/16 of break clearance... but its the best off-set..

To bad my car isn't complete yet.....but one day

#11 08-14-2002, 12:08 PM

EXTREME E500,

I just had to say that your car is absolutely gorgeous, probably the nicest 500e I've seen yet...hope you'll be able to spin those 19" soon...

Cheers,

Manu
1991 500e
1963 Impala SS

#12 08-14-2002, 04:17 PM

thanks a lot Manu......I hope the same man

#13 08-17-2002, 12:28 PM

This website has a wheel calculator. I used it when I upgraded mine.

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html