I have a 92 500E and two sets of tires/rims. Currently I have on the car Pirelli P7000 Supersports 245/45-17 on AMG 5 spoke 170's.

I also have OEM 16" rims with 235/60-16 from Michelin Energy MXV4's.

The P7000's are shot and I am looking to buy new tires. I would like to find a balance between the two sets of tires in terms of handling/comfort/Styling. The michelin's have an easier ride but don't have quite the handling the P7000's had. What is the maximum dimensions I could put on these rims front and back ?

My tires on the OEM 16's are 27.1" total diameter. I would like to have the same overall dimensions on my 17" tires. I am making an assumption that I will sacrifice some performance in exchange for a softer ride.

For example:
Could I put Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's with the following dimension's:
A) 245/50-17 - 9.64" Wide / 26.64 radius
or
B) 235/55-17- 9.25" Wide / 27.17" radius

If I wanted to go wider on the back then how wide could I go?

Thanks,
Eric

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Michelin&model=Pilot+Sport+A%2FS

245/45/ZR17 25.9" tall 9.5 wide
275/40/ZR17 25.9 tall 11.1 wide

If you want them the same height those would be the sizes. Dean Albrecht http://www.need2speed.web.com/ has the same size on his 500E, but the offset on his wheels are probably different.

I think wide snow tires is a bad idea, but if you rarely drive in the snow, then they should be fine. However they do extremely well in the wet, I have a set.

__________________
Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

Thanks,
I decided to go with Michelin Pilot A/S in the 245/50/17 size. Not standard sizing but I have had even taller wheels on the car and i wanted to fill the gap between the body and the tire a bit.

man, thats a really tall tire, but good luck with that. Why dont you just lower the car?

__________________
Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

Going to a 245/50R-17 tire will increase your stock radius by 1/2" and reduce your revs/mile by nearly 4%. This will create a speedometer error also.

Keep in mind that you will raise your car by the same amount that you "fill in" your wheel/fender gap. Which will bother you most?

__________________
Dean Albrecht
"Lead, follow, or better yet, get out of the way!"E500 owners motto

Thanks for the feedback. Given the changes in the camber, the road conditions in the north east, and the fact that I have no plans to take the car on a track, i do not like the option of lowering the car.

Interestingly enough, the previous owner, had a couple of cars he raced competitively(Maxda RX11, Porsche C4) but never put the 500e on the track. I believe this was out of a fear of the expense of damaging/repairing it. He was the one who was running the car with 27.1" tall Michelin Energies on 16" Rims.

Given those were the tires I had on the car when I first acquired the car, for me, the 245/60's is actually "lowering" the car!