I'm new to the Benz world after finally throwing in the towel after a long and painful experience as a Saab owner. I've just bought a 1988 420sel. Its a georgious Quartz Blue with a newly rebuilt engine and transmission that I hope to keep for many years to come.

The only issue I have with the car is the tacky 16" Fittipaldi rims the former owner put on. They aren't bad rims but a little too flashy for my taste and don't really jive with the asthetic of the car. I'm looking at a couple of the AMG styles and since I'm planning to buy new rims, I started wondering if I should upgrade to a 17" wheel. The only reason I have any doubts is that the car has vertually new Goodyear radials on it and I hate to simply throw them out when I could just swap in 16" rims and save the $600 on new tires.

How much improvement would I notice in handeling and cornering with the 17's? Is it enough to justify the extra cash or should I save it and put it into the stereo ?

Thanks for any advice!!

Tim

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1988 420SEL 170K

Remember that your ride will be harsher when you go to 17's, specially if you use Z-rated tires. The car's suspension will have to work much harder to compensate for the loss of shock buffering formerly provided by the bigger rubber sidewall of the 16's.

OTOH, your steering will feel slightly crisper because of less flex in the sidewalls. Also, 17's will look better, since they fill up the wheel wells more than the 16's.

I myself changed from my C36's stock 17's to 16's because of the ride qualiy factor. I feel that slightly quicker steering response is not worth the extra jarring I and my passengers get from the 17's and the Z tyres.

You make a good point, I suppose the reason I'm tempted is that these old W126's are long on comfort (its a little like driving your living room to work). But their handling is somewhat mushy and unresponsive. They like to go fast in straight lines, which is what I do most of the time and why it was the right car for me. Still I'm wondering if a trade of some comfort might be worth it to gain a 'lighter' feel.

Did you experience a large difference in feel from 17's to 16's?

Here's the car as I bought it, there have already been some changes.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1988 420SEL 170K

another thing to consider is that the susoension in the afore mentioned C36 is much stiffer than what your car uses

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Personally I'd definitely go for the 17's, it will improve the handling and steering response which I believe is what your looking for. If you choose a wider wheel it will also fill in your fenders.

For comparison sake, Glen (MBshop Member) has a 94 E500 with 18" wheels and I have the stock wheels on my 92 500E for now. His car doesn't ride any harsher than mine, turns in better than mine and his car doesn't lean as much. Not to mention it looks absolutely awesome!

Since you live in CT just pop on the Fittipaldi's for the winter and get a wider 17" wheel with summer tires just for the summer.

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Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

Hi Luke,

I think that's a good point. I think what I'll do is plan for a total suspension tire-wheel upgrade over summer sometime. Right now I'm thinking 17" wheels (I've seen some 18's in photos and they just look too big to me).

Is there anybody in the Connecticut area with 17"s? I'd love the chance to check out your car.

Thanks!

Tim

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1988 420SEL 170K

Nice to see you under another topic. I didn't see your post until I had finished mine. I'm glad to hear you've experienced the comparison and found it was ok. Do you know if Glen, had to compensate with a suspension upgrade as well? It seems like the two go hand in hand.

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1988 420SEL 170K

Larger wheels always look better (to a point), but main reason I'm not going to '17's on the E420 is economical: prices jump alarmingly from '16 to '17-inch rubber, not to mention higher performance sizes usually mean even poorer treadwear - a big double-whammy for me. Anyway, just another thing to consider, but sounds like you've made your decision. You'll no doubt be happy with the performance

Very Nice car - I don't particularly care for the chromer fender flares (but I like very little chrome to begin with), but that Blue is one of my favorites!

Nice aquisition!

Regards,
- Ryan

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

Thanks! I've been watching for that color comb (parchment interior) forever. Flew all the way to AZ to find this one. This car has never even thought about rust, even the exhust -its amazing.

For the record, the flares are already gone. I wouldn't even drive it off the lot with them. Plus I wanted to be sure that there wasn't anything hiding underneath. I'm no fan of chrome either, unless its on a elegant old 280 se cabriolet (my dream car). Its also a risk because I park in a public garage and the flashy rims make me worry about finding the car on blocks one early morning.

I haven't totally made up my mind about the rims and tires yet, but I'm definately tempted. I figured I'd wait a little while and see how I felt about the ride. I did notice that TireRack has 17" p7000 for $101 per tire though, that's definately starting to look like a decent price to me, though I'd probably prefer a Dunlop Sp Sport. Sigh....

How much do you think the treadwear would change from one size to the next? Is that a function of the wider tread?

Best,

Tim

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1988 420SEL 170K

Cool - glad to hear the fender-flares went away! I agree, only on the pre-W123 (1977) cars does the expansive chrome look classy...


I believe actually (and I confess to know little about tires), that wider, lower profile tires simply have less material for which to stamp deep tread into, and they tend to be of softer rubber which enhances grip.

Regards,
- Ryan

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

The frustrating thing about this topic is there SO many post that touch on it in one way or another that it is impossible to seach for good threads. What you're saying makes sense though, I suppose I'll give Luke a cal this week and have a long chat with him. Its time to 'git edumacated' about wheels and tires. :p

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1988 420SEL 170K

Glen didn't have to make any changes to his suspension, but keep in mind that 500E/E500's had performance suspensions to start with so it's not really necessary.

If your willing to spend the cash then you might want to consider a nice set of Bilsteins and a marginally lower springs but it will definitely affect ride quality.

Regarding tire wear......for me a larger diameter wheel definitely wears faster, but I think it has alot to do with taking multiple on/off ramps at warp speed!

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Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

the reason that some people think larger wheels with low profile tires wear faster is very simple ....

#1.) most of the time people enjoy the better handling and steering response and tend to drive more aggressively in the corners ... maybe it's something as minor as the off ramp which you used to take @ 30mph which you now can take @45mph

#2.) a majority of tires in the low profile sizes are performance tires which have a more aggressive tread compound which offers more grip and less wear

#3.) driver error/enjoyment ( see #1 )

but, if you can control your right foot and maintain your sensible/conservative driving style you will not see more or faster tire wear with the proper tire selection.

If the reason you go with larger wheels and low profile tires is strictly for looks you can find tires that offer very good wear chacteristics. ...

in the end it's a matter of tire selection ... get the right tire for YOU because, I may have different requirements for my tires than you do for yours

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That does makes sense. Just intuitively I would think, more surface = more distribution of force = less wear (if only marginally).

As much as I hate to admit it, the overwhelming majority of my driving is simply straight freeway driving about 60-70 miles roundtrip everyday. Nothing sporty or particularly agressive just cruising at 74.99 mph (when did I get so old and tame???).

I'd like the better handling of a wider tire for looks and peice of mind but I'm hardly planning to slalom on a regular basis. If that's the case, what tires do you believe are the best in terms of long wear cabilities?

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1988 420SEL 170K

what do you think about the p7000's? Which I admit I'm mostly attracted to because of the price.

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1988 420SEL 170K