My E350 has staggered sized (wider rear) wheels, why ?

Dewar

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What would be the difficulties in converting the fronts 235 40 18, or the rears 255... to the same size all round ?

The reason I ask, it's because I like to cruise across Europe and instead of guessing what sized tire may experience a puncture, in relation to the spare, I'd like to know that the spare is the right size.

I'd much prefer to set out at the start of a long drive knowing that all the wheels were 235/245/255 all round.

What does everyone else think and what size spare do you carry, or more importantly, have you been caught out by carrying the wrong sized spare ?

Dewar
 

JBell

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You can use the same size all round, you would have to use the front size and get a pair of front wheels
 

Craiglxviii

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Because it's a big powerful car and the greater footprint of the wider rears allows for more grip when delivering the considerable torque from the engine, is why.

Your car handbook will give the correct wheel size for same- all- round fitment.

If you're concerned about carrying two sizes, don't be. All your wheels have the same rolling radius so the car will not be unbalanced in an emergency if you put a (front wheel sized) spare on the rear. After all look at space savers.

Consider carrying a bottle of goo and a compressor. These will handle 95% of punctures.

When my staggered- fitment CL lost a rear wheel (long story) it had the light alloy spare (fr sized) fitted with no problems. My E320 has staggered fit now (now that LK has the original wheels ;) ) and its spare is fr sized.
 

Wighty

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Have a read in your car manual , it will give the other wheel sizes available for your model of car , it will also give options for winter wheel/tyre packages . This will at least give you some ideas , because I think the winters at least will be same size all round . That's the case with my Clk .
 

LostKiwi

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Because it's a big powerful car and the greater footprint of the wider rears allows for more grip when delivering the considerable torque from the engine, is why.
Sorry Craig this is a fallacy.
A wider tyre has a different shaped footprint but not a significantly larger one (as long as tyre pressures are equal).

In other words increasing a tyres width by 20% does not give a 20% bigger footprint, just 20% wider and 20% shorter. The governing factor for footprint is tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the smaller the footprint (for a given weight).
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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You can use the same size all round, you would have to use the front size and get a pair of front wheels

Thanks JBell, I have been looking, but it's good to know that it is an option.

Dewar
 

John Laidlaw

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^ as they've said- mine is 255/35 front and 285/30 rear but I could use 255/35 all round on the same wheels. I'm going to do that for my winters for economy and availability reasons (285/30 19 are limited in choice).
 

Frosty149

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My E350 has no spare due to the Harman Kardon audio option (uses the spare wheel space) so I carry a can of repair goo (see amazon) not been an issue.
Touch wood!
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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Because it's a big powerful car and the greater footprint of the wider rears allows for more grip when delivering the considerable torque from the engine, is why.

Your car handbook will give the correct wheel size for same- all- round fitment.

If you're concerned about carrying two sizes, don't be. All your wheels have the same rolling radius so the car will not be unbalanced in an emergency if you put a (front wheel sized) spare on the rear. After all look at space savers.

Consider carrying a bottle of goo and a compressor. These will handle 95% of punctures.

When my staggered- fitment CL lost a rear wheel (long story) it had the light alloy spare (fr sized) fitted with no problems. My E320 has staggered fit now (now that LK has the original wheels ;) ) and its spare is fr sized.


Thanks Craigxviii,

I use to be a tyre fitter in my youth and have never used goo for anything, its awful stuff to work with lol... but I'm glad to here that there are no adverse effects to using a front on the rear.

Dewar
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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Have a read in your car manual , it will give the other wheel sizes available for your model of car , it will also give options for winter wheel/tyre packages . This will at least give you some ideas , because I think the winters at least will be same size all round . That's the case with my Clk .


Hello Wighty,

Slight confession about the car manual, and the car really, its just that I only pick it up formally on Saturday, but I promise I will read it from cover to cover on Saturday evening.

Dewar
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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Sorry Craig this is a fallacy.
A wider tyre has a different shaped footprint but not a significantly larger one (as long as tyre pressures are equal).

In other words increasing a tyres width by 20% does not give a 20% bigger footprint, just 20% wider and 20% shorter. The governing factor for footprint is tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the smaller the footprint (for a given weight).


Hello Lostkiwi,

I remember this information from my youth and experience as a tyre fitter, but also, I never had any problems with the power in my previous A5 3.0 Quattro Diesel Sportback, which was running on 235's all round.

Dewar
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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My E350 has no spare due to the Harman Kardon audio option (uses the spare wheel space) so I carry a can of repair goo (see amazon) not been an issue.
Touch wood!


Hello Frosty149,

I would forsake any spare for the Harmon Kardon audio option, it must sound good...

Dewar
 

Frosty149

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Sorry Craig this is a fallacy.
A wider tyre has a different shaped footprint but not a significantly larger one (as long as tyre pressures are equal).

In other words increasing a tyres width by 20% does not give a 20% bigger footprint, just 20% wider and 20% shorter. The governing factor for footprint is tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the smaller the footprint (for a given weight).
Not disagreeing but, with the extra engine weight at the front and even pressures all round ...
Trying to get my head round this?
 

Frosty149

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Hello Frosty149,

I would forsake any spare for the Harmon Kardon audio option, it must sound good...

Dewar
No complaints!
That said I've never driven a 'standard' audio model so no real benchmark!
 

Craiglxviii

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Sorry Craig this is a fallacy.
A wider tyre has a different shaped footprint but not a significantly larger one (as long as tyre pressures are equal).

In other words increasing a tyres width by 20% does not give a 20% bigger footprint, just 20% wider and 20% shorter. The governing factor for footprint is tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the smaller the footprint (for a given weight).

Learn something new every day. I'm not much clued up on tyres I freely admit.
 

LostKiwi

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Not disagreeing but, with the extra engine weight at the front and even pressures all round ...
Trying to get my head round this?

Weight distribution will be close to 50:50 (probably around 52:48 I'd guess).

What changes with width is the dynamics of the tyre. A wider tyre will tend to stay flatter to the road surface when there is a deflection to the side (cornering) so is therefore desirable from a cornering perspective but it gives virtually no benefit in a straight line. A wider tyre will also usually exhibit a higher rolling resistance (this is one reason why wide tyres harm fuel economy), will be more prone to aquaplaning, will often be heavier (another reason they harm fuel economy) and will have more aerodynamic drag (another reason they harm economy).

There is a lot of science behind tyre width and its effects - most of which I can't really remember right now!
 

Frosty149

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Ok had some time today and did a bit of googling- you are certainly correct!
One reason and the critical one in this question for having wider rear tires relates to traction and improved lateral (cornering) performance.
It's a surprisingly complex subject.
The technology has dramatically improved in the last few years and R&D continues apace, interestingly rubber has consistently remained the material that performs best despite huge advances in synthetic materials.
Cheers
 

Srdl

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What would be the difficulties in converting the fronts 235 40 18, or the rears 255... to the same size all round ?

The reason I ask, it's because I like to cruise across Europe and instead of guessing what sized tire may experience a puncture, in relation to the spare, I'd like to know that the spare is the right size.

I'd much prefer to set out at the start of a long drive knowing that all the wheels were 235/245/255 all round.

What does everyone else think and what size spare do you carry, or more importantly, have you been caught out by carrying the wrong sized spare ?

Dewar
My E350CDI has 235/somethings on both front and back as originally fitted but it has the 231bhp engine and the rear tyres struggle at times in the wet so if you have the later 265bhp engine the wide rears may be better.
 
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Dewar

Dewar

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My E350CDI has 235/somethings on both front and back as originally fitted but it has the 231bhp engine and the rear tyres struggle at times in the wet so if you have the later 265bhp engine the wide rears may be better.


Hello Srdl,

Thank you for that little insight about the wide rears.

For the moment I am just going to get use to driving a rear wheel drive car again and no doubt I'll quickly realise if any issues arise from my driving style, then amend if necessary.

Dewar
 

C350Carl

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My 231bhp C350 had 235 fronts and 255 rears.

My E250 has 245 front and 265 rears.

I'm fairly certain that all the AMG Line/Sport models get staggered wheels. Could be wrong though.
 


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