E350 Winter Tyres

[John Fletcher]

Has anyone with a E350 (S212) fitted smaller wheels such as 16 inch with winter tyres?

The rears being 265/35 18 are way too wide for winter tyres to be effective I think so was thinking of getting some 5x112 ET50 wheels and putting 205/60 16 winter tyres on - calculations appear to make this tyre size the closest to the rolling radius of the 18's

Or any other suggestions?

TIA
John

 

[Blobcat]

Have a look in the fuel flap as it will show all the wheel and tyre options for your beast, I had 235 x 17's on the VW in the summer and 215 x 16's in the winter made a huge difference

 

[flowrider]

You need to take into account the size of your brake discs and suspension. 16's may be too small.

 

[John Fletcher]

Have a look in the fuel flap as it will show all the wheel and tyre options for your beast, I had 235 x 17's on the VW in the summer and 215 x 16's in the winter made a huge difference

Thanks Blobcat, I get car on Saturday so will look as suggested...cheers

 

[John Fletcher]

You need to take into account the size of your brake discs and suspension. 16's may be too small.

Ah yes, of course - doh! :-(

 

[Wighty]

Thanks Blobcat, I get car on Saturday so will look as suggested...cheers

If you have a spare wheel , that may be a 16 , which will confirm the size that may fit .

 

[fabes]

Has anyone with a E350 (S212) fitted smaller wheels such as 16 inch with winter tyres?

The rears being 265/35 18 are way too wide for winter tyres to be effective I think so was thinking of getting some 5x112 ET50 wheels and putting 205/60 16 winter tyres on - calculations appear to make this tyre size the closest to the rolling radius of the 18's

Or any other suggestions?

TIA
John

Don't dismiss big winter tyres.....
Winters work differently to summer tyres in the cold and snow
Traction doesn't rely so much on pressure (i.e. from narrower summer tyres) but on the snipes and tread patterns in winter tyres so actually more is better as you get more adhesion to snow and cold roads

I have standard fit Hankook winters in 255's on the rear of my E class coupe (and were on my CLK before) which means you keep the same wheels, the same good looks (vanity!) and all the benefits of winter tyre traction.

Worked well on the CLK on trips ooop north last winter

 

[John Fletcher]

Don't dismiss big winter tyres.....
Winters work differently to summer tyres in the cold and snow
Traction doesn't rely so much on pressure (i.e. from narrower summer tyres) but on the snipes and tread patterns in winter tyres so actually more is better as you get more adhesion to snow and cold roads

I have standard fit Hankook winters in 255's on the rear of my E class coupe (and were on my CLK before) which means you keep the same wheels, the same good looks (vanity!) and all the benefits of winter tyre traction.

Worked well on the CLK on trips ooop north last winter

OK thanks Fabes this sounds spot on, cheers...

 

[Paul Goff]

You should be able to find a list of the wheel and tyre options for your car in the handbook, it will include winter fitments.
Read it carefully though, it will list ALL options for ALL E Class cars of the same vintage.

 

[Wighty]

As Fabes says above about larger winters , I have been guilty of always saying narrower winters are better , until I read an article last year that poo-pooed that idea . My new advice would be that smaller wheels and smaller tyres all costs less (assuming that matters ) .

 

[John Laidlaw]

As above- as an example I use 255/35 front and 285/30 rears in summer but 255/35 all round in winter (from the handbook)- mine are 19’s but you get the picture. Yours may turn out to be something like 255/40 all round for winter- normally they’d be the front tyre size all round. If I could be bothered going out to get the handbook from my car to check I would but it’s cold!

 

[JBell]

As above- as an example I use 255/35 front and 285/30 rears in summer but 255/35 all round in winter (from the handbook)- mine are 19’s but you get the picture. Yours may turn out to be something like 255/40 all round for winter- normally they’d be the front tyre size all round. If I could be bothered going out to get the handbook from my car to check I would but it’s cold!

245/40 R18 IIRC

 

[John Laidlaw]

245/40 R18 IIRC

OK I fell for it and checked the book and ‘as usual’ you are correct....245/40 it is

 

[JBell]

OK I fell for it and checked the book and ‘as usual’ you are correct....245/40 it is

What do I win????

 

[John Laidlaw]

What do I win????

The adoration and eternal gratitude of the forums members, what more do you want

 

[John Fletcher]

Thanks guys - I'm liking this forum very much - just hope the car lives up to the same level ;-)

 

[John Laidlaw]

Thanks guys - I'm liking this forum very much - just hope the car lives up to the same level ;-)

You won’t be disappointed John

 

[Rotorhead500]

I kept same sizes on my 63 - 255/30R19 on the back - and the winter tyres still make a significant improvement, as outlined above.

If you really want to come down a size, I had 245/45R17 (might have been a 40 profile... I can't remember now) on my old CLS and the Avon winters were superb up around Durham one Christmas.

A 212 is a fairly heavy car so 16" is possibly overkill in terms of ground pressure?

 

[L John]

As Fabes says above about larger winters , I have been guilty of always saying narrower winters are better , until I read an article last year that poo-pooed that idea . My new advice would be that smaller wheels and smaller tyres all costs less (assuming that matters ) .

Any idea where this article is please?

 

[Wighty]

Any idea where this article is please?

Can't remember , but I think it was a link someone had posted on this forum a few months ago that went into the subject in some depth . The gist of it was that the old idea of smaller narrower wheels breaking through the snow surface and gaining some traction from the surface below had some merit before dedicated winter tyres appeared . Modern winters now work by trapping snow against the tyres surface and using this snow surface to grip against the snow surface on the ground to gain traction ....and the use of softer compound rubber .