MBDevotee
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2009
- Messages
- 2,243
- Reaction score
- 624
- Location
- Bristol
- Your Mercedes
- Dreaming of a CL55k - one day maybe....
The new ML500 came (when I bought it) with 22" wheels.
Car looks lovely - really suits it, but oh my god it drives like sh1t.....
Every ripple is like a pothole - crashing into the suspension and shaking the whole car.
Hit a pothole and you fear for the wheel - it's violent.
It ruins the ride something dreadful - and makes not a single jot of improvement to the handling, the thing wallows like it did on 17's in the old car - but that rode really well....
Also, the gearbox doesn't seem to like it. Because it raises the gearing so much, where the car would be in third it is often now at slightly higher revs in second, and if you need to overtake something, it won't kick down to 1st, so acceleration at around 30mph is poorer than the old car - once up to 50-60mph it makes very little difference as it will still kick down to an appropriate gear.
So - what size should I swap to??
Standard wheels are 17inch - AMG's have 18 inch - and they don't look too bad.
I am thinking 18's or 19's with decently high profile tyres (but still a slightly lower rolling radius than the current ones).
Does anyone have any experience??
Shame really - the thing does look the dogs doodahs on these!
Car looks lovely - really suits it, but oh my god it drives like sh1t.....
Every ripple is like a pothole - crashing into the suspension and shaking the whole car.
Hit a pothole and you fear for the wheel - it's violent.
It ruins the ride something dreadful - and makes not a single jot of improvement to the handling, the thing wallows like it did on 17's in the old car - but that rode really well....
Also, the gearbox doesn't seem to like it. Because it raises the gearing so much, where the car would be in third it is often now at slightly higher revs in second, and if you need to overtake something, it won't kick down to 1st, so acceleration at around 30mph is poorer than the old car - once up to 50-60mph it makes very little difference as it will still kick down to an appropriate gear.
So - what size should I swap to??
Standard wheels are 17inch - AMG's have 18 inch - and they don't look too bad.
I am thinking 18's or 19's with decently high profile tyres (but still a slightly lower rolling radius than the current ones).
Does anyone have any experience??
Shame really - the thing does look the dogs doodahs on these!