Ride Quality

[Captainiceman]

Hi I'm a newbie. I've been searching through the forums for an answer and have on the whole found one. However I would like someone to clarify something ..

I'm considering buying an E280 or E320, and am finding that the majority are Sport models with 18" alloys. Is the ride quaility better when the wheels come factory fitted because the suspension settings etc would have been adjusted to suit ?

or

will it still be harsh because of the smaller side wall size. If this is the case then I may have to search high and low for a 2008 Avantgarde model with 16" or 17 " alloys.

thanks for your help

 

[television]

Hello and welcome to the forum, it is a hard question theis thing of the wheels getting larger.

I can only speak fo the SL's

My 129 came with 17" and I put 18" on with real difference in the ride, maybe it is because the larger tyres weigh slightly less. The 129 started out on 16" in 90 by 98 they were 17" 2000 on 18" and 19"

I have the 230 SL500 now and that came with 17", I fitted 18" and the ride was fine, and 2 weeks ago fitted 19". But I went down a size on the tyre width, 285 to 275 and went up on the profile from30 to 35. This has given me almost the same profile height as I had on the 18"s. the speedo is accurate enough and the car drives very well.

One benefit to the larger wheels is the cars handling an much sharper with very good comfort from road surfaces.

Like you I do not want a car where you feel every matchstick

 

[rhud]

Very confusing this wheel/tyre size business. I always assumed bigger wheels affected the ride adversely? So if I put 16" alloys on my A Class the ride would be worse than the existing 15" steel wheels. Or not?

 

[jberks]

in theory, yes. The sidewall of the tyre provides some bump absorbtion. The narrower the sidewall, the less there is to flex, plus, the stiffer the sidewall needs to be to stay on the rim. Hence the handling is sharper but the ride is harsher too.
I guess, like Malcolm has found, the higher up you go, possibly the less the difference, so 17-18 might be much less than 16-17. Then again, Malc does have a fabulous SL with air suspension so maybe that helps too.
I'd say drive an avantgarde with 16" wheels (doesn't have to be the same engine if you can't find one) and drive a sport and see what you think. I haven't driven a sport so possibly I don't know what I'm on about.

 

[television]

in theory, yes. The sidewall of the tyre provides some bump absorbtion. The narrower the sidewall, the less there is to flex, plus, the stiffer the sidewall needs to be to stay on the rim. Hence the handling is sharper but the ride is harsher too.
I guess, like Malcolm has found, the higher up you go, possibly the less the difference, so 17-18 might be much less than 16-17. Then again, Malc does have a fabulous SL with air suspension so maybe that helps too.
I'd say drive an avantgarde with 16" wheels (doesn't have to be the same engine if you can't find one) and drive a sport and see what you think. I haven't driven a sport so possibly I don't know what I'm on about.

As above, I did take a test drive in a new SL with the larger wheels fitted, what also made it hard was that the test drive was in a brand new car, so all components very tight.
Tyres deform to absorb bumps and holes, the higher the side wall the more the tyres absorb these things, but only up to a point. A large wheel will span a hole, where as a small wheel will go down the hole and up the other side. This is what made the Vespa's of the 60's so dangerous.
The diameter of the wheel should stay the same if you fit larger wheels, and as a rough guide you loose 10mm of side wall per size change, so going from 15" to 17" you would loose 20mm of side wall. to aviod damage to the rims one has to over inflate the larger wheels slightly to stop the tyre from bottoming out on the the rim in a pot hole.

The ride is different, shall we say a little sharper, and the cornering improved with larger wheels, as there is less sidewall to give or deform. but if anyone fits larger wheels, just for this benefit then they should not be driving on the public roads. As jberks says, if you can get a ride in a car with the larger wheels, that is worth the most, the ride is different

 

[jberks]

A large wheel will span a hole, where as a small wheel will go down the hole and up the other side. This is what made the Vespa's of the 60's so dangerous.

And why my mum wiped out the front tyre on her smart car on the same pot hole I'd unknowingly rolled over a dozen times that week.