W213 e class 19” vs 20”

[aaz911]

Evening,

I have a 2016 w213 which has the amg line package with the 5 spoke amg line alloys.
I am thinking of changing them for the 20” e53 5 spoke diamond cut ones or the 20” turbines that some of the high spec w213’s have.
Can anyone say that they have had a chance to experience both the 19’s and 20’s on the w213.
As i need to know in regards to ride quality and comfort between the 2.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Srdl]

I'll wait for @Blobcat to reply. He normally has a nice choice of words about 19 and 20 inch wheels!

 

[Blobcat]

I ask myself the question, do I want to drive it or look at it… if the former then 17” all the day long, if the latter 20”

Comfort wise the W213 is a very good package, you’ll no doubt be cracking 20’s on a regular basis if you drive over any speed bump or pothole

 

[aaz911]

I ask myself the question, do I want to drive it or look at it… if the former then 17” all the day long, if the latter 20”

Comfort wise the W213 is a very good package, you’ll no doubt be cracking 20’s on a regular basis if you drive over any speed bump or pothole

Really, so what about some of the models that have the optional 20‘S fitted?

 

[SmartAmg]

Vastly different opinions about this, 19s imo are no problems whatsoever, and for that matter, neither are 20s. I'm not saying 17s/18s won't ride better, of course they will, but 19s/20s are fine, and not the work of the Devil, like some think, and look soooo much better.

 

[Blobcat]

Really, so what about some of the models that have the optional 20‘S fitted?

Fashion, no other reason - they don’t make the car faster, they don’t give better handling (an E-class isn’t a sports car…), they don’t improve the ride.

The tyres are more expensive, as are the wheels.

Vastly different opinions about this, 19s imo are no problems whatsoever, and for that matter, neither are 20s. I'm not saying 17s/18s won't ride better, of course they will, but 19s/20s are fine, and not the work of the Devil, like some think, and look soooo much better.

Not the work of the devil, the work of the fashion industry…

 

[SmartAmg]

Fashion, no other reason - they don’t make the car faster, they don’t give better handling (an E-class isn’t a sports car…), they don’t improve the ride.

The tyres are more expensive, as are the wheels.


Not the work of the devil, the work of the fashion industry…

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, Russ.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Evening,

I have a 2016 w213 which has the amg line package with the 5 spoke amg line alloys.
I am thinking of changing them for the 20” e53 5 spoke diamond cut ones or the 20” turbines that some of the high spec w213’s have.
Can anyone say that they have had a chance to experience both the 19’s and 20’s on the w213.
As i need to know in regards to ride quality and comfort between the 2.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

This is what I’ve just had welded, it’s a 20in AMG Turbine wheel off my son’s W213, our roads are so bad in the UK unfortunately this is common place, luckily the crack was less than 50mm in length so weldable cost was £85 but it’s the bl***y inconvenience that’s the real problem the car was laid up for 2 days.

Replacement cost of a new wheel is £900 so he was lucky there is no way I would chance a second hand one from eBay they are circa £500 for a ‘good’ used

Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm but I would stick to 19in

 

[Blobcat]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, Russ.

Reading your comments and mine I think we're actually in agreement

 

[dry run]

I'd go 20" and damn the consequences

 

[A.J.]

Is there really a noticeable difference between the two, i wouldn’t have thought so. Both are going are going to give a fairly firm ride. I have 19’s on mine and I don’t dislike the firmness at all.

 

[aaz911]

Hmm, thanks for all the replies, appreciated.
The pics are attached are the rims i wanted to put on.
You can get them in 19 too, but the 20 fills the arch better lol, but one thing i was going to try was put the same profile that goes on the 19’s. So manufacturer recommended should be 245x35x20, and i was going to try 240x40x20 and the back should be 275x30x20 and i was going to try 275x35x20.

 

[Blobcat]

Hmm, thanks for all the replies, appreciated.
The pics are attached are the rims i wanted to put on.
You can get them in 19 too, but the 20 fills the arch better lol, but one thing i was going to try was put the same profile that goes on the 19’s. So manufacturer recommended should be 245x35x20, and i was going to try 240x40x20 and the back should be 275x30x20 and i was going to try 275x35x20.

You really need to keep the overall diameter the same otherwise you can confuse the ABS and ESP systems. If you do make changes then don't just change one axle as that will really upset the systems

 

[keefysher]

Hmm, thanks for all the replies, appreciated.
The pics are attached are the rims i wanted to put on.
You can get them in 19 too, but the 20 fills the arch better lol, but one thing i was going to try was put the same profile that goes on the 19’s. So manufacturer recommended should be 245x35x20, and i was going to try 240x40x20 and the back should be 275x30x20 and i was going to try 275x35x20.

You really need to keep the overall diameter the same otherwise you can confuse the ABS and ESP systems. If you do make changes then don't just change one axle as that will really upset the systems

Hmmmm so are these larger diameter wheels going to better fill the arches? Ive just run the options for my car. I have 20s on, the option is 21.
265/45r20 = 29.39
265/40r21 = 29.35

Physically the larger wheel with the correct tyre is smaller in diameter than the smaller wheel. Its the optical illusion of volume of metal vs air that makes the arch seem fuller.

Run the sum on what you currently have and see the difference. In my example its 265x45%x2/25,4+r and 265x40%x2/25,4+r to give the overall diameter.

As Russ says there are small limits to changes in diameter to consider

Thinner, wider, larger diameter tyres are generally much more expensive.

 

[Gazwould]

You can't apply maths to tyres...

 

[keefysher]

You can't apply maths to tyres...

but you can sums As Mr Ford said KISS

 

[LostKiwi]

One consequence of bigger rims is heavier wheels adding to the unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight is a cars enemy, triply so if it's rotating.
Bigger wheels will decrease ride comfort, reduce acceleration, increase braking distances and increase fuel usage.

It may only be slight but those effects will all be there.

But they look cool init....

As Blobcat days the rush for bigger wheel rims is fashion led. There is absolutely no benefit to performance

 

[SmartAmg]

One consequence of bigger rims is heavier wheels adding to the unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight is a cars enemy, triply so if it's rotating.
Bigger wheels will decrease ride comfort, reduce acceleration, increase braking distances and increase fuel usage.

It may only be slight but 5hoseceffects will all be there.

But they look cool init....

As Blobcat days the rush for bigger wheel rims is fashion led. There is absolutely no benefit to performance

So?

 

[LostKiwi]

So?

So I wouldn't bother.
I know I have 2 cars on 19s (and one left the factory on 16s but it came to me on 19s but I'd prefer it on period 17s) and my old 210 I went from 16s to 17s but my 251 is on 18s (many are on 20s) and it will stay on 18s. It's lovely not having to worry so much about pot holes and speed humps and the ride is decent too (unlike @mioba who has 20s on his and said the ride isn't good).

Malcolm's 230 is on 19s and he tried 20s and took them off as it compromised the ride.

 

[mioba]

Ohhh yes, the 20s on my W251 look nice and thats all. It would be the only thing I would change. The ride is hard and you get all feeling from the bad roads. Plus more rubber costs more to change.....

I remeber when I went from my W124 on 16 to my W220 on 18, I then noticed that the ride was worse, then going to the 20s in the W251.....

Why couldnt they just keep it simple, as mentioned its just fashion and designers, there can be surely no improvement in performance as its literally 2 hand widths in contact with the ground regardless of tyre size.