what size wheels tires....

[kevinrea]

hi guys,

i have a 1990 560SEC.

what size wheel/tires would you recommend for best road handling.?
it currently has the stock 15" wheels and tires..

i drive about 75 miles each way to work each day.
the first 40 miles is mountain roads, and then the remainder 35 miles is freeways here
in los angeles.

thanks,
kevin

 

[Myros]

it all depends

on what you want out of life Kevin. What is the car wearing now, in terms of make, type, size etc (all on the the tyrewalls)? Have they much tread left on them? What do you need from your tyre in terms of driving style ie hang the tail out, super grippy, last for ever don't go over 40.
Start with what the car should wear as standard, and you can go a bit wider without too much problem usually. Then it's down to make and cost.

Search here on Tyres and see what pops up.

Nice car btw, shame we can't see into the cockpit.

 

[kevinrea]

ok..

well, i like to drive fast a lot.
i live in the high desert.. any day you can find me in one of my present cars cruising at 120 mph or so...
the current tires are pirelli's., they have lots of tread left on them.. but, i am not concerned with that.. i just wanted to know what these larger sizes i keep seeing on the forums do for a car like this, if anything..

anyway, as for this benz, here are some interior pictures of what 4500.00 gets you in a 1990 560sec.

 

[Myros]

nice motor Kevin

Don't worry about all the leg-pulling on your film tint problem, we're just being friendly.
I can't say too much about tyre choice, it's absolutely critical, espec as you are lucky enough to to cruise at 120mph most of the time. That would shorten my trip to work enough to make it a pleasure.
Some of the older Mercs can be completely ruined by a big fat low tyre, but I'm not sure about the SEC. I think they came with 205/65/15 ex factory.AMG versions came with 17 inch wheels I think. I suggest you have a search here on the various key words , such as SEC, Tyres, Wheels etc and see what pops up. Angus Falconer has just taken on some Goodyear F1s which he finds up to scratch. See his post in this section today.
A lot depends on what is available in the USA today as well. As California is crawling with big Mercs, maybe your local MB club have a line into a tyre supplier you could exploit.
you could try this link in the interim http://www.mytyres.co.uk/