[forcejb]

I'd like to take advantage of the expertise on this forum and pose a wheel/tire question regarding my "other" car, the 2004 MB C230 Sport Sedan. This car has staggered fitment tires & wheels; 17x8 on front with 225/45 and 17x9 on rear with 245/40. The staggered fitment makes it impossible to do a four-wheel rotation and the super-wide rears wear out fast due to the excessive scrubbing action on turns. The 2004 C230 Sport Coupe has identical wheelbase and front & rear tracks. It had identical wheels and tires at all four corners; 17x8 with 225/45s. So, I'm thinking there's no reason to stick with the staggered fitment. One plan is to go with 215/45(XL)s all around as they will fit on 8" rims. This would require different (ie, 17x8) rear wheels. I'd actually prefer to go with 205/50(XL)s as they are a slightly better OD match. In either case the smaller XL tires very, very nearly match the load specs of the OEM tires. Another option would be to go with 225/45s all around.

What do you guys think of this plan? BTW, the only reason I'm considering all this bother is that the car is in great shape with <50K miles and should be good for many more years. Thanks!

 

[30seconds]

When I was a teen, we would sometimes drive our "muscle cars" with big wide tires in the back and skinny ones on the front. At other times, we'd go with the same all around. In an emergency, I would throw on anything that fit, ie: one wide tire in the front, etc. I know that cars are different today with all that electronic stability, suspension and ride control. You may want to post on a Mercedes forum to make sure you won't screw anything up. My son picks up used tires for his 96 Mitsubishi 3000GT at used tire places. I don't think he has two of the same tires on the car - size and all. Bob

 

[DavesSpectra]

Your rims (steel wheels) may be the same front and rear as 1" difference in tire width should not be out of spec for the rims. You may "loose" a little traction but that might not be of importance unless the car is driven for "performance" purposes. Leisure driving should not be effected. The 225/45 will allow you to keep the same MPH reading. The decrease in width on the rear tires may actually help your MPG as there will be less drag.
Here's a tire size calculator...
Tire Dimensions Made Simple - Discount Tire
Dave

 

[forcejb]

Thanks for the calculator. The rear wheels on the car are 9" (too wide for the 225/45s) while the fronts are 8" wide.

 

[forcejb]

I think my initial post had a slight error; I now believe the fronts are 7.5" and the rears 8.5", not 8 and 9.

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

Not sure what you'd gain by rotating the tyres; whatever you put on the rear will probably wear fairly quickly. I had the same quandary with my 350Z; 225/45-18 on the front and 245/45-18 rear on 7½ and 8½ rims, if I remember correctly. I just had to live with irregular wear at the rear. Also made it difficult to get tyres with matching tread patterns in the correct sizes.

 

[DavesSpectra]

He's trying to get the most wear out of the tires. If they were the same... then the tires wearing faster could be moved to the slower wearing area and that would allow all 4 to wear out at about the same time... Making replacements the same MFR and model easier.
Dave

 

[forcejb]

Exactly! And other things being equal, narrower tires in the rear (but still quite wide) should last longer b/c of less scrubbing on turns. With very relaxed driving style, rears are gone in 20K or less. Guy at America's Tire this AM said there is no problem with what I've suggested as they have helped other customers ditch staggered fitments. I'm gonna go with Yoko YK580s on the MB, a non-directional asymmetric A/S tire made specially for AT. I have the YK520s on my Rondo and am VERY happy with them.

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

He's trying to get the most wear out of the tires. If they were the same... then the tires wearing faster could be moved to the slower wearing area and that would allow all 4 to wear out at about the same time... Making replacements the same MFR and model easier.
Dave

If the rear suspension couldn't be fixed, I think I'd prefer to buy tyres in pairs to keep the rubber up to the back of the car and leave the fronts where they are. Rotating unevenly worn tyres doesn't sound like a good plan to me, in fact I rarely rotate tyres these days (OK, maybe at 20,000km) and then only to keep the best on the front.

There may be some advantages in buying a complete set; discount for quantity?

 

[forcejb]

Thanks to all for your comments! MB dealer as well as tire shop says running same tires & wheels on front & back is no problem. It'll be interesting to see how the YK580s perform as these HP tires actually have a treadwear warrantee.

 

[wakloun]

>DaveSpectra - Thanks for the tire calculator. very useful indeed.

>To All - Recently just change my car from Hyundai Matrix 1.6M to Kia Carens/Rondo 2.0A CVVT.

I manage to salvage my tyre from my previous car which is 195/55/15. Was thinking of swapping my Kia Carens existing tyre 205/60/15. I'm using steel rims and also have checked thru the rims with is the same(6.0)...

Can anyone advise me on the possible problem that i'm going to face if I change my tyre to 195/55/15?

Thanks for the upcoming comments.

aLoun

 

[agp56]

You are describing a move to a narrower tire with a shorter sidewall. So your ride height will be decreased slightly. Other considerations are slightly less cornering grip in dry weather due to reduced footprint. Another consideration is slightly less maximum gross vehicle weight load raing with the smaller tire.