will fitting 18 inch wheels make my fillings shake out?
As my 463 is coming up to its 11th birthday I thought I would get it some presents. I love the look of the 18 inch Ashtaroths [1] and have seen that they seem to be regularly up for sale on ebay.de (with standard 265/60R18 tyres) at an affordable price considering their cost new.
I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me what I might expect in terms of ride degradation.
I am assuming that the ride deteriorates after fitting these big wheels as the tyre profile (side wall) is much smaller. The question is by how much does it get worse? Obviously this is difficult to put a figure on but I am looking for a simple answer:
[a] hardly noticeable degradation, :D
[b] a marked change for the worse but just about livable with considering how good they look, :? or
[c] don’t bother, creates an awful teeth-jangling back-breaking ride that will shake you and your car to pieces. :cry:
Do vehicles originally fitted with 18 inch wheels have softer springs to compensate?
I also like the 16 inch Atik wheels which often go for quite a bit less. Decisions, decisions…
My car currently has the original 15 inch R5 alloys with standard 255/75 R15 tyres. I want to fit a set of studded winter tyres to the 15 inch wheels and have the 18s for the summer.
[1] http://www.rubicon-trail.com/G-Class/wheels/start.html - THE reference page for all G wheels.
Also another excellent general tyre web page is here:
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu.html&tyre_bible...
As my 463 is coming up to its 11th birthday I thought I would get it some presents. I love the look of the 18 inch Ashtaroths [1] and have seen that they seem to be regularly up for sale on ebay.de (with standard 265/60R18 tyres) at an affordable price considering their cost new.
I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me what I might expect in terms of ride degradation.Here in the States all new G's come from the factory with 18 inch wheels. They help to give the car a more civilized ride on pavement, but are less desireable than 16 inch rims off road. I would even say they border on impractical. The wheels you see on EBay are no doubt being offered by G owners who want to use their G's off road and have discovered the shortcomings of the low profile tires on the 18 inch rims. By the time you air them down a bit, there's no sidewall left at all.
So, it is really an issue of whether you will take your G off road or not. The 18 inch rims are fine for the pavement - even snow covered pavement with decent tires. If you want to go off road, be happy with your steel rims, of which many of us across the pond are jealous. :wink:
i am looking at putting some 18"alloys on my 1993 300ges ,ihave found some new amg 18x8.5 wheels for about £1600 with tyres (is this about right?),but am wondering which size tyres;My g is a swb with wheel arch extentions,will 275sfit?or rub?any feedback welcome !!!!!!!
i am looking at putting some 18"alloys on my 1993 300ges ,ihave found some new amg 18x8.5 wheels for about £1600 with tyres (is this about right?),but am wondering which size tyres;My g is a swb with wheel arch extentions,will 275sfit?or rub?any feedback welcome !!!!!!!
I have 33x10.5x15s on my 300 GE. There is no rubbing where steering right to left is concerned. They calculate out to about 265 mm wide. My bet is that you will be safe with 275's.
Depending on the diameter of the tires, they might touch the plastic inner fender arch when the springs are at full compression. If you stick with something close to the stock tire's diameter, they should be no problem.
- Spalding
Thanks for getting back. I looked at some tyres today at local garage 265 looks massive ,are you happy with the way yours look or would you go to 275 next time?are yours,18"x8.5j?what tyres would you get next?
Thanks for getting back. I looked at some tyres today at local garage 265 looks massive ,are you happy with the way yours look or would you go to 275 next time?are yours,18"x8.5j?what tyres would you get next?
That is a difficult question. Here in Southern California, half of the trails my truck will see are desert, the other half pine forest. Some would say that the two types of terrain call for two widths of tires. I happen to prefer narrower tires, but I believe I am in the minority. I chose a width that splits the difference. What profile of tire are you looking at?
Below is a picture of my truck with the 33x10.5x15s. My wheels are 15 x 7j. It is a totally different look than what you are looking for. With 8.5 wheels, these tires might seem very narrow.
I would reiterate the caution I expressed earlier. If you put 18" wheels on your G, you will improve its road manners somewhat, but at the detriment of off road performance. Also, there is a derth of all terrain tires for 18" wheels, while a wide variety are offered for 16" wheels. If you seldom go off road, don't worry about it (but then, what a waste of a G :( ) If you love the look of the Ashtaroth, there is a 16" version available from Mercedes (PN A140 400 01 70) Check the following for lots of wheel options:
http://www.rubicon-trail.com/G-Class/wheels/start.html
Sorry to hijack this post, but what do these figures mean 33x10.5x15s. and 15 x 7j.
I know where the 15 comes from, and does the 7j mean the depth of the wheel.But the rest i,m lost on.
thanks
Steve
Sorry to hijack this post, but what do these figures mean 33x10.5x15s. and 15 x 7j.
I know where the 15 comes from, and does the 7j mean the depth of the wheel.But the rest i,m lost on.
thanks
Steve
The tyre size:
33 is diameter in inches
10.5 is width in inches
15 is the diameter of the rim that this tyre uses
The rim size:
15 is the diameter in inches
7 is the width in inches
More information about rims in Klaus' GWagen site:
http://www.gwagen.de/english%20sites/Sprinterfelgen_eng.htm
Cheers
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