Staggered or not help me out

[Highhpta]

Okay I am finally going to upgrade my wheels and tires because the 16's have to go. So here is my setup options and I need pros and cons to each setup. I have done a lot of checking on other peoples setups so I know these will both work for a stock ride height on my C280 sport.

First option:
18x8.5 front and back with 235/40/18 G-Force sport all around.

Second option:
18x8.5f and 18x9.5b with 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 in back.

I am going not going to lower the car and I'm aware that I might rub a little on full turn with the second option. If anyone has pics of the second option setup please post them for me. I am leaning towards the staggered look. Let me know your opinions.

[Proven Guilty]

you didn't specify offsets. you'll prob need to run +35 front with 235 or you'll rub on the suspension. you also didn't specify if you're on stock suspension or aftermarket. if you're still on stock, it'll look like an ML, if you're on aftermarket - specify what setup so we can further assist you on possible rubbing issues.

personally i would run 225 up front if you don't plan to get exotic with the fenders, and 255 rear.

[Luwin1026]

It would be good to consider your specific needs and expectations - do you like to have the flexibility to rotate tires across all four corners?/etc.

You mentioned that you are leaning towards the staggered "look" - are you open to the idea of running spacers in the rear to push the wheel out flush with the fender, or is the particular wheel you are looking at have different widths of lips/offsets that you can choose from?

I would run a 225/40/18 up front, and a 255/35/18 in the rear. Also, if it hasn't been mentioned before, my personal opinion is that it's not going to look all that great running 18's (staggered or not) on stock height. But to each his own - but just wanted to mention that it would look much better with a decent drop.

[Highhpta]

The offset is your basic 35mm. I have not looked into any spacers for the rear. I have not done anything to the suspension and wasn't really planning on it. I didn't think it could look much worse with the gap between the tires and the wheel well than it does now with the stock 16's. I was really planning on keeping the stock height until I need to replace my shocks. I really didn't care about not being able to rotate them if they were staggered. The reason why I was going to do 235/40/18 up front was I heard from someone that with a 8.5" rim on 225/40/18 it is a very narrow tire on that wide of a rim and could cause the tire to have problems early on with wear issues. And as far as the back if I wanted to go with 255/40/18 there is less options on tires and they jump really high in price over a 265/35.

[Busarider]

I've just been through the same dilema...staggered or not? I really like the staggered look, but I decided to go with the non staggered wheels. Primary reason is that my 97 C230 is an everyday commuter car. If I had a car that was more of a "toy", I would have went with the staggered wheels. But, with the amount of mileage I put on my car...I need to be able to rotate, and "keep it simple" for matching tires and stuff.

I'm going to run a set of 18"x8" with a 35 offset. Tires will be 235/40-18 all around. They haven't been mounted yet...I'm waiting for winter to go away here in Alaska before I put the 18's on for the summer.

My wheels...

http://www.ddswholesale.com/catalog/Privat%20Wheels/Albums/Album6/Large/privat_netzforged.jpg

I'll probably drop it with some H&R springs soon after I put on the new wheels.

[Luwin1026]

Originally posted by Highhpta
The offset is your basic 35mm. I have not looked into any spacers for the rear. I have not done anything to the suspension and wasn't really planning on it. I didn't think it could look much worse with the gap between the tires and the wheel well than it does now with the stock 16's. I was really planning on keeping the stock height until I need to replace my shocks. I really didn't care about not being able to rotate them if they were staggered. The reason why I was going to do 235/40/18 up front was I heard from someone that with a 8.5" rim on 225/40/18 it is a very narrow tire on that wide of a rim and could cause the tire to have problems early on with wear issues. And as far as the back if I wanted to go with 255/40/18 there is less options on tires and they jump really high in price over a 265/35.


I ran a 225/40/18 on my 18x8.5 Carlsson 1/5's and they looked totally fine. You can perhaps use a tire that has a bit more square sidewall (i.e. BFG KDW's) if you are worried of the stretched out look, etc. - but I had no problems running a 225/40 on my 8.5in. If you get any signs of uneven wear due to camber, etc., you can always flip the tire and "rotate" it to the other side to even out the wear.

In terms of the back, if you want to preserve somewhat the correct aspect ratio, I would recommend a 255/35/18 rather than a 255/40/18. The 255/35/18 is a fairly common size and is easily available.

Good luck with your setup, and post pics when it's on the car.