Quality of ride: 18"s v 19"s

[gthanopoulos]

I'm still undecided re 18"s or 19"s.
Is there a perceivable difference in the quality of the ride between the two?

My C280 is about to undergo some major cosmetic changes and I wondering whether I'll be needing a kidney belt if I go with 19"s!!!

Obviously I'll be lowering the car to enhance the look and this will no doubt harden the ride. I 'm just hoping the W202 chassis is good enough to absorb/conceal the newfound bounciness.

Anyone got any good/bad experiences they're willing to share?

[pnsji]

It's all about how thickness is the rubber.

Let's say you ride 20" but with 225/45, I will guarantee you that the ride is going to be pretty nice compared to 18" with 205/40

Tire brand and model also play a big factor.

But for W202, The different of the sidewall height is:
225/40/18 -> 90 mm/2 -> 45 mm
235/35/19 -> 82.25 mm/2 -> 41.125 mm

The differences? I don't think it's that much if you use the exact same brand of tire and model.

[kameraguy]

After going all the way to 19" (235/35/19 and 245/35/19), I found it was way too harsh and heavy for me. BUT, damn, it looked great.

IMHO, for looks, 19"s are kewl. For performance, unless you get some ultra-light forged 19"s, expect a performance hit if coming from smaller performance wheels.

18"s on the other hand weren't so bad all-around. I was perfectly happy with my 18"s.

I'm back to 17"s now, but if I ever decide to go back to a bigger wheel, i'd probably only go as high as 18 in terms of ride comfort.