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Fitment, offsets and wheels.... how do you know?

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  kryptonite_96 
#1 ·
I've been doing a little looking at all the nice MB's on these pages and decided that I need to upgrade my wheels.

In my owners manual it states that my 95 E300D came equipped with wheels that measure 6.5J X 15 H2 and the tire size was 195/65 R 15 91 H with an offset of 1.7in (44mm)

The actual tires on my car measure 205/65 R 15 94 H, are these a little wider than what the book states?

Now, I wanted to go with a little larger rim and lower profile tire, preferably a monoblock style. What does the offset mean in relation to the wheel? Is it a measurement of how far out the wheels measure from the hub? I went to one of the advertisers on this site and entered in my car info but the only selection of wheels that they listed for my car were 15" rims. Short of going to a wheel dealer and asking them what fits, what is the best method for determining what will fit my car? I saw an add on eBay for some 17" rims that the manufacturer says will fit all models of e300 series. They measure 17 X 8, Bolt pattern: 5-112 and an offset of +38mm.

They claim that these will fit ANY MB..... Guaranteed!


What gives? It seems to me that they must be using spacers or some such thing to allow these wheels to fit. Is this what everyone else does? I'm concerned that if the tire sets out too wide it will hit the fender and if it sets in too far it will interfere with the steering and suspension parts, (tie rods.) I'm confused.... someone that understands this a little better please enlighten me.... PLEASE?
 
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#2 ·
Cyber, I just like you had no idea on what wheel's could fit, untill I went into a place that sell's rims and tires, they asked me for year and model, and if the car is lowered, and boom every possible rim that can fit was given to me, you can even choose what rim you want and it will give you a preview on ur car, hell you can even make the car on screen just like urs , color, tints, etc. Plus I had a program called Soft Wheels V10 it's what they use that every Rim shop, the program basically lets you visulise every rim on your car. I will try to find the program. In the mean time go to http://www.tirecraft.com/pltmainpages/softwheels.asp
click on "Next Wheels" button
and see what you like.

Vili
 
#3 ·
Vili, thanks for the response and URL. I went there and played around for a little bit but still can't seem to find all the answers I'm looking for. Is there any way to know what the outside dimension of a tire is? For example, the tires I have on right now 205/65 R15 94H. If I knew how big they were then I could figure to go to a 17" rim and go to a smaller profile tire (25-35 series) and still stay in the same diameter as what I have now. The set I found on eBay are really cool looking but I don't think I can handle the 8" width but like I said the add claimed it would fit. I took a pic off of the site at e-bay and put it into Photoshop and scaled it to a 17" size and overlaid it onto my car. You can still see my cars tires in the background. Looks like it would fit except for maybe the width? What do you think of these?
 
#4 ·
Vili, thanks for the response and URL. I went there and played around for a little bit but still can't seem to find all the answers I'm looking for. Is there any way to know what the outside dimension of a tire is? For example, the tires I have on right now 205/65 R15 94H. If I knew how big they were then I could figure to go to a 17" rim and go to a smaller profile tire (25-35 series) and still stay in the same diameter as what I have now. The set I found on eBay are really cool looking but I don't think I can handle the 8" width but like I said the add claimed it would fit. I took a pic off of the site at e-bay and put it into Photoshop and scaled it to a 17" size and overlaid it onto my car. You can still see my cars tires in the background. Looks like it would fit except for maybe the width? What do you think of these?
 
#6 ·
kryptonite_96 - 1/17/2006 12:55 AM

on my ride 1986 300e i got 245 up front and 265 rear on a 18x8.5 rim
Did you alter the suspension to get them to fit? What is the offset on your wheels?
 
#7 ·
I did a google search and someone else posted the miate site before. To compare tire size take a look at these...

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

For example, diameter wise, 225/45R17 is a very close match to the original 195/65/R15.

Hope this helps.
 
#8 ·
Cyber those rims off of ebay are nice and stick with them, if you go higher than 17 on those kind of rims, I personaly think it wouldnt look right, I think only deep dish and the monoblocks are good for 18" and up.

But hey everyone's got different taste. Just reffer to my year old post on rims, you'll see what I mean.
Good Luck.

PS:If you decide to get the one's off of Ebay talk to the seller to reduce the shipping charges cuz that's usually where they make the extra buck.
 
#9 ·
gutowskia - 1/18/2006 10:07 AM

I did a google search and someone else posted the miate site before. To compare tire size take a look at these...

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

For example, diameter wise, 225/45R17 is a very close match to the original 195/65/R15.

Hope this helps.
Gutowskia, do you know what all those numbers mean? How do you determine width? The rims I was looking at said they were 17 X 8 and the ones I have on now are 15 X 6.5 how do you know what width to look for when you are looking at these tire numbers?
Sorry guys, for all the help I'm still a little fuzzy on how to interpret all of this.[8)]
 
#10 ·
The width is the easy part, it's the first number. 195/65R15 means the tire is 195mm wide. Third number is also easy, it’s the rim diameter in inches, so it's 15in. The second number is tricky; it's a ratio of tire width to height of the tire sidewall. Meaning, if you increase the width, you will need to decrease the second number in order to keep the same diameter. Also, if you increase rim diameter (15 to 17 or 18) you will need to decrease the second number to keep the sidewall small and over all diameter same. It's important to keep the diameter as close to original as possible otherwise your speedometer/odometer will be off. Good luck.
 
#11 ·
Cyberbach, if you post your question in "The Tire Rack's Tire, Wheel, Brake & Suspension" either Luke or someone else there will give you an answer.

Some very knowledgeable ppl, who may have also tried different combo and are willing to give you their feedback.
 
#12 ·
gutowski, I sent you an e-mail.
 
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