Ride Quality with 22" or 20" Wheels

[derismano]

No I actually ordered it and it's supposed to arrive in Feb. The dealer told me all the new ones are coming with them and that mine will have them for sure. Sucks if that's the case and heads up to all of you who are looking for rims with this feature...

[cirob]

Yes I have the tire pressure monitor system car made 12/04 picked up 12/31/04 Consists of wheel sensors they are attached through the valve stem mounting hole.
The dealer said I can buy sensors from them for new wheels otherwise the system lamp will flash on and off for ten seconds and the flash cycle will repeat every ten minutes or unitl the fault condition is removed or reset. I will ask them again for sure. In my owners manual page 243-247. Also have sensor in spare wheel.

[vanilla300DC]

Originally Posted by LWOOD

the OEM size 225 60 18 is approximately equal to 245 55 18 in rolling circumfrence, and easily fits the stock wheel...There should be no clearance problems and minimal odemeter/speedometer changes. But I see tire rack only has Goodrich T/A KDWS for 89.00 tire.
BUT go to a 245 50 18 (about 1/2 inch lower profile sidewall) and there are tons of choices. Be warned, if you don't like a lot of space between your tire and fender well, this may not be the best option because a 1/2 inch is a big difference as a percentage to the whole. It may look funky but you at least would have a much better performance tire than stock.
I would like to upgrade to just 19" wheels (like my comfort) but I just haven't found the right ones yet. And I can't afford them anyway...That Visa is burnin a hole in my pocket, though! Hope that helped

I am dis-satified with the ride and comfort of my relatively new 300 C AWD. I had hoped for a softer more forgiving ride. The ride is stiff and unforgiving. I feel every crack in the road. I had thought that maybe the large wheel size and reduced rubber was the cause. The dealership suggested the expensive solution of after market springs with less firmness. I wondered if taller tires would give the ride of the 17 inch wheels on the demonstrator I drove? would the taller tires put more rubber and air between the road and my ass? Would the taller tires rub the suspension parts during turns?

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by vanilla300DC

I am dis-satified with the ride and comfort of my relatively new 300 C AWD. I had hoped for a softer more forgiving ride. The ride is stiff and unforgiving. I feel every crack in the road. I had thought that maybe the large wheel size and reduced rubber was the cause. The dealership suggested the expensive solution of after market springs with less firmness. I wondered if taller tires would give the ride of the 17 inch wheels on the demonstrator I drove? would the taller tires put more rubber and air between the road and my ass? Would the taller tires rub the suspension parts during turns?

Have you checked the air pressure? The stiff ride is the German DNA of this car. No floaty, soft cushy ride on this world class car. I doubt there will be aftermarket springs for AWD models, plus aftermarket springs are usually designed for performance, which means stiffer not softer. The tires are already designed for comfort - touring tires are designed for longevity, no noise and comfort. If you are going to stick with the OEM perhaps you could go with the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 in size 235/60/18 which is 29.1" tall. The OEM size 225/60/18 is 28.6". The speedometer will be only 1.7%. So, when the speedo says 60mph the car is actually going 59mph.

[joey]

Originally Posted by vanilla300DC

I am dis-satified with the ride and comfort of my relatively new 300 C AWD. I had hoped for a softer more forgiving ride. The ride is stiff and unforgiving. I feel every crack in the road. I had thought that maybe the large wheel size and reduced rubber was the cause. The dealership suggested the expensive solution of after market springs with less firmness. I wondered if taller tires would give the ride of the 17 inch wheels on the demonstrator I drove? would the taller tires put more rubber and air between the road and my ass? Would the taller tires rub the suspension parts during turns?

Try lowering your pressure to 29lbs. It made a big difference/improvement in my ride on bumpy/rough and undulating roads. Make sure you are using an accurate guage.

[Goodfella]

Originally Posted by daddy_do_rite

This site is recommending 265/35/22. They have 12 pages of rims that will fit on the 300C.
http://superbuytires.com/vehicle/mod...5/?diameter=22

Actually they have 23 pages of some of the sickest wheels I have ever seen. I was looking at 20's and saw everything from ostrich, to gator, to burlwood to semi-precious stone finishes on these wheels. And I don't mean engraved chrome, man they stretched skins, wood, and imbedded stones over and into these bad boys. HAHAHAHA. Extravagant and impractical.....even tacky maybe (I say maybe because for some reason I can see some of the skinned and wood finishes looking good against vanilla), but extremely entertaining. Thanks for the suggestion. This is the most thorough rim site I have seen yet.

[Goodfella]

Thanks for the honesty Rogue. The "ride sacrifice vs. the looks" argument almost influenced me to throw my own experience to the wind simply for the aesthetic appeal of 22's on my C. Not happenin now. It'll be 20's in the summer and my stocks with Blizzaks in the winter (I live in Colorado). I have always had rims on my rides, before this was a tweeked out Volvo C-70 (suspension, rims, brakes, engine mods) and before the Volvo it was an Infinity (rims, engine mods). Each time I went an inch bigger with the wheels and each time I found a reason to regret it. I'm tired of shoving my kidneys up into my lungs everytime I hit a dip on a highway and 70-80mph. Man, its just not worth it to me. But its also a matter of personal taste I suppose. I believe this car can be a stunner and ride with relative practicality. I just started on the interior. I'll post some pics when I'm finished laying it out. Thanks again man. I have been searching this forum for weeks for just this kind of advice.

[kezzz]

Just joined group today, hope this is the correct string to jump into.

Wheels: Zenetti Five Chrome 20" x 8.5", forgot offset, but they don't exceed the wheelwell.
Tires: Toyo Proxes ST 255/45-20, almost exact tire height as stock 225/60-18.

My car looks hot with these 20's, actually think it looks much better than any 22's I've seen. I also had them install the Eibach Pro-Kit that lowered the car by 1.6".

Before the modification, the car drove like a dream, like I was driving in the clouds. After the modification, the car drives HORRIBLY and is extremely dangerous.

---On speed bumps, car bounces six times, can't even explain how awful it feels. Kind of like it violently dives and hits some maximum travel, and simultaneously tries to go backwards. I know this sounds odd, I've never experienced anything like it.
---Even worse than speed bumps are the millions of water drainage gulleys on every road in Southern California. When you drive over one of those that cross the road at an angle, you'd better be hanging on because the flat, non-conforming seats of the 300C won't hold you in. You feel like a paint can in one of those shakers.
---Taking a 90 degree turn at any moderate speed feels like you are going to continue on a straight path. Car just won't steer well around corners.
---The dips in the highways feel like the tires are leaving the ground. Very unsafe.
---Braking is OK.

Going from 18" to 20" couldn't produce this drastic of a result, so I'm thinking that they messed up on the Eibach lowering kit. I wish I knew what procedures are needed to correctly tune the suspension when installing the new springs. The shop who installed them said all you have to do is trim the bump stops, nothing else.


Does anyone know of any good suspension mechanics in SoCal who can inspect my car to see what the Autosport company in Lake Forest did to ruin my brand new car?

[frank29]

Originally Posted by kezzz

My car looks hot with these 20's, actually think it looks much better than any 22's I've seen. I also had them install the Eibach Pro-Kit that lowered the car by 1.6".

Before the modification, the car drove like a dream, like I was driving in the clouds. After the modification, the car drives HORRIBLY and is extremely dangerous.

Take a quick look and see if you have shocks. I know that sounds silly; but, your posting sure sounds like a vehicle with no shocks.

ON EDIT: Also make sure both ends are attached; i.e. not just hanging from the top, for example.

[AWDRIVER]

ROGUE,,,,...... heh heh.. You're the friggin man... honest and nonabrasive... the kind of moderator these forums need!!!!!!!

But... I still have a question... for you and anyone else that can help me...

I have read through the last 139 posts on this subject and I want to start a new part that I have not seen anything on yet...

What is up with the AWD and it being 1 inch higher than all the other models... ??? If I can find a 22" wheel that will fit the AWD's wierd bolt pattern and offset will I be able to fit a 40 series tire ???? or is that just frickin ludacris...

I've read almost every thread in this forum and this one has been one of the longest and most informative of all... but still not enough about AWD!
pleeeeeeezeee help