Alex pointed out somthing important that had been missed in prior posts. On the ORIGINAL wheel size (15x6.5), the 195/65 tire is optimal, as Marshall and others said. A plus-one fitment isn't bad if you really want to do that (205/60).
Anything else really requires a larger WHEEL... either wider, or larger diameter, or both. For any given wheel size, there is really only one optimum tire size, with maybe a second or third size that's acceptable. If you stick with what MB mounts from the factory you're usually ahead of the game. I've got W203 Sport wheels on my car (17x7.5) with the factory tire size (225/45/17) and they work great. Extremely precise handling, but a little firmer than stock, naturally. Note that the 225/55/16 tires on the 500E were mounted on 16x8.0 wheels (and the 500E had flared fenders to swallow the larger setup.) :) -dm > ------------------------------ > Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 20:02:22 -0800 > From: "Alex Chamberlain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Tire Sizes > > > I'm going to dissent here. I have 205/60-15s on my 124 and am fixing to go > to 215/55-16s (on lightweight CLK wheels). I think the wider the better (as > long as they don't rub or stick out, of course). There's more steering > effort at low speeds, but also more controllability at high speeds. There's > a reason the factory put fatter tires on the 500E! > > Alex Chamberlain > '87 300D Turbo > '93 Isuzu Trooper
