I've read that the best Winter solution is to fit 18in wheels front and back and fit winter tyres. I'm struggling to find suitable spare rims, and I've seen Crossfire 'sets' available but with 15in or 16in wheels. I've also seen suggestions to use SLK wheels, but most of these seem to be 8.5J rather than 7.5J, and possibly a different offset.

Using a smaller diameter wheel would certainly lower the tyre costs, but I don't know how small I could go without risking the wheel fouling the disk, caliper, or other component.

Any suggestions?

 

I think you can get by with 17" off an SLK. At least on a NA car.
Don't worry about the offset. They're going to look "goofy" anyway you look at it. But hey, it's gonna look bad covered in salt and snow too.
Just don't forget to add about 50 to 100lbs of weight in the trunk.

 

I use a set of n/a rims on my srt with oem 18" and 19" size blizzaks with 2 60lb sand bags in hatch.

 

The 18/19in Blizzacks in the UK work out at about $1,800 - without fitting, so I was hoping to get something a little less expensive. On my wife's car with 16in rims I can get winter tyres for about $80 each!!

My concern with the smaller rims, especially the 15 or 16 in rims suggested by one seller, would be clearance, both of the brakes and the bodywork.

Might try to get a couple of cheap mercedes rims with worn tyres just to check for clearance before investing in a full set and new tyres.

Comments regarding weight in the back duly noted - got a couple of sandbags lying around somewhere .....

 

MKF, the later model SLK's used the very same brakes that the Crossfire uses.
The 2003 SLK used 16x7" front wheel width and 16x8" rear wheel width.
Tire size:
205/55 front and 225/50 rear will give you the same overall "diameter" as the Crossfires "stock" size. So your speedometer's accuracy isn't effected.
Of course the tire is more narrow, but that is beneficial when driving thru snow.
I would think any Mercedes wheel 16" and up would probably work. But like you said, the smaller sizes can really save you money.
By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

@+fireamx, nice try with the edit but the first version already went to my Blackberry <lol> If I do decide to go with the smaller wheels, I will definitely post the pics! As you said, we could probably do with a laugh.... I'd only use them when it actually snows if they look too bad.

Thanks for the info - still in two minds. I've managed to find some less expensive tyres, and the cost of secondhand mercedes rims is quite high, so still weighing up the pros and cons, but at least I now know what the options are.

Of course, the other option is to reinsure and tax the old Fiesta diesel and use that instead for the duration of the bad weather, but I'd really rather not!

Cheers!

 

Yeah, you caught me. We joke around a lot here on the forum. When I checked you out to see how long you had been on the forum I noticed you just joined, so I figured maybe you wouldn't appreciate my sense of humor.
Living where we do, if I had to drive my Crossfire during the winter months, That's the way I would do it. Skinny "dedicated" winter tires front and rear, and 100lbs under the hatch.
I purchased a well used 1968 AMX one year, drove it thru the winter using the same formula and it worked quite well.
The AMX nearly shares all the demensions of the Crossfire, especially the wheelbase, and weight. Even the front to rear weight distribution is very close, so that's why what worked for the AMX should work in the Crossfire.
Good luck with what ever you do. Winter sucks.