Typically, on most cars the D+ (dimension of rim +1 inch or + 2 inch) method seems to work for making the rim bigger and the sidewall of the tire smaller.

However, in snow - winter driving conditions, I have learned that narrower tires work best. They offer less rolling resistance to snow, the pounds per square inch of tire patch is greater and they plow or push less snow. You will notice that this fact is not uncommon in the winter autocross and world rally cup where very narrow tires are common under such conditions.

So, I was thinking about D-Minus Sizing my front and rear wheels for winter driving use and perhaps have an option of doing 17" wheels all around and skipping the D &+1 stagger of the OEM 18 and 19" wheels. This would allow me to run four winter treads all of the same diameter and tread width and sidewall aspect and also allow me to maximize utilization by doing a real tire rotation on them over the years. Additionally it would allow me to preserve the OEM wheels from the Salt and sand blasting they would take.

Your thoughts on this idea would be of interest to me. Has anyone done a D- minus on the wheels yet?? I am all ears...

 

isn't this topic about 6 months or so late?

anyway, i did this for my winter setup, 17x8 wheels with 235/45 tire, worked great.

 

Scot1981:

That is great news is, this worked for you. What kind of fitment and offset did you use?
What tires?

Ya,... he he... it is kind of late for last winter but I am planning ahead for the upcoming.

Thanks

 

One very minor issue I had with my 18s was the air pressure sensors not working. According to DC the 'brain' expects to see 18s & 19s and when it doesn't, it turns the warning light on. In general the 18s with Bridgestone Blizzak's were great.

 

i used dunlop grapic, or something like that, not sure of the offset, the standard slk 17" wheel offset. also your low pressure light will come on if you not install the tire pressure sensors in the new wheels from our stock wheels or if you do not buy new ones. i just ignored it as a new set was around $300 and i did not feel like the hassle of swapping them out every time i changed wheels.

 

I bought new sensors for the 18s and had the sensors re-set. 10 mins of driving and the warning light came back on. DC says its the wheel size and the wheel speed sensors. They expect to see 19s.

 

Hey Scot1981; did you use a set of real 17" M-B SLK wheels for your winter tires or a set of aftermarket steel rims made to be used with winter tires? I was thinking that SLKs have got to be showing up in the wrecking yards and maybe a set of M-B wheels will be cheaper than the new ugly steel rims being sold for winter driving. TX

04 Xfire autostick
parilla@nonline.net

 

they are not mb wheels as those are rather expensive. the set that i got are an aftermarket set of tsw 17x8 wheels that were listed on ebay for a slk, the fit just right, don't look to bad and where cheap, around 300 shipped for the wheels.


http://www.tsw.com/new/productline_classic.php

the eurace is the model i got, about half way down the page.

 

Did you have the summer performance tires or the factory all season tires when you bought the car? We are looking at buying a 2004 six speed with the all season tires and would like to know if it would be OK in the snow.