[W126 Coupe] wheel and tire size

[Jonathan]

I run 17's w/ either HD's or AMG spec bilsteins all around.  18's weigh 
too much IMO for the suspension to Really work ie, an 18 X 8 Aero II 
Monoblock comes in @ 54 lbs w/ rubber...while the 17 is almost 10lbs 
lighter.

As mentioned prior, the tyre you run will have a Huge effect on how the 
car rides..I run H rated on most of my street cars and w/ the 17 the 
degradation in ride quality is essentially nill while the improvement in 
handling is monumental.

A number of magazines have done tests (Grassroots Motorsports the most 
recent that I can think of) where they test the handling w/ plus size 
wheels/tyres.  Typically the consensus is one will do best w/ a +2 over 
what the OEM sold the car with, ie a 17 in this case.  AMG seemed to be 
of the same opinion as 17 was the largest wheel they offered.

I run 17's on the track and scare the Hell out of the BMW guys as they 
all think I'm going to shoot off the road;-)

Jonathan

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1996 S600 Euro "Scharnhorst"
1991 560 SEC Euro ECE Conv. (for sale)
1991 560 SEC 226Hp/271ft/lbs (TT conversion IP)
1989 560 SEC Euro ECE *Parts*
1988 300 TE
1989 560 SEC AMG (Mech.lifter/radical cam conv.)
1987 AMG Hammer 6.0L 32V
1986 560 SEL 6.0L 32V AMG
1980 280 SE Euro
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