[W126 Coupe] Increased Wheel (Rim) Diameters

[Flodur2 at aol.com]

Will someone enlighten me as to whether there is any real desirability to  
fitting wheel (rims and tires) of a diameter greater than the standard size  
fitted to a car, and specifically MBs, other than just for "looks". Although I  
am not directly involved in vehicle design, I am a professional mechanical  
engineer and well acquainted with consideration of dynamics, vibrations and  
structures. Other than appearance, I see very little to suggest that an  increased 
tire size is an attractive proposition. Without going into details, it  is 
desirable to minimize the (unsprung) mass or weight of a tire and rim. But  the 
combination has a certain stiffness which was allowed for by the designer of  
the car or suspension to yield a good tradeoff in comfort, handling and  
reliability. Changing these characteristics changes the design point, not  
necessarily for the better, in my opinion. So what's the attraction of plus  sizes 
with the associated smaller sidewall heights (degraded ride comfort) and  other 
induced problems such as rubbing on the chassis?
 
Rudolf Boentgen, PE
'96 S600 Coupe
'98 S320 Sedan
'02 SL500 Roadster 
**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy 
steps! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1218822736x1201267884/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=fe
bemailfooterNO62)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/mbcoupes/attachments/20090214/fcdf5e88/attachment.html>