What tyre size?

[falkster]

So I've potentially got some 19 inch alloys I want to put on my ML for next summer and then used the originals to put winter tyres on.
Firstly, is it ok to put staggered fitment on an ML as I've heard horror stories of drive trains going tits up because front and rear are running different dimensions (or is that just toss).
If so what tyres am I going to put on 8.5 x 19 and 9.5 x 19 to keep them as close to the same overall dimensions as possible?
Cheers
Chris

[varsas]

This:

http://www.alloywheels.com/tyrecalc.asp

might help. I was always under the impression that with 4WD you need to keep the rolling diameter (not necessarily the width) of all tyres the same the same, at least on cars where power is always going to both axles (i.e. the diff is not open). The difference in tread depth can be enough to cause issues. Don't know enough about your particular car though.

That page also has a bit where you can type in a width and see what it fits.

235 should be fine on both widths.

[falkster]

The standard ones are 285 so wouldn't 235 look a little daft?

[EDLT]

falkster said:

The standard ones are 285 so wouldn't 235 look a little daft?

Definitely not, tyres that don't fit the wheels are all the rage.

[varsas]

falkster said:

The standard ones are 285 so wouldn't 235 look a little daft?

Well, as you can see from the website I pointed you to, 255 tyres would also seem to fit. If that's still no good perhaps 8.5 inch wide alloys are too thin for your car?

You probably need to do some research or wait for someone more knowledgeable then me to come along.