Ride too hard, go down a wheel size with more squishy tyres?

[Huntsman]

Oh god, what a wuss...

I'm finding the ride in my newly acquired C43 too hard, I absolutely love everything else about the car.

Its got 17 inch wheels with 225/45 and 245/40 tyres.

Could I fit 16's with say 225/50?

That would give the same rolling diamter but a noticeably softer ride?

I'd have to discuss with the insurance company of course.

I'm not sure if any 16 inch Merc wheels fit over the AMG brakes?

[rhinochopig]

Or you could buy one of these.

[Dave^]

Are the current boots run-flats?

[Huntsman]

Dave^ said:

Are the current boots run-flats?

I dont think so, but I havent checked.

[Pickled Piper]

First thing to do is check your tyre pressures. Make sure they are not over inflated. You can safely drop these by 1/2 to 1 psi from the manufacturers recommendations to build in some compliance. Do this before shelling out on expensive new wheels and tyres.

pp

[HellDiver]

There's little difference between 245-45/17 and 205-55/16 as far as comfort goes. It's obvious the suspension is poorly set up for UK "roads".

[Huntsman]

They are not run flats, I just checked.

Petrol flap says 30 front and 33 rear, I've just put 29 all round.

Its still worse than I'd like.

Humpf.

[vladcjelli]

rhinochopig said:

Or you could buy one of these.

What good would having minty fresh breath be?

[Hell27]

vladcjelli said:

rhinochopig said:

Or you could buy one of these.

What good would having minty fresh breath be?

Trebor mints are a minty bit stronger.............


Stick 'em up your ar$e and they'll last a bit longer......

[v8will]

Huntsman said:

They are not run flats, I just checked.

Petrol flap says 30 front and 33 rear, I've just put 29 all round.

Its still worse than I'd like.

Humpf.

Totally the wrong car for you then unfortunately.

Not even in the same league of 'sporty ride comfort' as a modern BM with runflats

[davepoth]

Huntsman said:

Oh god, what a wuss...

I'm finding the ride in my newly acquired C43 too hard, I absolutely love everything else about the car.

Its got 17 inch wheels with 225/45 and 245/40 tyres.

Could I fit 16's with say 225/50?

That would give the same rolling diamter but a noticeably softer ride?

I'd have to discuss with the insurance company of course.

I'm not sure if any 16 inch Merc wheels fit over the AMG brakes?

Have you got a space saver spare? how big is it?

[kambites]

Different makes and models of tyre, even of the same dimensions, make a huge difference to ride quality so you might be able to find some tyres that will solve the problem. On the other hand, you might just have bought the wrong kind of car.

[SteveS Cup]

Drive my Clio for a day and getting back in a C43 will feel like getting in a Bentley!

Another thing... Are you sure the suspension is standard? Have you checked the springs / shocks?? How many miles has it done?

The suspension could be shot.

I don't think I've ever heard of a C43 being that firm... I thought they were known as bullets in a straight line but a bit soft for the bends. I love them but hey.

If none of the above, sell it and get an XJR. My uncles is smooth as silk then 400bhp kicks in! Could be a good alternative if you want a stupidly quick saloon with a bit more comfort.

[rallycross]

HellDiver said:

There's little difference between 245-45/17 and 205-55/16 as far as comfort goes. ds".

Rubbish

There is a huge difference in ride quality between those two sizes.

[Escort Si-130]

lmao,classic one,I havent heard that one in years.

Hell27 said:

Trebor mints are a minty bit stronger.............


Stick 'em up your ar$e and they'll last a bit longer......

[Olivera]

You would also need to check whether 16" wheels would fit over the brake discs and calipers.

[Garlick]

Never seen an AMG C on 16's, not sure they'll fit to be honest.

It is quite a hard ride if I remember correctly, but I'm happy to straight swap my soft E220 estate if you fancy it

[Olivera]

Some handy calculators:

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...

I doubt changing to 16" wheels will make any real difference, and you have the hassle of trying to get the same approximate rolling radius, offset, rim width, that will fit over brakes and calipers etc. Only real solution would be to reduce the spring rates and possibly new dampers if required.

[Huntsman]

Garlick said:

Never seen an AMG C on 16's, not sure they'll fit to be honest.

It is quite a hard ride if I remember correctly, but I'm happy to straight swap my soft E220 estate if you fancy it

How about a 1 month exchange to try it out? You can have the C43 for a month, see what you think. (They are miles apart in value terms, if we wanted to do a swap that would need to be addressed).

I'll see if your banger is cosseting and quick enough.

So I now want a super fast super comfy V8 estate.

I'm begining to suspect that long term I wont be able to live with the C43, it'll be a greta shame, I'm fussy about cars and otherwise its bloody wonderful.

[Monty Python]

First off, I don't think 16" wheels will fit as the front brakes are quite large and there's not much clearance left.

I think the problem is more down to the suspension that the tyres - probably a change of springs/dampers is required.