Tyre Size for alloy wheels ?

[Ben]

My 230SL came with the early body coloured wheels and I know it takes 185HR14 Tyres but I also have the bundt cake alloy wheels for it and for my W111 Coupe.

So my question is, what would be the correct size tyre that would have been supplied in the late 60's if one had ordered the alloys. Currently I have 205/70x14 which I think is correct !

Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.

[Buz]

The oe tire was about a 185/75 so a 205/70 is usually the best modern size.

[nick350]

I have 195/75 14 by michelin on mine. Does anyone have a picture of a car with 205 tyres on it?

Nick350
r107 SL red
w113 SL white

[Naj ✝︎]

Yes, Nick

 

quote:Does anyone have a picture of a car with 205 tyres on it?

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naj

68 280SL

[jsaylor]

I needed to replace my rotting ties and was impatient.  When you live on Kauai some things are hard to find.  I put on some Falken 185/60/14 H rated. What a difference, much crisper and quicker through turns.  The slightly lower sidewalls improved handling a bunch.

Jim Saylor
Kauai, Hawaii
'65 230SL

[harleydan]

Jim or anybody else,

That is the first time I have read that someone put Falken tires and that particular size (185/60x14, specifically the 60 series profile tires) on their W113 rims. A lower profile makes sense if one wanted better handling.  I do however have a few questions:

a. Did you put the tires on bundt cake alloy rims?  
b. How is the ride in terms of smoothness and over dumps?
c. With this particular tire size, how much is your speedometer affected?
d. How much did the lower profile tires lower your car?
e. If your wanted a 60 series profile tires, why did you decide on the 185, vice say a 195 or 205?
f. Has anybody else used or considered a 60 series profile tire?
g. Do you have pictures?

Cheers and thanks,
Danny
1970 280SL Euro 4 speed

[nick350]

try this calculator..

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

the difference is -6% meaning 60mph on the speedo is actually 56.4mph

quote:Originally posted by harleydan

Jim or anybody else,

That is the first time I have read that someone put Falken tires and that particular size (185/60x14, specifically the 60 series profile tires) on their W113 rims. A lower profile makes sense if one wanted better handling.  I do however have a few questions:

a. Did you put the tires on bundt cake alloy rims?  
b. How is the ride in terms of smoothness and over dumps?
c. With this particular tire size, how much is your speedometer affected?
d. How much did the lower profile tires lower your car?
e. If your wanted a 60 series profile tires, why did you decide on the 185, vice say a 195 or 205?
f. Has anybody else used or considered a 60 series profile tire?
g. Do you have pictures?

Cheers and thanks,
Danny
1970 280SL Euro 4 speed

Nick350
r107 SL red
w113 SL white

[jsaylor]

Danny,

The tires I had were at the dangerous stage. I'm impatient and didn't want to wait 4 weeks (Kauai Time) for larger tires and they were on sale. I also wanted to experiment with the performance factor.  
The ride does not feel hard, parking lot steering is easier, quite agile in tight turns.  I'll check speedo soon.

Aloha,

Jim Saylor
Kauai, Hawaii
'65 230SL

[jsaylor]

CORRECTION.

I got 195/60-14  they feel great.

Jim Saylor
Kauai, Hawaii
'65 230SL

[hauser]

Ben, if your rear axel is I would go with a 205-70-14 tire.  The MSL car was fitter with this size and had an HR rating.  I think the tires were Fulda?

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[n/a]

Ben

You can check the diameter of a tire by using the formula 2(width divided by 25.4 x aspect) + 14.  Example for a 215/60 x 14 tire use  2(215mm divided by 25.4mm/in. x .60)+ 14 = 24.157 in.

Hope this helps.

Iverson

[Ben]

Thanks for the input guys, I know how to calculate the tyre size, and I have have 195/60 x14's on my steel wheels, hated them, and they looked awful !

I had 205/70x14's on the alloy wheels but I settled on 195/70x14 as they looked correct, the sidewall does not bulge out at all !

I really wondered what the FACTORY fitted when new !

Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.

[waltklatt]

Ben,
 That is what I'm running my 220SL on at the moment.  Want to put the steel disc wheels back on.  Have the 5.5" wide rims from a 1963 230Sl to put the tires onto, but havent settled on a good set yet.
The ride is very responsive, but a bit jittery in the front over the bumps.  But that is attributed to the very light front with the lighter engine.  The rear squats down and gets an occasional wheelspin from the fast starts.

Walter, have a leadfoot for diesels
1967 220SL-diesel

quote:Originally posted by Ben

My 230SL came with the early body coloured wheels and I know it takes 185HR14 Tyres but I also have the bundt cake alloy wheels for it and for my W111 Coupe.

So my question is, what would be the correct size tyre that would have been supplied in the late 60's if one had ordered the alloys. Currently I have 205/70x14 which I think is correct !

Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.

[Ben]

Thanks Walter !

I suppose is the bulging look of the 205's that I dont like. Nothing beats the correct tyre/wheel combo IMO.

If the alloy is the same rim width, I havent checked that, then the original tyres would look fine on the alloys.

Here is my 230SL with 195/75x14 white strip tyres, which I think looks very well.............



Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.

[Malcolm]

Having read the various discussions concerning tyres (tires over that side of the pond!), i thought that I should advise that the correct tyre, at least for the 230SL (and probably the 250 as well, certainly on steel wheels) is the Michelin MXV-P, size 185 HR 14.  This was as supplied as original equipment by Michelin and incorporates the side rubbing strip.  However they were discontinued some years ago, but Mercedes pursuaded Michelin to remanufacture them.  That is why they are 1) difficult to find and 2) expensive!  I think that there is only one importer in the US who are Coker Tires.

Hope this helps!

Malcolm

[rob walker]

Nick, here is mine with 205 Fuldas, Rob

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Rob Walker
1968 280SL papyrus white/green leather
Spain and Turkey

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by Malcolm

Having read the various discussions concerning tyres (tires over that side of the pond!), i thought that I should advise that the correct tyre, at least for the 230SL (and probably the 250 as well, certainly on steel wheels) is the Michelin MXV-P, size 185 HR 14.  This was as supplied as original equipment by Michelin and incorporates the side rubbing strip.  However they were discontinued some years ago, but Mercedes pursuaded Michelin to remanufacture them.  That is why they are 1) difficult to find and 2) expensive!  I think that there is only one importer in the US who are Coker Tires.

Hope this helps!

Malcolm

Malcolm and others,

Yes, Coker supplies this MXV-P in the correct 185HR14 size at $223.  They also have a Vredestein Sprint in the same size for $130.  Their reproduction Phoenix with the 3/4"" WW is now at $206.

They offer a discount to MBCA members.

Based on what I've seen in the past few years, Coker will be the ONLY place to get 185R14 or HR14 tires soon.  And, the small choice of tires under normal production in the 205/70R14 size is getting smaller.

My guess is the P195 sized might be the only production tire soon (that will properly fit our cars); when small cars today are coming with 16" and 17" wheels the demand just isn't there.

When I went looking for tires in 1999-2000, I had a good selection, even a few in WW.  That choice set is considerably diminished; even in the S rating.  H rating is all but gone.  That's the bad news; good news is there are still a few BW models around in 185/80SR14 (185SR14 or 185-14) that are about $50 each.   Check Tire Rack and go by size not by make and model.

Happy with my Coker Phoenix repros.  Happy also, I bought them when they were $170 each!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored