ipsep

Thinking about upgrading from 17" to 19" for the SLK350, 225/45/17 to 235/35/19 and 245/40/17 to 265/30/19. Told that to my friend and he is concern about my ability to stop with bigger wheel. He said that with the bigger wheel, the wheel spin faster and is harder to stop. I will need bigger break to keep the same stopping distance. He also said that the I don't have enough power to take off from standing stop and the car will feel slower.

He recommend that I only go one size bigger and not two.

I don't see the point of upgrading just one size as I have the 17" AMG RIM.

If I upgrade the brake also, how big should I go. 4 or 6 piston? 355mm or 380mm? I know kleemann is the best but they are so expensive. what do you think about these ones? http://www.evosport.com/product/prod...m=RTR.BRK.B101
http://www.autocarparts.com/part/194/589/

Will the car feel slower?

Welcome all input........

dsb

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I think 19's will impact the handling but not to the extent you'll need to upgrade your brakes. It might also slightly affect takeoff but again, not enough to merit going to a smaller wheel. It really comes down to your preference. Unless your driving very aggressive and/or track a lot, I think you'll be fine. SLK brakes are very good. I can't remember any brake fade when I had my SLK350. Either way, first get the 19's and then determine if you need to upgrade your brakes.

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alroumi

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Make sure you go for lightweight wheels, reduces unsprung weight and braking performance as each wheel is lighter makes the car weightless. Aftermarket brake packages are expensive, it would be best to go for ebc pads as i have heareed they work pretty well and have little brake dust.

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Your move to 19" wheels is for appearance and not performance. Many have upgraded to 18" & 19" wheels with NO reported problems other than SOME rubbing issues. With proper tire sizing, overall wheel diameter stays the same. The SLK 350 has excellent brakes. Your friends concerns are unfounded.

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The break distance is becoming shorter with wider rubber - look for a new friend, he´s telling crap I upgraded from 17 to 19´´ - the only differnce* you feel is in turns: The handling with the wider wheels is much better.

* - the car is becoming harder, but that´s a question of the tyres and the air pressure too.

Ynot

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I agree, get them first and see how it feels before spending all that unnecessary money, the brakes are incredible but it did fade a little on my last lap on the track, I was pushing it pretty hard and braked hard at 120mph plus, it was also a very hot day.

Yep, my 19's isn't much heavier than the stock 17"s, I never weighted them but do swap them for track purposes and it doesn't seem like much, even though it doesn't seem much but it does add up and the car feels much lighter with 17"s. 19"s for the street and the smallest and lightest wheels for the track.

I agree, the SLK feels like it's glued to the road on 19's with wider rubber, it feels like it might be better for the corners. I don't feel any difference with braking.

My 19"s are noisy and feels rough but I blame it on tire brand not size.

Do it, don't worry about what your friend say.

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ipsep

Thanks for all the inputs.

I am looking at the same rim that Don have. Does anyone know how much the stock AMG 17 weight?

webslinger

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Side Tire Question:

Can you go up 1 size of width on the stock AMG55 18" front and rear wheels?
Say 225 to 235 or 45? or 255 in the rear?

DansSlk

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Yep mate you can comfortable go up on size both front and back but you don't need to bother on the fronts 225 is sufficient and personally i think 255 is perfect for the rear.

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webslinger

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Great info like usual, Dan!

DansSlk

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No worries

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DansSlk

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ipsep,

With 19's you will reduce your takeoff speed but i doubt you will even be able to tell the difference to be honest with you.

If you where to upgrade to 19's and all other variables where to remain the same it would take longer for you to stop but not much longer, however you want to increase tire size and that will increase the rolling resistance that will cause the car to slow faster when the brakes are applied so your probably not looking at stopping faster but you wont take longer to stop either.

All modern cars have brakes that can stop the car at full power plus extra so the car cannot ever overwhelm them so if you nail the brake pedal to the floor you will stop very rapidly, if you are still a little concerned however i would recommend a slightly harsher pad something that will bite into the disk a bit more that will reduce your stopping distance but will increase disk wear.

And the bigger contact patch will help in corners also

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All right with 7,5 and 8,5x19 - but an upgrade to 19´´ would be to 8,5 and 9,5x19. With increasing width inclusive the wider tyres you must stop earlier than with standard tyres and rims unless the tyres are out of the same production.

DansSlk

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I have never tested something like this with cars side by side to be 100% Gero mate but it comes down to the weight of the wheel and the size and stickiness of the contact patch.

If you apply a certain amount of brake pressure and the standard wheel setup and measure stopping distance then do the same test with 19's and see what you get, its either going to show the rotational speed of the wheel caused it to overshoot or the bigger contact patch provided enough extra resistance to counteract it either canceling the effect out and giving you the same results or being stronger than the force applied by the wheel and reducing stopping distance.

At the end of the day the verdict is the same - you don't need to worry about stopping distances with 19 inch wheels on a SLK350

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bradmg

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With ABS, wouldn't the big stopping distance factor be the size and effectiveness of the contact patch? Unless the wheel weight is so great that it overwhelms the brake to the point that it does not engage the ABS function, I would think that the contact patch would be the primary reason why the ABS would allow the car to stop in a shorter or longer distance. With the system engaged, I would thing that the weight would become more as total vehicle weight rather thand the effect of unsprung weight as with accelleration. Over time, the weight would probably add to heat and brake fade but not under normal driving conditions where you'd really need an emergency stop.

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The weight of the rim is to neglect, because there is nearly no aftermarket rim which is heavier than the AMG IV multipart. And this you find in the Performance Package...