I recently purchased a 300SEL that has a set of winter Blizzacks on it. I am planning to buy a nice set of wheels and Michelin or Continental summer tires. Question, I am considering replacing the stock 15" rims with 16" or 17" wheels and the closest tire to match the stock recomended diameter. Will this compromise the ride quality? Are 17" too big for this car? Also how much room do I have to play with in diameter as to not effect ABS or other MB electronic wonders. Maybe someone can recomend a tire size that will give a high ride quality with good handling as well.

If you really care about handling get the michelins. I would also recommend Firestone SZ50's. They are a well kept secret in the ZR-class. I've driven alot of Mercedes and other cars and the continentals never handle as well as michelins. The attraction of the conti's is their lower price. What is the stock size of your car? Check out Tirerack. They have a huge online selection plus a program that lets you look at what a particular wheel would look like on your car. http://www.tirerack.com As far as 15 vs 16 vs 17 sizing goes...lower profiles will ride harsher as a rule. Plus the lower profile you go the easier it is to bend a rim on a pavement irregularity. I would advise that you go to a "plus 1" fittment size. It should give you the best compromise between ride and handling. As long as you keep the rolling radius the same.(size of wheel+the height of the tire sidewall mult. by 2) ABS and the electronics probably only have a 1-3% tolerance. Good luck and thanks for contributing.

Lee

As a lead tech for a large repair facility, I only recommend Michelin Tires. Period.

Go for the Michelin MXV4's. I had a set of these on an '86 300SE and they were a wonderful compromise. Smooth riding on the highway, good balance (they're round!), and a nice predictible (and quiet) breakaway when you over-cook it on a freeeway off-ramp. They even worked well in snow for the first two seasons, but not as well as Blizzaks!