Put rear tires on the front as well; good idea?

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Permalink Reply by Carlos on December 17, 2008 at 5:49pm

Why does the USA get 15 inch front and 17 inch back on the 451 brabus? That is really not good looking! In other countries overseas, we have 16 inch front an 17 inch back. And that is already not the best looking, cause you so the difference quite good. Also because the front tyres are 175 and the back 225.

I drove the brabus in my country and although smart says a 20% better shifting time, i didn't notice any difference. The only difference was that is the shifting was less smooth. Maybe it looks quicker then, but it's not, in my opinion.
But i'm very happy with the shiftingspeed of the 451 in manual mode. Much much better than de 450. The auto mode is not a good feature on the 450 or 451.

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Permalink Reply by Not so smart on December 17, 2008 at 11:22pm

I talked to my dealer about the wheels 15 inch front 17 inch rear. My confirmed Brabus email configuration showed 16 inch front and 17 inch rear. He told me that the 16 inch front wheels caused the car to loose it's safety approval rating in this country. Something about affecting the crumple zone.They had to think fast and come up with a new size wheel and they call it the Monoblock VII. Otherwise the USA would have gotten the Monoblock VI like every other country. I don't like this much of a size difference either, but I am confirmed for the Brabus now. I can't change it or I will loose my reservation and the car.

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Permalink Reply by John McGinley on December 18, 2008 at 1:54pm

Doesn't putting different sized tires on the front from the stock upset the speedometer and the odometer?

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on December 18, 2008 at 2:23pm

no
The readings come from the ECU that collects information from the rear wheels.

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Permalink Reply by John McGinley on December 18, 2008 at 11:15pm

Thanks. Think I'll stay with the stock tire configuration. The front foot print with more weight p/sq/in seems witching. But maybe, is it offset with a wider tire with more sq in of rubber on the road yet less lbs/sq/in? Just asking.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on December 18, 2008 at 2:50pm

NO! Here it is, plain and simple.
Different sized wheels does not equate to different wheel/time circumference. Whenever a larger wheel is used, a corresponding different aspect tire is used which fits on this bigger wheel but with a shorter sidewall so the outermost size stays the same.
But there are people called engineers who chose the tire aspect and width after thousands of miles of testing in handling, braking, and acceleration before they finalize on a size which will be best for all conditions.
Don'tg mess with wheel/tire setups on cars unless you have an understanding of the complex issues which are being dealt with.
Hope this helps!
Paul

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Permalink Reply by randy zimmer on December 18, 2008 at 5:51pm

Know any engineers?
I do.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Cowan on December 18, 2008 at 6:15pm

Souns like Paul has been to smart of Orlando. I think he drank the Kool-aid.

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on December 19, 2008 at 12:06am

I have 215-40/16 on the back and 195-45/16 on the front.
Circumference on the rear tire is very very close to original.
Larger tires have helped front discs brake better. The ride quality is much smother and handling has improved.
Wheels: Wheel 1 Wheel 2
Wheel size 16x7 ET 10 15x5.5 ET 40

Tires: New Tire Original Tire
Tire size 195/45-16 175/55-15
Section width 195 mm (7.7'') 175 mm (6.9'')
Sidewall 88 mm (3.5'') 96 mm (3.8'')
Tire diameter 582 mm (22.9'') 573 mm (22.6'')
9 mm (1.5%) difference
Rim sizes 16x5.5 to 16x7 15x4.5 to 15x6.5
Circumference 1827 mm (71.9'') 1799 mm (70.8'')

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Permalink Reply by Not so smart on December 19, 2008 at 12:59am

Hi 451 Kahn, what does this all mean? are you saying that your tire circumference's stayed pretty close to original so your car doesn't know the difference ? Your wheels look great

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on December 19, 2008 at 2:28am

Yes i calculated it all on the easy to use web site
http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by John McGinley on December 19, 2008 at 2:44am

451 Kahn What size rims do you need for each of those? Where can you get them? Where did you get the tires? Continental?

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