Finally put on some bigger shoes on my Sprinter.
I ended up going with the US spec G-Class wheels with the lesser ET 43
This makes the wheels stand out a bit and requires some bodywork for tire clearance when the front wheels are turned.
The big difficulty with the G-Class wheels is finding tires with the proper load rating. Most 265/60R18 tires are load rated 110 which just isn't enough for a 2500 Sprinter.
I don't ever load mine to the max and was able to find Cooper Discover H/T Plus tires that are load rated 114, that's just one point below the 115 for the stock Michelins. I loose about 80lbs per rear tire, that works fine for my application.
The Coopers are nice and quiet, the shoulder isn't as stiff as the stock Michelins and so they soak up road imperfections much more. At the same time the lower /60 aspect ratio vs the /75 for the stock tires means the tires have more sideholding ability when cornering.
It's not go-cart handling but significantly more surefooted with less body roll in turns...
The overall ride is much improved similar to the scale of the initial change to the Koni shocks...
And the wheelhouses are filled out much better than before...
Cheers
George
P.S. I might have to make fender flares for the front tires...we'll see
I ended up going with the US spec G-Class wheels with the lesser ET 43
This makes the wheels stand out a bit and requires some bodywork for tire clearance when the front wheels are turned.
The big difficulty with the G-Class wheels is finding tires with the proper load rating. Most 265/60R18 tires are load rated 110 which just isn't enough for a 2500 Sprinter.
I don't ever load mine to the max and was able to find Cooper Discover H/T Plus tires that are load rated 114, that's just one point below the 115 for the stock Michelins. I loose about 80lbs per rear tire, that works fine for my application.
The Coopers are nice and quiet, the shoulder isn't as stiff as the stock Michelins and so they soak up road imperfections much more. At the same time the lower /60 aspect ratio vs the /75 for the stock tires means the tires have more sideholding ability when cornering.
It's not go-cart handling but significantly more surefooted with less body roll in turns...
The overall ride is much improved similar to the scale of the initial change to the Koni shocks...
And the wheelhouses are filled out much better than before...
Cheers
George
P.S. I might have to make fender flares for the front tires...we'll see
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