I say go for it! I just ordered a staggered set up for my AWD. Just be sure to use this calculator and make sure the difference in your rolling diameter is as minimal as possible:

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...?action=submit

Plus it looks wayyyyyy better!

 

Reason he messed up the rear diff cause he just took wheels of a g35 sport and kept the tires on them. Which in awd you cant run 40s 19 cause it way off the 1% diameter allowed. That is the only person also out of everyone who has been running stagger pass 20k no issues.

 

Unless one is planning to keep the car as long as they can, rather not run staggered on a vehicle not designed for it.

 

staggered all the way

 

im planning on running staggered on my AWD. just picked up a set of the oem 18s. from reading the info, just like everyone said, its ok to do as long as you keep the rolling diameter within 1%.

heres my question, and its more of a confirmation. people recommend 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 back. lots of potholes where i live, so i dont want to do a 35 series tire in the back. if i run 225/45/18 front and 255/40/18 back, will i be fine? the numbers i get from the calculator seem fine to me, right within 1%.

appreciate the help.

oh, and yea, thats a vote for staggered, if you can do it right

 

I know the staggered look is cool but not being able to rotate wears out tires and I always get loud tire noise about 10k miles into a set of new tires. I realize thats just part of owning a sports car that handles great and looks fantastic.

 

I would stick with the first setup. The second setup your on the edge of going over the 1% mark. I run 30s on my 19 and the pothole here in the northeast doesn't affect it that much. From 40-35 in the rear not that much of a notice on the oem setup.

 

I'm in mass too, Springfield area. Thanks for the advice, I still have some time before I mount tires. Any recommendations on an all season tire? I'm assuming you're running a summer tire on your 19s yea?

 

Depending on the tires on staggered, they can only be rotated from side to side. 10K?; you don't mean you replace the tires for loud noise rite?

Yeah, staggered does look good and all, but don't really see the point because even thou it looks good, it does not take away the 4x4 status because it's still a AWD and not an RWD.

Contintenal DWS should work out or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S should do.

 

If AWD systems could support staggered for the long term...wouldn't the people who design the cars offer that as an option? I don't believe Lex, BMW (Xdrive), Audi (Quattro), Benz (4matic) offer stag set-ups. Therefore, if you chose to own an AWD car - I think you should stay with the non-stag set-up. JMHO.

 

I see your point, but there would be no reason for the auto companies to offer staggered on AWD since it's mostly for aesthetic purposes. Staggered on a RWD offers more than just aesthetics since you are increasing the contact patch of the wheels that power the car. If all 4 wheels power the car, you don't really need to have wider rims on the back. Like I said, it's more for the looks, as the body of the car supports the staggered look better than non staggered.

 

Agree. Good point. But there is one reason automakers would offer staggered set-ups....they could charge more money!...But great point about the contact points and aesthetics.

 

I had an 08 Mercedes 4MATIC C300 with 225/45-17 front and 245/40-17 rear in stock form. So yes, AWD systems can handle staggered for the long term.

 

I looked at Mercedes Canada site to verify, yes that is designed to be staggered. My co-worker was telling me that it is probably Porche (forgot which model) which created a AWD which was designed for staggered as well.

In general, if it was not designed for it, it may not be good for it. One possible main reason is because the tracking of the car is set to run in the particular configuration.

For instance for RWD staggered, the front wheels, slightly stick further out in reference of the rear wheels. This set this way for the vehicle turn properly at speed; apparently the history behind as my co-worker told me back the old days, RWD used to have problems turning at speed because the front of the vehicle would turn too quickly or out of control because the rear wheels were further out than the front wheels back, which acted like an oversteer effect before the engineers figured it out during that time.

Now in terms of the AWD doing staggered, when it was not, the tracking maybe set as such that front and rear are almost flush for non-stagger. Switching over, the rear wheels may stick further out than the front which may have a problem in terms of what I mentioned for the RWD in the past. Not saying the car will do it, but there maybe a tendency of the vehicle doing this.

 

You are correct. I stand corrected. The C300 4matic does offer a stag option.