kenju4u

Hi All,

I recently was in a rear end collision and my 2010 C300 was totaled. I posted about that 2 week ago. Anyway...

I have been searching to replace the car and found a 2013 modal which has everything I want HID Lights package, P1, Navigation, Backup Camera, Sport pkg etc for the price I want. I think I am getting a pretty good deal.

The catch with this car is that it comes with 18" wheels with Pirelli tires P Zero Nero All Seasons. I am pretty concerned about the ride quality and winter usage.

Can anyone advice if the wheel size should be a deal breaker for me or is it easy to replace them with 17" stock through trade with someone if I decide I dont like the 18" ride quality?

Thanks
Ken

ickdeep

Seeing that your getting a good deal on and the only concern you have it tires, then yes go for it. Try out the tires, if you don't like it, just sell those ones and get stock 17". I wouldn't waste a deal over tires. A lot people get new wheels and tires after they get their cars.

kenju4u

Thanks. Any options on these tires and ride quality with 18" wheels? I had a 2010 C300 with 17" rims before this and they were comfortable. I did test drive this car and but almost dont remember if the ride was harsh or not.

shotgun_banjo

If you are coming from a 2010 c300 you should find the ride of the 2013 to be tighter and a tad quieter inside. You can swap the rims and tires down to 17" if you want a more cushy ride but 18" looks better on our cars. As ickdeep mentioned don't get to hang-up on the rims and tires.

JaredP

I run 17s in the winter, 18s in the summer.

More road noise with the 18s, but ride quality is very similar. You could buy a set of stock 17s for pretty cheap.

MB Marko

ill trade you my 2012 OEM rims 7000km on the tires heres pic

or buy Continental Tires -ExtremeContact™ DWS i just got them and like them the noise isn't bad and they are rated really well on tirerack, the ride is a bit firmer on 18's but not much

babyboxer1

Kenju! Glad you're back on the market for a new C-class after your accident.

+1 on newmbmarko's comment about the Continental tires. I was originally looking at the Michelin Pilot's - on tirerack.com, they had great ratings in every category except in the snow, where the ratings where really low. The Continentals matched the Michelin tires' ratings and received very solid rating in the snow as well, so I also went with the ExtremeContact DWS tires and I'm pleased with them.

kenju4u

Thanks Babyboxer1. Glad to be back in a C300.

Funny thing I went pick up my car today and one of the tires had a bubble in it. They replaced it with a brand new tire.

They also offered the tire and wheel insurance for $1400 for 5 years. I have 2 week to decide if I want it. Whats do you guys think? Should I get it?

BTW - love the ride. The ride with 18" rims is not bad at all. Car i still smooth. On corners I can feel it become stiff. I was worried about the ride quality for no reason. I am sure road noise on low profile tires is higher then normal tires but thats something expected.

HERE ARE SOME PICS:

babyboxer1

Congrats! Is the new car a 4MATIC by the way?

kenju4u

Yes 4MATIC

babyboxer1

None of the photos are working for me by the way.

Regarding your bubble, take a look at my thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ml#post6495652

Did you buy your car at the dealer and are the other tires almost brand new? If you did buy the car at the dealer and you notice decent amount of wear, I'd be very concerned when dealing with those guys in the future. It seems like the info below is very common knowledge for people in the industry.

I'm really surprised they ended up changing just one tire. I've been told by 2 independent tire shops, that for AWD vehicles, if there's more than 2/32's difference between tires, you are just asking to bust your transmission. One tire shop said, at the minimum, I'd need to change both front tires. The second tire shop is comparable to Walmart, so they're not tire specialists by any means, and they also knew I couldn't just change one tire. When I heard of possible transmission issues, I just changed all 4.

For $10 per tire, I was able to buy a lifetime warranty on my tires. In other words, if I get another bubble, and there's more than 2/32's difference between my tires and the new one, they will replace all four. What exactly will you be getting for $1400??

kenju4u

Pictures uploaded instead of linked. Guess google share doesnt work here.

babyboxer1. Yes bought the car from MB dealer. It has original warranty and CPO warranty until 2018. The tires are fairly new but the one with the bubble does have a little more thread then the others. I did want to ask them to change both front tires but I thought I might have been pushing my luck.

I think there is some truth to your story but I think its more for traction purpose not transmission issues. Transmission is always handling those types of scenarios when making turns and normal driving. I don't think it would kill the transmission.

In regards to the $1400 for tire and wheel warranty. I was told it covers the tires and wheels for 5 years. For all and any damaged caused by road, potholes, blowouts, punctures etc. Almost sounds like it would be worth it if something happened to the rims but I dont know...thats a lot of money.

babyboxer1

Just looking out - something tells me however if the reverse happened, and you brought it to them after purchase and told them you got a bubble as a result of hitting a pothole, they'd be pushing to sell you 4 tires. It's your car, read up on the subject. Don't be afraid to ask if you have concerns. Again, the place I bought my last set told me that their warranty plan offers a replacement for all 4 tires on AWD vehicles.

The $1400 seems really, really steep for the tires and rims. I paid $50 for lifetime warranty on my new tires, and I paid $40 this spring for a small repair on my rim. It was the first time I've ever had to make a repair on a rim, and I live in a place that's notorious for pot holes. Is that warranty also just for the current P-zero's or also for any subsequent tires you'll be replacing them with? The reason I ask is that your P-zeros are only a 280 treadwear rating, so I doubt they'll be around for 5 years.

kenju4u

Thanks for looking out. I will definitely call and ask today.

The $1400 does cover new tires as well over the life of 5 years but ya now that you mention it. It does sound pretty expensive but it cover rims as well not just tires.

Got two weeks to think about it.

jpbenz

Congrats on your new ride, looks really good!

kenju4u

Thanks! Appreciate it.

SCTinkering

I have 18" AMG wheels and the my 2013 came with the OEM Conti Pro Contacts. They road so rough it wasn't even funny. Swapped them out with Extreme Contact DWS and it was night and day. You give up a some feel in steering, but the ride is MUCH better.

kenju4u

So I took the car to the service department today and had them check the tire thread between the old and new. The service Manager was very helpful, he explained and showed me that the thread on the older tire is more than 50% so I do not need to worry about the traction control system or AWD system to have any issues.

He said with low profile tires they change one tire all the time due to blowouts or bubbles when the thread on the older tire is 50% or more.

This put me to ease but also knowing that my car is under CPO till 2018 I think I should be all covered in case something happens.

Ken

babyboxer1

Awesome! Love your rims BTW, congrats again on the sweet ride!

BlankProc

Nice car man! I have a white with 17s and that makes me a little jealous Welcome back to the fam!

kenju4u

Thanks man. Gotta say I love this year. Its a very nice upgrade from the 2010 I had. The new engine has a very nice pickup in sport mode compared to the 2010.

This is my first white car. Both my Wife and daughter wanted white. Just hope the low profile tires do well in winter. 17" on the previous car were amazing with conticontactpro.

babyboxer1

Those p-zero's are summer tires only. Why don't you look for a decent priced set of used 17" rims for the winter? Did you save the winter tires from your 2010?

kenju4u

These are a Nero all season tires. They seem to have good reviews on tirerack for snow and light rain. Just not in heavy snow.

My old car was totaled. Insurance company took it as is.

babyboxer1

Oh my bad - I assumed p-zero's were all summer tires. I'm also used to having a set of tires for the summer and one for the winter, but that's cause we're crazy Canadians

kenju4u

Well you guys probably get a lot more snow then CT. I never had the need to have two set of tires. I don't think that's a good option for me. I would rather get 17" rims. I think eventually changing out the tires to DWS should be good enough.