DavidBEsq

My 550 is sitting in Long Beach. Dealer said he expects it to get to me (Silicon Valley) in 7-10 days.

I ordered it in March.

Anyone have any good suggestions for a leasing company to use, at least for comparison purposes to whatever Mercedes program is? I used Credit Union of Texas for my last car, but they no longer service California. I suppose I should check out the local credit unions?

HouTexMB

Is the car at the Port of Long Beach awaiting release to the dealer like mine currently is in Brunswick, Georgia? If so, is your dealer sure that it is going to be released now? Would like to know if you are getting the same BS story that I am that all '17 model MB cars, gas and diesel, are still being held at the ports for emissions certification until late July.

DavidBEsq

I don't know - he didn't provide any details and I didn't press. It's already bad enough for negotiation purposes that he knows I'm waiting for this car, I don't want to show any impatience. Actually, I haven't committed to buying it yet - I want to test drive it again. One concern is the move from 18 to 19 inch wheels might make the ride harsher. The main characteristic that attracted me to the car over its competitors was the quality of the ride, in comparison. (I'll almost always be driving in Comfort mode).

branmin

You are not really going to notice a difference going from 18-19 as far as a "much" harsher ride is concerned. Run flats and in particular what tires come with the car and if you have the ABC option is what will make the difference.

HouTexMB

We are trading in a '14 SL550 for the '17 model and we currently have the 19" wheels. They don't seem to ride any harsher, but when the car is in "sport" suspension mode as opposed to "comfort" it will jar your teeth--we always keep it in comfort.

DavidBEsq

No ABC - from what I read there's maintenance issues, and frankly I was fine with the ride when I tested it. And I was trying to keep the price down. I'm swapping out the tires for sure. I had Pirello P Zero Nero's on my Lexus and really liked them, though someone on here suggested certain Michelins (I think) for this car).

DavidBEsq

Thank HouTex - good to know. What tires do you have on there?

HouTexMB

I'll check and let you know--the car only has 6,000 miles on it so I haven't even looked at the tires. I do know that they're run flats because there's no spare.

DavidBEsq

Strange, I asked my dealer and he said it doesn't come with runflats.

HouTexMB

The OEM tires on my '14 SL550 are Continental ContiSportContact 5 SSR run flats.

gkgeiger

My'16 came with run flats or as MB likes to call them "Extended Mobility".

DavidBEsq

Dealer said today Mercedes expects release at the end of the month.

I actually would be happy to hear there are run-flats on last years cars by default -- it means the ride will be that much better once I put real tires on it.

Streamliner

WHY do they keep increasing the wheel diameter and using lower profile tires, on luxury cruisers like the SL and all their sedans, when they KNOW that the resultant ride will be less comfortable than the same vehicles on tires with a deeper sidewall? Are the tire companies sending them barrels of their Kool-Aid, because they know they will sell more expensive tires more often? It is becoming ridiculous. A car like the SL would do great on 17" wheels. Give the AMG guys the 18's, because we all know that they NEED to look sporty and racy. But 19's as standard on th SL????? I once joked about tires with ZERO sidewalls, which are mere rubber bands stretched over a solid aluminum wheel. Is that where this madness is heading? Must everything be done to make these cars look racier and more aggressive at the cost of comfort and utility? It would appear so.

rickp

Not to mention the suicide factor for 30 and 35 profile tires/wheels in the Midwest and Northeast pothole region.

Streamliner

You are so right. Out here in CA, we don't think too much about potholes, but in areas where they are commonplace, I just can't imagine the problems with blown tires, bent and destroyed wheels--AND no spare in the trunk! Geez!

Wolfman

I know your opinion is going for small wheels with large tires on non-sport package cars. It is well known that larger tires will ride more comfortably, but only to a certain extend. Lower profile tires have benefits in other areas.

Back in the day, Mercedes used to have 15" & 16" wheels as well but everything worked overall in the design of the car. But that changed over time with the design of new models which require larger wheels to look "factory".
IMO, the R230 looked "ok" with 17" wheels and "good" with 18" wheels. I also liked 19" wheels on it (which we had) but you couldn't go larger in terms of looks.
The R231 on the other hand was designed with larger wheels in mind and would look absolutely idiotic with 17" wheels and looks just "ok" with 18". 19" looks great as does 20".

There is absolutely NO difference is ride quality between 18" and 19" on the the R230 or R231 SL. With the 19" front, 20" rear AMG forged wheels, ride quality was better than on 19".
The difference is really in the tires. Run flats and cheap crappy tires make a much larger difference in ride quality than the wheel diameter.

branmin

There is absolutely NO difference is ride quality between 18" and 19" on the the R230 or R231 SL. With the 19" front, 20" rear AMG forged wheels, ride quality was better than on 19".
The difference is really in the tires. Run flats and cheap crappy tires make a much larger difference in ride quality than the wheel diameter.[/QUOTE]


agreed.................................

HouTexMB

That's consistent with what my dealer is telling me. Of course, that's only a week away so we'll see. My car has been sitting at the Brunswick, Georgia port since June 9th--ridiculous.

DavidBEsq

Seems like Michelin Pilot A/S 3+ is the way to go with the SL550. Almost $1200 for the set on Tire Rack.

DavidBEsq

But if I'm most concerned about ride quality, is there a better option?

Wolfman

The S63 Cabs. have been delivered, so that would clear up the emissions story...

Our car was finally built and is on the water for arrival in Brunswick on July 29th. Hope for delivery a week after that.

Will post if there any additional delays...

HouTexMB

Latest from the dealer is that my car is showing a "VPC ready date" of 7/31/16 in the Netstar system so they think that is when it will be released from the Brunswick port.

HouTexMB

My dealer got their first truckload of '17 models in today. Unfortunately mine was not on the truck, but it's scheduled to ship out on July 31st so it should be at the dealer mid next week. Fingers crossed.

DavidBEsq

Dealer says mine is released today (from Long Beach), but ETA in NoCal is Friday 8/5.

branmin

look forward to seeing pics and hearing from you all when your new baby arrives.....exciting................