lx Raven xl

I have clocked 11000KM today. My driving style is very steady and slow which is driving within speed limits, Not pushing the car , etc etc ( Captian Slow ) you got the Idea.

Do you think its a wise idea to change the front tyres to back for even wear'n'tear?

Or I should wait more?

Or do not worry about it at all . When the time comes change all four.

09 C-Class

I wouldn't sugguest it cuz the tire sizes are different between the front and the back. if you don't see any significant wear on one tire from the right to left, i'd leave it alone untill you change them all

jrct9454

Not every model in every market uses staggered tire sizes!!!

My USA C300 Lux [C280 Elegance everywhere else] has 225/45x17s all around, and I rotate them every 3-4k miles [5000-7000 kms] as follows: RF-LR-LF-RR-RF. This allows them to change from front to rear and direction of travel as well.

Wear is even and light using this timeframe and rotation pattern.

Raven, in your case, you may have already waited too long to rotate them - radials can take a "set" in the carcass if they run the same direction for a long time. This means you can rotate them front to back now, but probably not side-side. So yes, do a front-back rotation, but don't wait so long next time - use 8000 kms as the top end of the rotation window.

You could try using my rotation pattern, and see if it feels OK - if you don't get any new vibrations, it means the tires are quite happy running in the opposite direction. The most simple thing to do is to just do the front-to-rear rotatiion and leave them on the same side.

wblynch

Not all wheel sets are staggered and not all tires are bi-directional. Be careful not to rotate directional tires to the "wrong" direction.

09 C-Class

hrmm... didn't know that some car aren't staggered... anyone know why? I was thinking of getting some new wheels but didn't want to stray from the stock stats and sizes... is it a bad idea to change the width of the wheel and still keep the same sizes tires as the stock tires?

jrct9454

Oh, well....here I go again on my favorite sub-topic these days...

MOST W204s sold in MOST markets outside the USA do not use either staggered sizes, nor unidirectional tires. Standard tires elsewhere in the world vary [by model] from 205/60x16s to 205/55x16 to our C300's [Luxury only] 225/45x17s - on all four corners, featuring H and V and W rated touring radials. These sizes all are approximately the same rolling diameter, so do not affect speedo or odo readings as they are used across the model lineup. [The 17's we get are actually the Avantgarde wheels everywhere else in the world - my C300 Luxury is actually a C280 Elegance with the Avantgarde wheels.]

Optional nearly everywhere, and standard with the USA "Sport" package are 17" staggered sizes, with 18" staggered as options. Since the American market pays so much attention to "sporty handling" in this segment [I "blame" the car magazines and their emphasis on track tests for this], MBUSA reacts by using the staggered setups for the majority of cars sold here. I think this is utter nonsense, but the only way you can protest is to not play, and buy the Lux instead of the Sport, which is what I did.

Most MB customers outside the USA will never experience either staggered sizes nor unidirectional tread designs....thus the question from our colleague in Amsterdam. His tires can be used at any corner on the car, and thus can be rotated either in a simple front-rear pattern, or using the pattern I use which gets each tire to each wheel position over time. Either way, our costs for tires are going to be less than anyone using a staggered setup.

Some of the staggered options include unidirectional tires, some don't. In the latter case, you can swap them side - side as long as you don't wait too long to get started - I'd say not longer than 5k miles. If you have unidirectional tires, no tire rotations are possible without dismounting the tire, the cost of which immediately defeats the purpose of rotations in the first place.

If your car comes with the same size all around, you can [for what reason I can only imagine] go to a staggered setup - the specs are in the owner's manual for all of the tires/wheels used on a given model. A site like Tire Rack allows you to consider going either way - it will configure your car with compatible wheels of varying widths and diameters, and if you want to "unstagger" a US Sport, just fool it into thinking you're configuring a Lux. Same with 16" alternatives - the Canadian C230 comes standard with 205/55x16s, so you can get a set of good 16" alternatives for any W204 by simply telling the website that you've got a Canadian C230.

Yes, you have to pay attention to wheel widths as well as diameter - each tire size has a range of wheel widths that are acceptable - the range is typically 1-1.5" for most. If you get outside that range, you pay a penalty in ride, handling, or wear, or all three.

The main point is, I guess, that staggered sizes in a touring car like the W204 are more about bragging rights and appearance than they are about real-world performance, but you pay a stiff price for this in terms of more expensive tires that wear out faster. It's a choice. In most markets, the choices come by way of the options offered for each model; MBUSA makes those choices for you in the interests of keeping the option lists shorter and costs down. Since we pay radically less for our Mercedes than the rest of the world, it's hard to argue with this approach, but it does mean you have to think carefully before choosing a particular US model.

wblynch

Thanks JohnR, it appears you're quite annoyed.

I think it is important that people take a moment to inspect what tire setup they have on their actual car before acting on recommendations or judgments regarding tire rotation.

It is also possible they don't currently have the same setup the car was shipped with.

jrct9454

I'm not annoyed - just a bit frustrated - for Americans who would like a little broader view of what the rest of the world sees, try this:

http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/...data.0002.html

You don't have to be fluent in German to move from model to model and compare. Note especially the number of different tire / wheel combinations offered. We live a very sheltered life in the American Mercedes world....the ROW [rest of world] has a range of choices that you never see here.

When an English-speaking Mercedes owner posts here from the UK, EU, Asia or Australia, I note they sometimes get US-centric advice or answers. It helps to remember our cars have the same bodies, but drivetrains, interiors, option packages, and tires are often very different in the US market. It can be frustrating that we don't see much of this in our catalog - I'd love to be able to configure a car the way I really want it, but the price would be much higher than we want to pay here.

Here's more on JUST wheels alone:

http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/...loywheels.html

If you click on one of the wheel designs, it shows it on the car and shows you the tire size, or sizes if it's a staggered offering.

To return to the original post that started the thread, I assumed from the context that we were talking about 17" wheels with the same size all the way 'round. So yes, tire rotations are both possible and reasonable.

atmun

Ok fine,
but why are some US tires larger in the front then in the back? seems weird...
even weirder that they put the same tires (or tyres, dont want to be self centered, US centric, colonial) all around in other US markets.
I ask because i would like to get rims for summer tires and i want to know what size tires to get... and if it matters that mine are off by half an inch (1.27 cm for the metric world)

(im just havin some fun, dont take me to seriously. but my question is serious)

jrct9454

Nobody sells a car with front tires larger than the rears. Period.

For a range of suggestions about wheel alternatives, go to Tire Rack online and have fun. Generally, varying wheel widths by an inch or less is not going to make a lot of difference, but remember you have to pay attention to wheel offset, as well. Again, for an education on all of this, Tire Rack's website is full of good information, and their reps will answer your questions on the phone, as well.

atmun

yeah i have no idea why i said half an inch.... i blame it on it being wednesday
but my fronts are 225/45-17 and my rears are 245/40-17.

lx Raven xl

Here in Amsterdam If you buy the 18" wheels on w204 or BMW 3 series you get the staggered setup. I got the 17" that come standard with Avantagarde and its same size tyre all around. They are runflat as well.

I actually spoke to the service guy as well yesterday

he told me it nots really necessary to do it. front tyres will wear out less than the back. depending on your driving style you can change the tryes at back after 30K to 60K and if the front are good enough leave them on for another 10K.

I think I am not gonna do the swap. I will just change all four when the time comes.

next time i will get the staggered setup.

FrankW

If you don't have the staggered setup you can swap tires front to rear, but do remember on any car your front wheel is doing the steering which when you put the worn down rear tires to the front it can be hazardous when you are turning or when driving spiritually because the front tire will not grip if they are badly worn.

my suggestion just keep them how they are and replace the rear tire when they worn out. you can swap them side to side instead if they are showing uneven wear (inner vs outer). just make sure the tire are not directional when you swap them side to side.

and lastly tirerack's are full of idiots that think they know something. I was told that BBS does not produce the RE in 18x9 for the W203 when I called them. when in fact BBS does produce the RE in 18x9 which I bought through a shop from BBS USA.

RLE

That combination has been used on many MB models since the mid nineties at least. C36/C43/CLK 430/SLK 430 and so on. Why you would think the fronts are larger than the rears escapes me.