dandelos

So my parking garage is underground in the city, and so I have to turn right up onto the lowered sidewalk in order to get to the gate.

Several times, usually at a specific angle, as I am mounting the curb, it feels like my rear right wheel is 'scraping' the curb. The car shudders a little bit and seems to struggle to get traction. At least, that's what I 'feel' from the driver's seat. This is even though I'm pretty positive the angle I turned with gave me sufficient clearance. Also, when I check the tire (and the right-side undercarriage area) later on there is no damage.

After it happened yet again to me today, I was wondering if it might be ESP kicking in for whatever reason? Though I can't imagine any of my tires lifting off the ground with moderate turn I have to make. Any other suggestions?

Carsy

I would stop, if you can, when it is happening , get out & see why .

Have you done any modifications that would make the tyre scrape on the wheel arch ?

My mud flaps scrape in certain conditions .

Keep us posted.

C300Sport

Sounds like it may just be the shoulder of the tire stuggling for traction as it rides up on the curb...if I understood you right anyhow. Can you see a bit of scuffing on the sidewall of the tire?

coolvi

There's actually an indicator that comes on everytime ESP kicks in, so look for that as well to rule out your first suspect.

dandelos

Happened again this morning. No light indicators come on each time so that suspect is out.

Carsy

A thought from left field .I wonder whether your diff is seized ? ie scrubbing tyres like a diff locked tractor.

Magicman09

hmm... another possibility, maybe your its your tires rubbing? because i had a similar problem after changing to c63 rims, and when i went in to get service they showed me rub marks on the inside of the wheel well(only back tires).. try taking off one of your tires and looking in the wheel well for rub marks, if thats what it is get some wheel spacers(thats what i did) and you wont have a problem anymore.

tc1728

happens to me all the time after I got my coilovers installed, only happens when I turn slowly up a driveway with the steering wheel turned almost all the way, but never when I go down a driveway, I don't even worry about it anymore. Does not seem to affect the car in any way at all. TC

JimPap

This sounds like what I'm hearing when I turn into my inclined driveway.

Its like the right rear tire isn't getting enough traction.

FYI, no mods...everything original.

dandelos

After some of your posts (especially Magicman09's) I started paying attention to my tire and the wheel well. When I was pumping gas today, my wheels were parked on uneven surfaces (because of the gas tank covers in the ground), and I noticed that just that brought my right rear tire really close to the wheel well. I also noticed some 'black' sootish residue on the edge of the wheel well, presumably from where the tire rubbed against it. Looks like we found our perpetrator.

Gonna have to take those inclined turns a little gentler (not that I wasn't already), but just wondering if the occasional rubbing could cause any serious damage issues, either to the tire or to the wheel well?

Carsy

You are keeping your cards close to your chest regarding wheel/ tyre modifications. !!!

dandelos

Eh....no, it's just that I don't know much about what was done. When I got this car 2nd hand all I know is that it came with 19" tires, and that the rear tires are slightly bigger than the front tires. Not a car guy so I didn't know what other questions to ask about what might have been done. The mechanic (Benz specialist with very favorable reviews) that I brought the car into for a check before I bought it didn't bring anything up though.

Carsy

Its not good to have your tyre rubbing the mudguard.

I would seek some expert advice on buying a smaller tyre or rim.

I wonder whether the car has had suspension mods which could also cause the probs.

dandelos

I think it's probably rubbing against the (top of the) wheel well rather than the mud guard, but either way I agree it can't be good for the car.

The only plus side is that this rarely happens, perhaps once every 3-4 weeks?

Carsy

Think about how it will react with 3 people in the back seat , a full boot of luggage & the fuel tank topped up, especially on a windy road ?.

C300Sport

What size tires are you running front and back. With the sizes in mind, if you can post a pic from the front and back, looking down the side of the car, we can get an idea of the offset of the wheels. It may just be that the wheel offset is too high/low or the tires are simply too wide and you may be able to replace with 10 or 20 mm narrower tires.

dandelos

I'll try to get some pics up this weekend.

dandelos

So I had my wife watch as I tried to 'simulate' the alleged rubbing this afternoon. She said she actually saw the rear right wheel lift off the ground, due to the angle of the curb as I was turning, and there was in fact no rubbing whatsoever.

As it lifted off the ground, it didn't immediately stop rotating, but rather stagger-rotated twice, if that makes sense. Was that ESP at work?

Carsy

Sounds as if the rear suspension travel is not long enough to keep the wheel on the ground under these conditions. The ESP should come in . Did you notice the dash light come on ?

Must be some sharp & steep corner. !!

Doesn't explain the rubbing though.

dandelos

No, didn't notice any dash light/s coming on. And that's the weird thing, it isn't really a steep corner...perhaps just a sharp turn whenever traffic on the lane next to it is tight I guess...

There is no rubbing -- I initially just thought that was what was happening from what I felt from inside the car.