Carsy

I put new tyres on today , Michelin Primacy HP 205-55-16.They are a more rugged tyre better for country use & give greater mileage. It was very pleasant to drive home with a quiet tyre that was not cupped.Thank you Glyn for the heads up on what South African farmers use on their Mercs.

The OEM tyres have gone back to Bridgestone head office on the local reps advice, to find why they have developed the splits on the inner shoulder.

I have attached the wheel Alignment Printout from the Tyre Shop. Only the front & rear Toe In was adjusted.

I asked my dealer for the 204 alignment figures but they were not forthcoming. They have a short memory but I have a long one !!. I live between two dealerships. Guess who will be supplying my spares in the future!!

IGB

Glyn M Ruck

JC - That is so pathetic. I've never seen an alignment done without the target values printed!

You know what Robert de Niro said to a congressional hearing in "Guilty by Suspicion"

EDIT - BTW if the car pulls left with the camber of the road pull the right castor back to 9.38 & it will fix it as I've said before. Requires fitment of 3 way fluted bolts in the castor bushes.

Carsy

I have been following & filing your comments regarding castor pulling on the road crown . I did think about it before the alignment. The pull is there but not annoyingly noticeable to me . I do prefer to have the car head to the bush in case of heart attack/microsecond sleep ect instead of killing some poor ******* with his family coming the other way!!

They put 40psi in all the tyres so I am surprised that the Primacys rode so well!! I will pull back a little on that to preserve the suspension a little.

Acapulco Bill

My W204 C300 Sport came with the Michelin Primacy HP from the factory. (Euro 2 spec, delivered in Mexico). Yes they are rugged, but no, they are not quiet. The harder rubber compound rolls easier hence the "green" gas mileage rating but I find them NOISY (IMO).

Keep the tire pressure on the high side and beat the potholes. Am tempted to get the Conti ExtremeContact DW because they are quiet and a softer ride, but some say the soft sidewall construction is prone to pothole damage and develops bubbles.

The alignment chart Casey posts looks like it's from Mars. Never quite understood deviation in mm's (deviation from WHERE?). Anyway, Casey, if you don´t drive into the outback much where your alignment expense can get ruined in a few hundred meters of rough road, perhaps a shop that also provides complete frame alignments (not for your frame but they will have all the equipment to do a proper tire alignment), would be the ones to finish your alignment.

Carsy

Bill,
The attached may help with the deviation in mm.

I would be interested in seeing your last alignment printout sheet to compare the interstellar one.

I am happy with the quietness of the tyres. If they are less prone to cupping I will be happy.Will rotate every 100,000km.

Glyn M Ruck

Rotate every 10,000 Km not 100,000 corner to corner to change rolling direction & they will stay as quiet as they can be. (no feathering & cupping to cause pumping noise). They are not quite as quiet as a PS2 or Exalto but are a lot better than a Conti SC2 or SC3 or Bridgestone. They err in the right direction with rotary bands of tread and no big blocks. Early W204's are noisier than 203's due to insufficient sound absorbing material in the rear wheel arches & trunk area. I would still rate the Primacy HP as a quiet tyre on this chassis. JC you seem to concur when compared with your Bridgestones. Drop those pressures!

Quiet tyres should be non directional so that they can be rotated to change rolling direction. They should have broad unbroken rotary tread bands with minor sipes. No big blocks to feather or cup. Any shoulder blocking should be staggered in size to break up harmonics & the compounding & carcass should be relatively pliant.


Primacy HP


Exalto PE2


PS2


See post 77 here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...2009-c350.html

Acapulco Bill

Wish I had those 16" rims instead of the 17" AMG rims, they certainly makes a difference in the ride and noise. However, I am a proponent of inflating the tires to their upper limit, as a friend who had a new W203 and kept them inflated "normally" had 5 blowouts due to potholes in 90 days, one with severe rim damage and had to be replaced. He traded in the car after six months at a huge loss just because of this situation. Of course we drive the same streets.

All my 11 vehicles here are kept 5-8 psi or more above the normal level, and none of had a failure due to a pothole (some nails, though). Another Mercedes (Sprinter) sees more than 100,000 kms of service a year, carrying 2,500 kgs in cargo (above the limit), and even though some claim excessive wear in the center of the tread when applying a higher inflation, the curves in the highways here wear the inside and outside of the tread faster than the center, as there are more than 800 sharp curves between two of our plants (1,600 a round trip!). See attached photo, the yellow-highlighted route is a major national highway.

The Sprinter tires are replaced when they are well worn beyond the indicators, and I am quite satisfied with the strategy of "over-inflation". Of course grip is reduced in heavy rain but then you shouldn't be driving so fast in the first place, right? (This for all vehicles).

JimPap

Bill.....

You carrying a heavy load is the reason why running your tire pressure high works for you.

For those who don't have the pothole issue and don't carry a heavy load, lower pressure would be better.

Acapulco Bill

JimPap, I absolutely agree that standard pressures are applicable in most of the civilized world.

However Carsy initiated this thread and he lives 4 hours north of Sydney, Australia, hence my comments about tire inflation are directed to his driving conditions (very similar to Mexico in terms of climate and road surfaces, I understand). In his Post No. 4 above, Carsy mentions reducing the tire pressure, hence my comments recommending to keep them high.

I just recalled that also my lawyer with a 2008 C280 Sport has had 4 tire failures due to potholes. Since taking the recommendation to keeping them hard, he hasn't had a problem in 9 months. I must mention again that all our 11 vehicles here in Mexico (there are more in the US) are keep with higher tire pressures, as hitting potholes at high speed Ąs an almost daily (and dangerous) occurrence, the downside being less traction in the rain. The US vehicles are all kept to exactly the tire manufacturers recommendations.

Carsy

Thanks Glyn, Bill & Jim,

I think tyre pressure should be a compromise to their running conditions. I have set mine for 32 psi front 35 rear. ( MB recommended 29/32, low load).

I believe rightly or wrongly that pneumatic tyres at the correct pressure protect the suspension components of a vehicle & give them longer life.

Glyn M Ruck

You believe correctly. If you run most of your mileage one up & zero load I would run 32 all round. I run 33 (2.3 bar) all round on our family 203 & 204 on Michelins & wear is absolutely even. Most mileage on the cars is one up.