SV-

Hi all,

Had the C450 for 4 months now and already three (yes, 3) bubbles on the front tires. Thank God for Pirelli's road hazard warranty which covers that. My previous F30 335i came with 19" runflat and only 2 bubbles in 3 years... I don't know what's wrong with the C450 wheels/tires, but I hate runflats now (and no it's not potholes, we drive very carefully).

Now it's time to buy winter tires (mandatory here in Montreal) and I have 3 options. On one hand the car is a 2-year lease, so we only have 2 winters to get through. However my wife drives 2500km a month, mostly highways, so money saving isn't the only issue here. For the record we've had good experience with Bridgestone's LM-60 and WS-80 on our respective cars in the past.

Option #1 : Keep stock 19" AMG rims and get non-runflat tires (with slime or spare tire repair-kit in the trunk) but the choice is pretty limited.
Option #2 : keep stock 19" AMG rims and get runflat tires
Option #3 : buy 18" wheels and tires (non-runflat)

Now I know for highway driving the safest thing is to have runflats, however given that the first 4 months have been disastrous for the stock tires, I'm starting to think maybe non-runflats would have less chances of bubbles, so less risk of tire exploding

Opinions? Thoughts?

MJ83

I find your experience interesting. I consistently got sidewall bubbles in my lowprofile, non-runflat tires, perhaps replacing 7 tires in 5 years to the problem. Imagine my relief when I bought a 2014 328 wagon with runflats and had zero sidewall bubbles in 36000 miles. In those three years, I pulled over numerous times to check my tires after blasting bumps, potholes, debris, etc, only to find them were in tact. Personally, I have attributed the lack of side-wall bubbles to the stiffer sidewalls. I have the 19" wheels on my C450 with the Continental summer run-flats, and have had no issues in 4k miles. Perhaps your issues are tied more to the Pirellis...

Anyways, to answer your question, I am in a similar situation with the impending Ohio winter. However, I plan to take a slightly different route, especially because I leased. Here in the next month or so, I plan on buying non-runflat all seasons; likely Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+. That way, I can try to get the majority of my lease on this set, before remounting the summer tires to complete the lease. We'll see if I can stretch them that far. Hopefully, sidewall bubbles do not become a problem.

jakc

I'd go with non-runflats. I've never tried them but definitely would go that route based on reviews of better ride quality if I was getting all four tires or wheels changed.

And it's not just Pirellis, I have the 19" Continental Contisport summer RFTs and had three bubbles in the past year. One tire lasted barely 2 months before it had to be replaced again. Just ordered another tire today after finding a bubble in the sidewall. All replacements were for front tires. Not sure what the problem is as I did not have a single issue in the three years with my C63 with the same Continentals on 18s. Just replaced the whole set one time from normal wear.

yellowriver

I'm from suburb of Montreal and went with 17' non-runflat tires mounted on 17' replica wheels. My original tire size is 19'. The reason for 17' for winter is confort. The higher the sidewall, the more it will absorb potholes. Didn't opted for runflats because if I have a flat, it would be better to stop anyway and call the assistance and I never had a flat in my entire life (18+ years of driving).

Xtrema

Option 3 and threw this in the trunk

https://www.amazon.ca/Slime-40013-Sm.../dp/B003RNWOAQ

Anything worse, I'll be calling MB anyway.

jakc

I've never had a flat and used to think those who got them were just careless drivers who ran over potholes on tires with no tread left... until I got my 2016 C300 on 19s. One flat, three replaced tires, all in the first year.

SV-

Does MB roadside assistance cover if you have a flat tire and your tires aren't runflat as per manufacturer's recommendations (you know, they could try to get themselves out of it)?