03c32AMG

I feel I need to pass along an experience I just had at my local tire giant/tire installer for Tire Rack, Tire Kingdom. I went by to have my new rear 255/40/17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3s installed and they told me they would not do so without a letter from Mercedes stating that this size is an appropriate "optional" tire size. They said they would not take the liability should this size throw something out of whack, i.e., the "sensors, speedometer, other stuff that could be affected." Has anyone else ever heard of this? I mean, I got the size directly off of this forum, so others are obviously having this size installed. Am I missing something here? Comments appreciated...and recommendations as to where to have these installed now! Thanks.

SilverBulletAMG

I am pretty sure it's not that they don't want your money or that they want you to jump through hoops. I would bet they were taken to court about that in the past and they are now just trying to cover their butts.
Some idiot went in there and asked them to put on a rim/tire that was way off and then the idiot blamed the tire place.

Fifth Ring

When I read about a problem with TireRack, I was shocked. I've never heard of anyone dissatisfied with them. Clearly, it's the installer not TireRack.

Suck as it may, you'll need to find another installer.

ScottW911

It's all about Liability insurance. Damn'd Lawyers.

I apologize to any lawyers in this forum, but it is your fault.

Zeppelin

I bet if you bought the tire from them they would have installed it no questions asked.

03c32AMG

You may well be right. I bought them from Tire Rack for about $150 each and Tire Kingdom quoted me about $250 each.

SeaCoupe

This is an issue limited to the installer, the fact that Tire Rack is even mentioned is beyond me.

Find another installer.

E

03c32AMG

Let me bring this a little closer for you then, since it is "beyond you." Tire Rack does it's business via mail order, correct? They even go as far as to have a vast list of installers, right? Well, it seems to me that with these two facts, one would believe that the seller, Tire Rack, would say something to the purchaser about the possibility that the installer might not install the tire. Otherwise, why have a list of installers? They could have shipped them directly to me and I could have shopped around for an installer like I have to do now anyway. Am I wrong in believing that it is in Tire Rack's best interest to inform purchasers that their listed installers may not really be willing to install tires, even if they are a slightly different size? Also, why ask me what vehicle I am purchasing the tires for if they aren't going to point out potential problems with the install? I don't know, maybe it's just me, but if it were my company, I would either go all the way to inform the customer about these potentials or I wouldn't even bother listing installers. Just my 2 cents.

Blake P

Have you tried contacting Tire Rack to see what they think about the issue?

03c32AMG

I called them today at 4:35 when I got home...closed. I will try Monday, you can be sure of that and will post their reply.

dmatre

After watching a friend go through problems with his traction control in his BMW 330Ci, I can understand why Tire Kingdom would do this.

The electronics can conceivably read the difference in wheel speed (between front & rear - due to the slightly larger rolling diameter in the rear) as slip, thus engaging ESP and braking the car to a standstill.

This happened to my friend/coworker, and caused his car to literally brake to a halt in the middle of an intersection.

Tire Kingdom probably could have dealt with the situation a little better, but I can understand why they want to bring this to your attention BEFORE installing the non-oem sized tires. Any other tire store can mount the tires, so if you feel so inclined, spend your money with another installer. There are plenty around.

FrankW

just go to another tire shop. it's that simple.

but why would you want to run 255/40/17 on a 8" width anyway.

03c32AMG

I understand their reason for not doing the install. I am frustrated with the selling of the tire, shipping to the "installer" and THEN telling me about the reason.

03c32AMG

I am interested in more rubber on the road, even if it is only a few millimeters. I will be going to 235/45/17 in the front. I got these sizes from recommendations on this forum, by the way.

clkwork

255mm is over 10 inches wide, imo that's pushing it on a 8" rim especially with low profile 45mm tires.

atl 2 chi

Damn, that really sux. But you know what, when I took the Illinois Bar Exam, I recall two tort questions regarding negligence with similiar scenario's.

The guy who screwed it up for the rest of us probably had recently taken the bar exam and figured he would try to get paid since the tire installer defendant in the bar exam fact pattern was liable for negligence.

All us lawyer's are not like that.
For those lawyer's that give the good ones a bad rep...Da*n Ambulance chasers....

03c32AMG

I refer you all to this post...

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=tires

03c32AMG

If I'm not mistaken, the rear wheel is 8.5".

SilverBulletAMG

Stock rear rim is 8.5" and will hold a 255 just fine. I'm in the boat now of wondering if I can fit the same size on an 8" rim. For whatever reason Brabus doesn't have a wider rear tire on their 17" monoblock rims. Of course found this out AFTER I ordered them. My fault for assuming they would be the same width as stock.
And as Alt 2 Chi stated, we're not all "ambulance chasers".lol

clkwork

I'm not saying it can't be done, it just makes it difficult for the installer. Low profile tires are a pain in the *** to begin with and when you add the fact that they are too wide for the wheel it just makes it that much harder. Again I'm not saying it can't be done but they had some very good reasons to turn you away.

RW C55

Maybe they shouldn't open a shop if they decided not to do something they're good at because its hard..

MarcusF

Here is what concerns the tire installer – changing the rates of rotational speeds between the front and rear tires could result in your car behaving "oddly". For example, the cruise control could disengage at higher speeds. If your car originally came with Continentals, the rear 245/40-17’s had a revs per mile figure of 828, and the front 225/45-17’s were 831 – basically the same. I have no idea what the revs per mile figure is for a Goodyear D3 and don't know if it matches your fronts. I'm guessing your installer doesn't know either. I can tell you the diameter of the 255/40-17 D3's is 25". The diameter of a 235/45-17 D3 is 25.3".

The solution to your current problem may be to pick up your tires and leave. Take them someplace that will simply install them.

Lastly, the sectional width on a 255/40-17 D3 is only two tenths of an inch wider than a 245/40-17 Continental. Does the D3 look wider to you?

Fifth Ring

It takes a lawyer and a client willing to pay the lawyer. Without the client, there is no law suit.

I think tort lawyers and medical malpractice lawyers bear a lot of blame for how our society deals with risk, particularly since its those lawyers that instigate the suits and "sell" the suit to their client; but it really comes down to an "entitlement" society where everyone wants "their piece of the action" for every bother or inconvenience. Nobody just sucks it up and moves on.

The original poster will probably want to sue TireRack, and then TireRack will add massive disclaimers, or even cut off the installer programs. Sometimes bad stuff just happens, and you just suck it up.

03c32AMG

Sue Tire Rack? Over a $300 tire purchase? I think not. I do think a disclaimer (not "massive", just obvious) is in order, however, as this is my issue. Or, as I said, they could do away with their "installer" program, if the installer is not going to install any non-oem sizes. Unless things have changed in the past few years, I think this is an installer to installer variance. I bought "oversize" tires from Tire Rack for my Camaro a few years back and that installer didn't bat an eye. Like I said, if you're gonna do mail order business that needs an installer, and the installers are gonna have different policies, somebody (like Tire Rack?) should have some kind of notice of this variance somewhere. That's all I'm saying.

ScottW911

I realize it takes two to tango. I was just poking some fun at a frustrating situation we face everyday.

I remember reading an article, years ago, about the most prosperous nations in the world and what makes one nation more prosperous than another. The author drew a direct coerlation between the the wealth and health of a culture, based on the ratio of doctors and lawyer to the general population. In other words, more doctors= Good. More attorneys= Bad (not my conclusion, by the way). At the time, Japan was cranking. They had a huge number of MD's and much smaller percentage (of population) of lawyers than the US. The US, on the other hand, already had a wacky imbalance of lawyers, as percentage of population, with more than double that in law school!

Now, each one of those lawyers needs to earn a living and pay off big time education debt. I agree 100% with your analysis that most people want to blame someone else for any and all of their ills. Very sad. I do, however, believe that the clever "marketing" and coercing lawyers have perfected, to advace their paycheck, I mean careers, has been the biggest drag on our cost of living. Look at General Aviation. Product liability costs have ruined a once thriving and important industry. Who would have believed that they could be held liable for the death or injuries that took place in a 20 or 30 year old private plane? It happens all the time.

Sorry for taking the thread off topic.