Jessika88

2019 C43 Cab

Last year I blew the front right tire a week after my first service (8,000 mi). Apparently the "Inspected Condition of Tires and Brakes" wasn't performed as they said it was. Reason for blow out...front tires need replacing. Replaced both fronts, Contisportcontact 5 SSR, wheels are 19s
Now second year service (16,695 mi) and found the rear tires are shot, showing threads, and the fronts are close to needing replacement. The wear on the rears can't be normal. How can the cambor be this far off?

chattanoogaC43

Not normal at all for that mileage, got to be out of spec. Have you aligned it?

alexasa

iTrader: (1)

I remember taking my 19 inch wheels off and they wouldn't even stand up straight on flat ground. The OEM stuff is just garbage. It was single handedly the worst part about the car. I traded out the wheels and tires after having 3 bent wheels and a couple of tires covered under warranty and haven't had an issue yet. Some 50+ thousand miles later. Even lowered I don't have the same wear that I had with the Original equipment.

chassis

No out of the ordinary. Mercedes across most models specify large amounts of negative camber, particularly on the rear axle. The GL/GLS is also known for eating rear tires quickly.

mischief

The inside tire wear that you're experiencing is most likely caused by too much negative toe (toe out). Luckily toe is all that can be adjusted on the W205 chassis; camber and caster cannot without aftermarket kits. I recommend finding a local independent shop that specializes in alignments have have the toe adjusted to be more neutral to solve your tire wear issues.

C43HeartBoost

This.

I have had 3 Mercedes in the last 4 years and all have this type of tire wear. Aftermarket wheels/tires, stock wheels and tires, stock suspension, lowered suspension…

toosteeley

mischief is 1000% correct. It's too much negative toe NOT camber that's cause that wear.

W205C43PFL

Hmmm, I personally don't experience that much wear but maybe because I have stock 18s? Perhaps it is because I didn't pay attention when I swap them in for 18s ps4s, I will check my ps4s next time it is on a hoist. I wonder if the problem is less apparent on 18s (either non-runflat on ps4s or runflats on the stock)

chattanoogaC43

Out of curiosity, how many miles do you get out of a set of tires? (or how many are on your current set) Is the treadwear pretty even across them? I have the 18's as well.

Jessika88

Thanks everyone. Glad to learn the difference between toe and camber. Would be nice for the dealership to also understand this Im going to bring it to a performance shop to adjust. I'd change the wheels/tires out if I could. I got sucked into the extra warranty package which they will void if I change. On a super happy note, I had them fix a ding in my front right wheel only to find it has a 3" crack on the inner side.

W205C43PFL

Thanks for your question @chattanoogaC43 ! I would be happy to answer it!

The OEM tires were the 225/45 R18 front Pirelli Cinturato P7 Run-flat All Season and 245/40 R18 rear Pirelli Cinturato P7 Run-flat All Season.

As for these tires, they weren't the ones that came with the vehicle (for my particular build) however they were the tires that I asked my dealership to swap to when I picked up the vehicle back in 2017 knowing how awful roads around me are, 19s won't stand a chance. These tires and wheels are the base/standard 18 inch 5-spoke tires in Canada without the Driver's Package. If I would to not upgrade the tires and wheels I can't select the Driver's Package which comes with the performance exhaust. There were plenty tread left when I swap them out a year and a half ago (the car had around 50K KMs iirc/approx 34K miles) although I don't think it is a fair measurement because I have snow tires on the vehicle for quite a bit of that mileage thanks to winters here in Canada (for the snow tires, they were non-runflat Bridgestone Blizzaks WS80 front had 75% tread left and the rear had about 70% so not a huge difference although please don't take my word for it because I am just recalling based on memory, I got these winters during the 2nd winter I had the car... . As far as treadwear for both the winters (pretty normal), the ps4s (pretty normal) and the stock run-flats (it was slightly worse but again, not a fair comparison because the winters were on for a good chunk of the mileage driven) , it was pretty even, there are signs of negative camber wear but it isn't as bad as OP's that is why I was thinking 18s might be the reason mines wasn't as bad. I am not sure if run-flats also affects it negatively as I do have non-runflats for my winters and ps4s. Runflats are (heavier? than non-runflats and have stiffer sidewalls which might? increase camber wear?) My current summer tires are very new and are currently at around 11K KMs/approx.6835 miles, with about half of that going to snow tires) I have about 62K KMs... so around 38K miles on my car total. My tire pressures are always kept 42 in the front and 33 on the rear (I need to double check it, that is afaik I remember, I go with the values provided inside the fuel door)
Apologize for images of the car being dirty, I remember there was construction happening near me that week. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the stock 18 inch run-flats when the tires are off the vehicle, the tires has since been sold as well as I didn't need them. I apologize for the poor quality image as well. Please see the images below with the stock Pirellis on.



I hope that answers your question : )

W205C43PFL

How about yours, how are your tires going for you? Curious as well : P

superswiss

As said above, your car needs an alignment. Your toe setting is most likely out of spec. I'd expect your dealership to recommend an alignment right away with this kind of wear. I don't even have this wear in the rear of my C63S, but I do have it in the front. The toe seems to go out very easily. I've aligned mine twice already in 2 years and both times the front toe was out. First time both sides, and second time only the right. The C63 does have a lot of negative camber in the front, so some camber wear is expected, but the treads showing like that is usually an incorrect toe setting so the tire scrubs over the edge.

Hungalow

Above is my alignment invoice done at the dealer at 50k km. I didnt have any major wear issues like the op, was going aftermarket rims and tires and my tire guy suggested an alignment first. Happy with the results much improved.

Hungalow

Maybe someone who understands the data can chime in.
Was I that far OUT OF SPEC?

chassis

Front toe looks fine. Otherwise it would pull one way or another. Does it pull?

Front and rear camber seem far to high (too negative) in my view. What's the story with this car? Modifications? From your photo it looks like you are lowered. This would explain excessive negative camber.

Rear right toe looks weird. Does the car crab/dogtrack? Has it been in a collision or struck a curb or parking divider?

Hungalow

Hey Chassis, if you are referring to my post with alignment data. My car is 2018 and has 60 k km and bone stock. The car doesnt crab..dogtrack or pull. The camber is not adjustable so set at un adjustable factory settings. No curb strikes or any accident, car is mint except for your friendly neighbouhood potholes. That alignment was done with the original 18" factory rims. I did the switch to my summer rims 19" and car feels much better. I dont get that crashing feeling over potholes or road imperfections. So far got 5-6km on new tires and no excessive wear showing whatsoever.
Ya the camber is a problem which is the weakpoint of our platform. Mercedes money making scheme..expensive rims which crack..spendy runflats which wear prematurely due to an unadjustable camber.. oh and lets not forget about brakes at 20 to 30 k km.
Why the hell do I love this car so much...like the wife.. high maintenance for a litlle loving...crackle on

chattanoogaC43

Really appreciate all the detail you put into your above post, I was hoping we had the same tires. Mine are the Continental Pro Contact staggered setup and they have about 300 miles on them so far. (Mercedes put them on late last year when they CPO'd the car, and I bought it this past week from Carvana)

Seeing the trouble the OP had with such premature tire wear had me questioning if this was a major problem or not.

W205C43PFL

No worries, that is great, I am glad the information was helpful. To be honest as long as you keep your alignment in check, the chances of excess wear is slim, you will see more wear on the rear tires when you floor it for example as our cars are rear biased awd.

chassis

Agreed! Is your vehicle lowered?

Hungalow

Not lowered, stock suspension. Gonna stay stock as it works for me dont track it. Just hooligan runs once in a while.

Boostman76

As mentioned above a few times its the toe, not camber causing that excess wear. When getting alignment ask to have it set to as close to 0 as possible...note this will be out of spec as per mercedes but thats pretty much the only way you will stop that level of wear.

MarvnMercs

Same thing happened to me. My car came with the contact 5 SSRs as well. My fronts only last for about 5k miles and my tears were smoked at around 8k. I do drive hard, but I’ve heard nobody gets the expected tire life out of these. A lot of it has to deal with the pretty aggressive camber on the car. I just switched to Michelin Pilot Sport PS4S and it’s HUGE difference. You should get more life out of them.

K-Mac

Seeing OEM there is no front or rear adjustment other then Toe we manufacture Camber and Caster kits for front and Camber (and extra Toe) for the rear.

Allowing to adjust tire contact angles, spread load more evenly to resolve Costly, premature edge tire wear. This excess edge load can also lead to ruptured side walls and subsequent rim damage.

C43 FRONT KITS:
#503416-1G $295 (Both Sides) – less then the cost of one performance tire.
Precisely Camber adjustable bushes. Single wrench accurately under load direct on alignment rack.

Replaces the “LOWER ARM” inner bushes – designed to fit without the need for arm removal.

#503416K $480 (Both Sides)
Same as above but includes precise Caster for the forward facing thrust arms. Also improves brake and steering response.

#503316-2J alternative Camber and Caster kit priced at $380 (Both Sides)
Replaces the “UPPER ARM” inner bushes. Also fit without need for arm removal.

All above kits retain the security of using the existing high strength forged alloy OEM arms.

All provide up to 1.5 degrees positive or negative adjustment. More then enough to resolve most edge tire wear issues.



C43 REAR KITS:
#502226 $480 (Both Sides) Replaces the LOWER ARM inner bushes for precise (single wrench) Camber adjustment. Plus extra Toe to compensate for Camber change. Fit without need for arm removal.

#502226-1M $595 (Both Sides). UPPER arm Camber arms. Turnbuckle adjustable. Also extra Toe adjustment to compensate. Not soft extruded aluminum. Same as OEM – Security of high strength forged alloy.

NOTE: UPPER arms reduce clearance top of tire to outer fender when wanting to resolve premature inner edge wear. LOWER arm adjusters retain this clearance.

Delivery $40 one kit ($20 each extra) Sales / Tech 24/7 1888 847 9099

Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings since 1964

dddhatch

The run-flat tires on my 2014 S550 has done the same thing. The dealer told me that is because of the camber MB puts on the tire, which leads to accelerated wear on the inside of the tire. This is difficult to catch because the tires appear to have a lot of tread, when in reality, they have worn down to the cord.

I was told that MB does this to provide better tire grip during turns. they also said that they may be able to adjust the wheels to have no camber, which I'm going to have them do as soon as I replace the second set of tires I have replaced with the same problem.