Palladin

OK, I know the stock PZeros wear out really fast and I can deal with that, but the right (passenger side) rear is shot after 4K miles and the left one looks like it still has plenty of tread. Anybody else experience this wear pattern? Is it because I don't have the Performace Pkg with the limited slip diff and most of the power goes to the right rear, or does it sound like an alignment issue? Car is almost new, haven't hit any potholes, and it drives straight as an arrow. Any opinions on this?

sflgator

I believe this is (unfortunately) normal. Although our GL450 is AWD, we experienced this on our 5,300lb. SUV as well on our first set of Conti's. I believe this is b/c the right rear wheel is the most engaged during normal traction, especially without the LSD.

Sincity

Is the wear even or is it camber wear?

benyl

RWD != Rear Wheel drive

RWD == Right Wheel drive

Not many people know that. I think even in FWD applications, the right front tends to wear faster. That is one reason the X rotation pattern exists.

Palladin

If by camber wear you mean primarily on the inside or outside of the tire then no its not like that, it's much worse in the middle of the tire than the edges. And I run 40psi inflation just like the stickers in the door and the gas flap recommend, so I don't think it's an inflation issue, unless of course the recomendations on inflation pressures are bogus and that's what is causing this problem to begin with. But then I would expect to see the same wear on the other tire and I don't.

callmiro

If you don't have the performance package/LSD, one tire will always wear more that the other because 1 tire will hook up and spin the majority of the time and the other will just sit there

NORTH 44 C63

40Lbs is for MAX load. Try running 34lbs on your next set and they will wear evenly (unless you are running with 5 occupants all the time....)

Palladin

Thanks for the response. That's what I'm starting to hear from other folks too, which brings me to another question: If the car primarily puts its power down with the right rear then why can't you feel the torque steer? It seems to accelerate very straight with not much drama or any noticeable pull to one side. If you can feel torque steer on FWD cars why can't you feel it RWD cars?

callmiro

you can't feel it in RWD cars because your rear wheels aren't hooked up to the steering wheel

JoeVal

Besides all other considerations, with the main wear in the center of the tread it is matter of overinflation. 33 lbs. in front, 35 in rear should be more than enough for fast highway drive with the car loaded. Try it, you'll like it.

Cheers, JV

benyl

The reason you get torque steer in a FWD application is because generally, the half shaft that come from the diff to the wheel are not the same length on both sides.

A RWD car almost always has equal length shafts.

propain

WTF are you people doing wearing out your tires in 4K miles? Honestly.. Im at almost 3K and I have at least another 6K with my driving style... (Not burning out at every light)

sflgator

I was easy on my car, driving 90% highway miles and no burnouts...and my rear oem Pirelli P-Zero's wore out in 5k mi. Put on a nice set of Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports on the rear and I'm good to go with better traction and hopefully longer tread life.

Palladin

Yeah, that's what I thought too but you will be surprised. I only drive moderately agressive, mostly freeway miles, no burnouts, no track, just the occasional burst from a traffic light, and about half the time I leave the car in "C" mode rather than "S" so it actually starts in second gear. I read all the stuff on this forum about the tires only lasting 4K miles and thought it was nonsense or it was guys doing donuts. Well, it's not. They may look like they have a lot left at 3K miles but trust me that last bit of tread goes away real fast. Those PZeros are made out of bubble-gum. Based on all the info and opinions you guys have provided (Thanks for all the responses, by the way...) it looks like my main problem is overinflation, but even considering that these tires don't last at all. Replacing with Sumitomo HTRZ and adjusting inflation down to around 35. Hope this helps. Thanks for all the advice guys.

MB_Forever

With Mercedes vehicles, the power always originates from the rear passenger side. I have the Performance Package on my E63 with an AMG 40% locking differential and I still have more wear on the right than I do on the left.

This used to happen on my C32 as well until I installed Quaife differential....

Arclight338

I took delivery in February and I have 2660 miles on mine. NO burnouts, no track days-spirited driving -absolutely. I expect mine to be bald by 5000 miles.

FYI, ONE track day will toast a set of P-zero's. I don't know what your dring style is-but you must be VERY gentle on the throttle- 450+ ft/lbs of torque will wear the tires WITHOUT doing burnouts. I only got 6K on the rears of my 1999 Porsche 996 C2-they were 265's and the car only had 300 hp.

Mr. Happy

Let me tell you a funny story. My car has 9,000km (5-6k miles). Two weeks ago, I was reading all the threads about tires and had the same reaction...WTF are you guys doing. But there were so many contributors with similar experience that I decided to go down to my garage and measure how much rubber I have left. Guess what? They're done! Less than 1/32". And more than half of the mileage comes from a road trip on highways at constant speed. Winter tire season is coming up here so I'll wait another couple of weeks to switch. I'll get my new performance tires for the Spring.

BTW, I'll need your help guys to choose my next performance tires (Michelin PS2, Toyo T1R, Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1, Potenza RE050A Pole Position or Goodyear F1 Assimetric). I'll start another thread later on.

patrick_y

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what tires are a good replacement to the C63AMG? Preferably one that has slightly longer tread-life and still considered to be high-performance.

Owners of the vehicles with the C63 AMG Performance Package, do you find your right rear tire to be wearing out more evenly than those without the performance package? We have a member here with an E63 AMG Performance Package who still finds his right rear is wearing faster than his left rear.

patrick_y

Thank you for pointing this out, I am surprised that even with the limited slip, that there would still be noticeable wear differences between the two rear tires.

Because I prefer a more even tire wear, I was considering ordering a vehicle with the Performance Package specifically to have the limited slip which I had assumed would provide me even treadwear. However, based upon your observation, I am reconsidering.

hhughes1

P Zero's are not unidirectional so if you notice more wear on the right then swap sides before they hit the markers. Regardless you will be lucky to get more than 6,000 miles on the pair.

desmo996

Maybe it's just an issue with these particular tires. I noticed they turned my garage floor black. It looks like I've been peeling out in there. How soft are these things?

Anybody ever have these same tires on another vehicle before? Did they wear out as quickly?

MB_Forever

You're welcomed..... Many people think that having an LSD will solve that problem, but unfortunately that is not always true. You would probably need a good 100% locking ratio differential, such as, Quaife or OS-G or RennTech's (I don't know which one they use).

With the AMG, Brabus, and Kleemann's LSDs, the 40% may help a little bit, but not by much. On my car specifically, the rear passenger tire experiences a LOT more wear....

It's not an issue of the tires, as I've tried 3 different brands so far and they all experienced a lot more wear on the rear passenger tire.

Arclight338

I mentioned in a previous post-I had them on a '99 Porsche 911-absolute gumball soft.150 LESS hp- and they still wore out. Great grip- I won't change,you can't have great grip and great tread wear.

They are so soft that after a spirited drive,coming home and parking on a cold garage floor-the next time I drive the car I can feel a slight vibration until the tires warm up. That is because they actually "flatspot"-this goes away after a few miles. My 911 did it worse because the tires were wider.Soft and gummy. You'll be disappointed going to a "harder" compound.

desmo996

Ya I thought this was the case. Thanks for confirming this with your other car experience.

Gummy is nice for the car's performance but not so hot for the savings account's performance

I guess I'll wait until they are worn out and then decide what to do. They aren't particularly expensive tires are they?