salam0506

Hi All,



New to the forum - just moved from the UK to Toronto, Canada and I needed to find somewhere to buy new summer tires for the C43 and somewhere to get the alignment done properly. Dealership have quoted by 1386+tax but I don't like the Continental run flats. Also wanted to find someone who can give me some more information on the alignment - how much it was out by and how they sorted it out etc. The dealership are a bit rubbish with that kind of stuff I find.



Any suggestions much appreciated.



Thanks!

Seenan

W205C43PFL

Welcome to Canada. The first thing you will miss coming here will be the rain as it is replaced by snow. So be prepared for it : ) The good news is you don't need snow tires yet as spring is already here.

I don't recommend the run-flats but if you prefer you could totally get it even then I wouldn't recommend getting it from the dealership, you can use your original wheels and get a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or if you want better tread wear, Michelin AS4. There are many good tire shops locally in the GTA but if you want to order online, PCMTires are recommended by many forum members here.

Are your wheels and tires 18s or 19s?

For alignment, many shops are capable in doing it, you could still just get it done at the dealership, within the GTA the price varies from $250-$300 +HST.

Here is a good thread about alignment: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-c63s-...nt-report.html

Was your C 43 imported to Canada or have you purchased the vehicle here, I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your vehicle!

You could also post your thread in the forums our cars belong to or you can ask a moderator to move it there: https://mbworld.org/forums/c450-c43-amg-216/
Unless you prefer your thread here.

monkiboy

I recommend SimplyTire

salam0506

Thanks for the welcome! The car is actually my father in laws but he is getting on a bit and barely drives it and since we just moved over I get to drive it everyday to work. The reason this whole issue came up is because when the dealership changed over the winter tires to the summer ones the continentals make a horrible warbling noise at 60km/h+. I spoke to the service manager and he says it is down to slightly misaligned wheels which has "feathered" the tires causing a slight undulation in the tread direction. The fronts are getting low (5mm left, 3mm right) anyways but the rears are both on 6mm. But after doing some reading it seems that the run flats are pretty noisey and generally rubbish.

Does anyone know if I change from run-flats to non run-flats if I need to change anything on the tire pressure monitoring system onboard or anything else that might need sorting?

I have checked online and cheapest I found at TireRack.com is $293.99 for the fronts and 299 for the rears but that is USD for the MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4S. Someone mentioned the AS+ tires? What is the difference between these two?

Regarding the alignment - the dealership quoted me $250 but I was hoping to find a good indy in Toronto who might be able to give me a more detailed readout of the alignment numbers etc. But I suppose everyone here from all over the US?

W205C43PFL

Another forum member replied just a post above your reply with a shop name, have you checked them out yet? They are located in Toronto. I also mentioned previously in my post about PMCTire, have you contacted them yet?

For the AS4 tires, they have better tread wear as mentioned, capable tires in even heavy rain but they just come short from PS4s because they are not purely designed for performance, if you want more performance and actual summer tires then PS4s it is.

To answer the question you specifically bolded, you could transplant the TPMS sensors over from your old tires to the new ones and you shouldn't have issues with the TPMS in your vehicle. If you prefer to keep the old tires you could get a set of new TPMS sensors that are at the right frequency and compatible with your vehicle.

Either way, I recommend checking your tire pressures frequently, TPMS is just an aid, manual checking is always a good idea. You can refer to the tire pressures on the door sill or what I personally prefer, the ones on the gas door. Make sure you measure when the tires are cold. If you decide to not get TPMS sensors, your vehicle will have a tire pressure light illuminated.

salam0506

Thanks for the information, I did check Simply Tire and PMCTire for prices but I might contact them directly to find out if they can transfer over the TPMS sensors too. I appreciate I should be checking the pressures manually, that is a good point. But as it is my father in laws car I didnt want there to be anything flashing on the dash that might worry him. Do you have a pressure checking tool that you attach to the valve stem or just use your compressor attachment? I might invest in a little gadget for it...everyone loves a good gadget hehe.

What wheels do you currently use on your C43?

W205C43PFL

Since you are not keeping the old tires, the best thing to do is to reuse the TPMS sensors on the new tires.

To answer your question, tires and wheels are subject to personal preference but I myself use superspeedwheels flowform paired with AS3+, I recommended AS4 because it is basically the successor to AS3+. Snow tires I use Bridgestone Blizzaks but that is something you won't need to worry for now.

I use the old school kind of gauge but I recently got a Husky DigiTire one and it seems to be fairly accurate, it doesn't work below 0 Celsius though. Depending on where (gas station) and how (if you want to use your own portable compressor or one you keep at your house) you fill up, you could also use the gauges that comes with the air compressor at gas stations (although some are very inaccurate so keep that in mind).

W205C43PFL

If you do go with superspeedwheels, be careful with the offset you are ordering and if you live in downtown where there are lots of potholes, you might want to shell out some more for forged but I am not 100% sure if there are the right specs in forged wheels for our cars. You might be able to make it work with spacers but I don't recommend that at all. I live in the GTA and rarely go to downtown so flow form works for me, still better than just regular cast.

If you had 19s it was more prone to harsher ride quality and wheels bending anyways so if you want the best ride quality non-RFTs and 18s.

If you are just simply getting rid of the tires, I say use the OEM wheels and simply get tires for them.

salam0506

Have you ever heard of this kind of this "feathering" effect on the tread causing this warbling noise by the way? Also to save money i was thinking of just doing the front 2 and the rears still have 6mm on them but not sure if they will still be quite noisey?

W205C43PFL

Hmmm no never felt something like that unless I am understanding it wrong though if so I am sorry about that please kindly explain it.

As for keeping the old front tires, you need to get tires that are the same exact model and brand unless you want to negatively affect the 4MATIC system, not saying it will definitely damage it but there is a risk because the system has to work harder to balance the tire differences. Reason why it is recommended to shave the tread of new tires down because the new tires with the extra tread will make the system work harder. On top of that, you will need to get run-flats again since that is what OEM comes with in Canada as you should not be running non-RFTs on the front and RFTs on the rear because you are risk damaging the system.

I thought you were unhappy about the ride quailty anyways? I say (I recommended) just getting a set of wheels and drop to 18s non-RFTs for better ride quality and less prone to damage from potholes, you can choose from the stock staggered setup or go square, by using the same front size for all four wheels, but up to you how you want to proceed (like if you rather keep the 19 wheels and get R19 tires).

Silverbird

Just throwing in here that I wouldn't replace just fronts if you are making a significant change, especially mixing runflats in the back and performance non runflats in the front.
I'm running Michelin AS3+'s on the stock 19" multispoke (as mentioned upthread, the AS4 is the next gen). I had them installed the week after I got mine and have been happy. Also running VikingContact 7's in the winter on 18" rep's

W205C43PFL

OP, your account is set to not accept private messages so I will have to reply here:

Sorry to hear about the issue with your brake pads, if it is still under the wear and tear period, can't remember how long it was but if you are within that period, they should cover it.

Thanks for your email, I am still on original brake pads but that is because it is mainly highway driving and were replaced due to being defective and I don't remember what mileage I had them replaced, I am sorry that my experience with the factory pads will not be an accurate representation of what to expect for these pads, hopefully someone else chimes in.

Hope you and your vehicle is doing well.

Did you manage to get the tires you wanted yet?

W205C43PFL

OP, I think I know why your account is not accepting PMs, I guess you just need to be more active here : )

Diabolis

Sorry but NO. Since the place changed hands a few years ago, it is a total disaster. Go to Braidan Tire / Braidan Motorsport instead. Forget the run-flats and get a set of MPS4S.

salam0506

Hey - thanks for the advice - I have asked about the warranty and also booked it in with them to get the pads changed but would prefer using someone else if possible.
I did get the tyres changed for Pilot Sport 4's and they are great - although the pressure on one has dropped twice since the change over - not sure if that is due to the way it was installed... hard to get it wrong but not sure if the merc rims are a bit delicate for that?
Do you have any recommendations for where to get parts if I was to just buy the pads and get someone else to do it?

W205C43PFL

If it is a specific tire then it might had been mounted incorrectly (or even bent although if you don't feel abnormal vibrations then it shouldn't be, is the vehicle pulling towards one side?) your tire shop should be able to help you out for free since you got the work done by them. I never heard of this issue, other than on C 63 where the right front tires temperatures are higher or pressure is higher because of how the cooling system is placed. Is the temperature also fluctuating on that specific tire?

As for pads, since MB's OEM ones are notorious for brake dust, I actually recommend quality aftermarkets, unless you don't mind the brake dust then you could get the parts from the dealership although will definitely be more expensive to get it there, plus dealership varies in prices so shop around if you want to get it from them.