Wheel and braking issue please help!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 179
Likes: 4
2009 CLK550 Coupe
Wheel and braking issue please help!
2005 clk320
122k
two weird things happened today and I’m wondering if somehow they could be related with one another.
1. Being a tad bit ocd with this car I happened to notice that the five spoke rims were not in the same alignment. The spokes were not matching (one being turned slightly more then the one next to it). I thought the simple solution would be to raise the car and simply turn the rim to match the rear. Well after doing both sides I lowered the car and they were aligned. I drove off and just a few feet in I heard a loud pop! Car still drove ok. Hope that wasn’t anything serious! Went to the gas station and got out only to notice the rims were not aligned anymore! What the heck? Can someone explain how that would happen?
2. I drove the car through a work zone with metal plates and gravel and had to slow down and the front wheels seemed to clunk and lock into place causing car to skid slightly until releasing the brakes. The tires have more than enough tread on them. I realize it was loose gravel but does that seem normal to you?
Could these two issues be somehow related?
I appreciate the help! Thank you 🙏
122k
two weird things happened today and I’m wondering if somehow they could be related with one another.
1. Being a tad bit ocd with this car I happened to notice that the five spoke rims were not in the same alignment. The spokes were not matching (one being turned slightly more then the one next to it). I thought the simple solution would be to raise the car and simply turn the rim to match the rear. Well after doing both sides I lowered the car and they were aligned. I drove off and just a few feet in I heard a loud pop! Car still drove ok. Hope that wasn’t anything serious! Went to the gas station and got out only to notice the rims were not aligned anymore! What the heck? Can someone explain how that would happen?
2. I drove the car through a work zone with metal plates and gravel and had to slow down and the front wheels seemed to clunk and lock into place causing car to skid slightly until releasing the brakes. The tires have more than enough tread on them. I realize it was loose gravel but does that seem normal to you?
Could these two issues be somehow related?
I appreciate the help! Thank you 🙏
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,227
Likes: 61
From: Atlanta Metro
2008 clk550 - Navigator - Frontier
I am not at all sure that you have any issues.... excluding the "clunk".....
Your wheels don't always turn at the same RPM. When you turn the car, the inside wheels (closest to the center of arc of the turn) rotate less than the outside wheels. Hence the spokes will not stay aligned side to side. When you accelerate there is some "slippage" of the rear/drive tires, even if you are not doing a burnout. So, the spokes of the wheels, front to back, will not stay aligned. This slippage is also why the tires on the drive wheels wear faster.
Regarding stopping on gravel; the gravel moves as you brake, so there is less resistance for the tires to provide grip/friction (sourced from the pads pinching the rotors) to the surface of the road/gravel. The car skids because the wheels are locked and just gliding through the gravel; the ABS does not detect a skid, as the torque on each wheel is the same. Stopping on loose gravel is a bit like stopping on a sheet of ice.
Just test the brakes on a regular road surface. If there is "clunking" and/or skidding there, then you may have a problem....
Lastly, why do you want the wheel spokes to stay aligned? You know at speed observers would not be able to blink fast enough to even count the spokes; or tell if they are in sync....
Your wheels don't always turn at the same RPM. When you turn the car, the inside wheels (closest to the center of arc of the turn) rotate less than the outside wheels. Hence the spokes will not stay aligned side to side. When you accelerate there is some "slippage" of the rear/drive tires, even if you are not doing a burnout. So, the spokes of the wheels, front to back, will not stay aligned. This slippage is also why the tires on the drive wheels wear faster.
Regarding stopping on gravel; the gravel moves as you brake, so there is less resistance for the tires to provide grip/friction (sourced from the pads pinching the rotors) to the surface of the road/gravel. The car skids because the wheels are locked and just gliding through the gravel; the ABS does not detect a skid, as the torque on each wheel is the same. Stopping on loose gravel is a bit like stopping on a sheet of ice.
Just test the brakes on a regular road surface. If there is "clunking" and/or skidding there, then you may have a problem....
Lastly, why do you want the wheel spokes to stay aligned? You know at speed observers would not be able to blink fast enough to even count the spokes; or tell if they are in sync....
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 179
Likes: 4
2009 CLK550 Coupe
I am not at all sure that you have any issues.... excluding the "clunk".....
Your wheels don't always turn at the same RPM. When you turn the car, the inside wheels (closest to the center of arc of the turn) rotate less than the outside wheels. Hence the spokes will not stay aligned side to side. When you accelerate there is some "slippage" of the rear/drive tires, even if you are not doing a burnout. So, the spokes of the wheels, front to back, will not stay aligned. This slippage is also why the tires on the drive wheels wear faster.
Regarding stopping on gravel; the gravel moves as you brake, so there is less resistance for the tires to provide grip/friction (sourced from the pads pinching the rotors) to the surface of the road/gravel. The car skids because the wheels are locked and just gliding through the gravel; the ABS does not detect a skid, as the torque on each wheel is the same. Stopping on loose gravel is a bit like stopping on a sheet of ice.
Just test the brakes on a regular road surface. If there is "clunking" and/or skidding there, then you may have a problem....
Lastly, why do you want the wheel spokes to stay aligned? You know at speed observers would not be able to blink fast enough to even count the spokes; or tell if they are in sync....
Your wheels don't always turn at the same RPM. When you turn the car, the inside wheels (closest to the center of arc of the turn) rotate less than the outside wheels. Hence the spokes will not stay aligned side to side. When you accelerate there is some "slippage" of the rear/drive tires, even if you are not doing a burnout. So, the spokes of the wheels, front to back, will not stay aligned. This slippage is also why the tires on the drive wheels wear faster.
Regarding stopping on gravel; the gravel moves as you brake, so there is less resistance for the tires to provide grip/friction (sourced from the pads pinching the rotors) to the surface of the road/gravel. The car skids because the wheels are locked and just gliding through the gravel; the ABS does not detect a skid, as the torque on each wheel is the same. Stopping on loose gravel is a bit like stopping on a sheet of ice.
Just test the brakes on a regular road surface. If there is "clunking" and/or skidding there, then you may have a problem....
Lastly, why do you want the wheel spokes to stay aligned? You know at speed observers would not be able to blink fast enough to even count the spokes; or tell if they are in sync....
I appreciate the reply. I thought it was just strange that they were not aligned. Just think It looks funny when the car is still but also thought perhaps there may be an underlying problem to it. I’ve looked up other clks and they too are not in sync (however some are). I guess not a big deal. I will take the car in to have the brakes checked as well. Again I appreciate the fast response!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,109
Likes: 112
2008 CLK550 Cab
Have you not owned other cars and never noticed that the wheels are not lined up? When you say some CLKs are, that would be a total coincidence at that one moment in time. On cars like the CLK the "alignment" would probably change more quickly than on other cars just because the front and rear tires are not exactly the same size. Both turning and tire diameter will change the relationship between wheels very quickly.
