JTK44

Not to "beat a dead horse":

If you are travelling and not near a Mercedes dealer or a weekend and have puncture (not a blow out) with non run flat you pull over and since you do not have spare wait for a tow truck. . If you have RF you can do that or try to drive to a service station, knowing then you will have to replace the tire.

So that is a plus for RF - but not a huge plus because when you drive on the RF, you destroy it and if there is not a replacement in stock you have to wait for one which could be days!

The disadvantage is that the RF are a harsher ride and handling is better than with the non run flats and they are quieter and give better mileage (last longer)

As Rod posted above this to me is not worth an extra $1000 - but may be others.


In a nut shell, the real problem is the lack of a spare or doughnut. I often wonder what MORON decided to eliminate the spare. (I guess BMW got so much blow back about their RF without a spare, that a spare tire is now option! Wish Mercedes had the same!)

As I posted above the "Fix-it-flat" foam is not really an option as it destroys both the tire and TPS. Use it and you must replace the RF and TPS, cost over $400!

What I have decided to do, is buy a portable 12 volt tire charger and keep it in my trunk. Other than a total tire blowout, this should enable me to keep enough pressure in my RF so they are not riding on the sidewall and destroy the tire and limp into town where a local gas station can remove the tire, patch it, balance and put the tire back on the wheel and I will be on my way. (I already have a large 120 volt air compressor with tank at home to keep my tires properly inflated)

Cao Black

MB shows a part # for a compact spare that fits W213 (according to them).
Compact Spare - Mercedes-Benz (213-400-06-00)
Don't know anything more about it. Perhaps someone has had experience with this.

JTK44

Here is the link to the spare:

https://www.mbpartscenter.com/oem-pa...are-2134000600

Cost is $346 plus tax.

Problem is that it will just be floating around, killing space in your trunk!

Not a great solution for my $72,000 plus 2019 E 450!

BTW, has anyone else seen Green Book and at the end they are driving home and get a flat on Christmas Eve in the snow? They pull over and change the tire and continue on their way and arrive in time! Talk about the Good old days - when simple solutions made sense!

nycebo

Green Book was a spectacular movie!

I agree on a free-floating spare. Ugh. In truth, I'm content to risk a flat with my non-rf tires because I love that little storage bin underneath. I have a lot of stuff 'stuffed' in there now.

e400c

Right, the problem is that the large majority of service stations do not have the necessary bead roller to remove your flat run-flat tire so ithat t can be replaced, so you are stuck with your car and a 50-100 mile range you can drive gingerly on that flat RF tire. Most times, your only option will be to call Mercedes and have them tow your car to a dealer where the tire will be replaced, hopefully under warranty, if you purchased it.

As for fix-a-flat, the can says that you have 72 hours to clean it up before it hardens. When I replaced my flat RF tire with non-RF, the TPMS was not mentioned on the invoice, so the dealer may have been able to clean it up. In any case, the TPMS is working fine in all 4 wheels.

I rode on the sidewall of my 0 psi run-flat tire for 70 miles and the rim was completely undamaged. It's irrelevant whether you destroy the tire's side wall or not (as long as you do not damage the rim) as an RF tire cannot be repaired, it can only be replaced.

jhpmbusa

yep, long story short i rather have a non rft and have a service guy come and replace my tire when im stuck!!!

Plus its like 100 less per tire and easier to get replaced !! Hope MB reads these posts haha

2012 merc amg

Just bringing back this old thread to say yes I do think it makes a difference on the brand of Run Flat Tires. My Wagon has goodyear sport run flats and does not ride so good over cracks and bumps and it does have the luxury package too which is suppose to ride better. My 2019 Cabriolet has the Michelin Primacy run flats and that car rides nearly as good as a S class and yet also has the AMG line suspension. It's either that or the rear air suspension on my Wagon is making that car ride harsher. But when I drive both cars I find it amazing the difference in ride. It makes me want to think about replacing the run flats on the wagon with non run flats. I won't touch the tires on the Cabriolet because as I said, that car rides and drives smooth as silk.

nycebo

I'll eagerly await your feedback after you've hit mileage and need to replace the tires.

2012 merc amg

I might even do it sooner than later. I’ll be approaching 10k miles on the wagon by the time I head back up north for the summer so I’ll probably get the car in for the 10k service before I leave Florida and may have the dealer replace the Goodyear run flats then with Michelin’s non run flat tires. At least I will have got 10k miles out of the stock tires and I just know these stock tires are gonna really bother me on the bumpy New England roads.

JTK44

Just my $.02

On all my MB the tires have been good for minimum of 40,000 miles.

Are you really going to take tires with 75% of their tread life left, replace them at a cost of over $1,000 (mounting and balancing) just to get a little (hopefully) smoother ride?

I can fully understand switching tires to put on winter tires for New England.

But switching otherwise perfectly good tires, for a marginally smoother ride?

And what if after switching tires, the ride is not noticeably smoother? How will you then feel?

Here is a suggestion: Lower the tire pressure a few pounds and see if that doesn't make things better. Yes your gas mileage will go down a bit and yes there will be more wear on the tires, but that will be substantially less than the cost of replacing all four tires!

threeMBs

Keep in mind the spare issue.

ua549

The best I've gotten on Michelin, Continental or Pirelli tires is 20k miles (4 years) of 100% town driving. I get less tire mileage on my highway car. I think it is the tire temperature that makes the difference.

JTK44

Really?

When I turned in my 2016 MB at lease end, 28,500 miles, it had 7/32 tread on the front, 8/32 tread on the rear: New tread was 10/32. I would have gotten 50,000 miles easily out of the tires. They were Michelins

I do keep my tires inflated at 35 psi cold - 10% higher than recommended.

I have a good air compressor and monitor the tire pressure to make sure 35 psi is maintained.

How often did you check your tire pressure? 20K seems very, very low to me especially with Michelin.

The_Judge

FWIW, I've found that the Michelin run-flats that came with my 2018 E400C give a softer (i.e., smoother, less jarring) ride when the air pressure is at or a pound or two ABOVE what's recommended on the gas tank flap than they do when the pressure is below that level. My unproven, off-the-wall theory (i.e., guess) is that has something to do with the way run-flats are constructed — as I understand it, they have very stiff sidewalls which allows the tires to be used with no air pressure. Consequently, under-inflated run-flats tend to ride more on the sidewalks, giving a harsher ride. Maybe.

JTK44

Maybe you are correct!

As I always keep my pressure at 35 psi, 3 lbs higher than recommended, my ride has been, at least to me, just fine.

My present car has Pirelli's and I also keep pressure 10%, 3 lbs psi, above recommendation and I find the ride better than in my 2016 E350!

I have no complaints with the ride!

martinlarose

if you have a lease I would make sure you keep them because if you are going to return the car at lease end and not purchase it the car must be returned with run flats...obviously if you own the vehicle then there would be no issue...

ua549

I check tire pressure daily and keep it at the recommended pressure that varies from 32/32 (light load) to 33/39 (heavy load) depending on what I'm doing on a particular day. I just checked tread depth on the oem Pirelli tires. At 7,200 miles since new the tread is 7/32 all around. I replace tires at 4/32 tread so I expect to get no more than 15k miles on this set of tires. My last set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my BMW got about 6k miles. Michelin replaced them at no cost to me for the second time. I'm an old codger who does not work my tires very hard. I like smooth steady driving. I think the heat gets to them. My BMW is a highway car and it often runs at 70-75 mph for 12 to 14 hours with only a 10 minute fuel stop (Clearwater to Houston).

2012 merc amg

Interesting, I run 36 all around cold, maybe I'll try boosting it up to 40 psi and see how they feel. I'd say about 10K miles is halfway worn. I really think the temp does have something to do with it. The roads here in Fla are very hot, well over 100 degrees with the sun hitting them. Up north especially in the winter the roads are cool and probably a lot less wear going on. I dunno, I'm still thinking about what I'm gonna do at the 10K service. I do kind of hate to throw out tires that are probably not quite halfway worn. Also if I did get a flat on my drive back up north late at night or something and I coulda driven a run flat to the hotel I'd be kicking myself with regular tires stuck on the side of the road. Tempting to put the Michelin Primacy Run Flats like I have on my Cabriolet on the Wagon because if the wagon rode as well as the Cabriolet I'd be thrilled. I really think it's a couple things with the Cabriolet. For one thing the wagon has air suspension in the back of the car probably making the ride more harsh. Also the Cabriolet has the softer leather multi contour seats making that car more comfortable than the MB standard seats in the Wagon.

JTK44

Must be the heat, although here on Long Island in the summer temps on the road are often above 100/110 degrees.

At least 70% of my mileage is long driving either to Vermont at 75 mph or Long Island, Tri State area also between 70/75 mph.

Like you my days of driving fast and hard are way "in the rear view mirror" (I do have the Luxury model not the Sport or AMG!)

Anyone else come up this poor tire mileage?

For example prior to my two Mercedes I had two 535i Xdrive BMW also on lease and when returned, also between 28,000 and 29,000 still plenty of tread on tire. The tires were Continental and Michelin.

2012 merc amg

On both my AMG wagons I'd regularly get only 10 to 14K out of a set of tires, but those were performance cars. I'd think I could get maybe 30K out of regular tires on the E450, maybe a little less. The more I think about it though I really think the stiffer ride in the wagon is the air suspension in the rear, I really don't like air suspension. The 2018 Amg wagon i use to have had Air suspension on all four corners and that car rode atrocious. The 2012 Amg wagon I had was just air suspension on the rear and it rode better than the 2018. I'm in bliss every time I get in my E450 cabriolet, I really feel like I'm in a S class.

woppenhe

I have had 7 flats in 35,000 miles with my 2016 S550. It is not a reliable car with these tires. The last one required leaving the car for three days 70 miles away and then returning to claim it. In spite of the expensive warranty, the service was really not very good. The dealer was not the one who sold the car, and the service writer made it clear that it was a low pay hassle for them. It was definitely not a priority issue to them, despite the inconvenience to me. I eventually called the warranty company myself and got the authorization. Do not buy or lease this vehicle until they get rid of the run flats.

dreuther

About Run Flats and tire pressure, got this response from Michelin: Our ZP or run flat tires tend to have a thicker lamination than normal tires which allows an easier way of travel for vibration. Which unfortunately, slightly affects comfort and smoothness. The only recommendation we have to compensate for the structure of ZP tires would be to lower the PSI by 5 from the OE recommended pressure. This would allow for a little more flex on the sidewall of the tires which will slow the travel of vibration through your tires.

JTK44

Just my $.02:

I have the Pirelli Centurato P7 RF and my ride is silky smooth. I also have the Luxury Styling and standard 18 inch wheels. I run my tire pressure at 36 lbs, 10% over the recommended pressure.

With 10% more tire pressure I get better fuel mileage without sacrificing ride comfort or handling - in fact handling might be slightly better..

If you lower the tire pressure 5 lbs, besides a smoother ride you will achieve:

• Poorer fuel mileage
• Reduced tread ware
• Poorer handling

Seems, at least to me, a very poor trade off. I would just live with the situation.

BTW, are you driving in comfort mode? I found this makes a big difference in the ride.

jhpmbusa

I think 28psi will make the car drive like it has 4 flat tires lol.

2012 merc amg

I guess this explains why I've battled with constant on and off vibrations at highway speeds, sometimes it's ok other times noticeable, strange. Seems like on long trips when the tires heat up it gets worse. I guess at this point next time I need tires I'll probably ditch the run flats.