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20" Pirelli Run Flats - info

Old Sep 10, 2019 | 12:45 AM
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2024 GLE63s
20" Pirelli Run Flats - info

Info for those interested....

Like so many - at about 5k miles my tire pressure warning light(s) came on. Kind of settled with it for about 2k miles and finally took the car into the dealer because I got tired (pun intended) of adding air every 10 days or so.

Diagnosis: front left wheel and tire "bad" and right rear tire is "bad". Dealer estimate was ~$2,600. Im super skeptical...list price for the 20" AMG wheel was $1550 - my local guy gave it to me for $1000. I ordered the one Pirelli front tire from tirerack.com and made sure it was the "OE" tire - - and the picture matched the existing tire (there are a couple of different Pirelli P7 MOE tires listed) It was about $350.

The factory Pirellis have a foam inner layer that I thought would be a rigid, almost spray foam polyurethane type of layer. Nope. Its some cheapo half inch foam squares glued to the inside of the tire. The replacement "OE" does not have it despite being an exact replacement- pics below.

I took the car to my local tire guy who installed the new tire on the new wheel and roadforce balance it. I had him pull the rear tire to check for leaks and sure enough he found a nail/screw in the tire. He pulled it out and plugged it in 2 minutes.

The wheel/tire situation on these cars are ridiculous. Overpriced and easy to destroy. Im glad I was skeptical. Im getting Michelins next time.

Here's some pics for those interested. Hope it helps someone, "like" if it does...





Thats some brakes!


New tire - no foam....

Foam filled tire....
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 04:45 AM
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Thank you for the write up and the pictures. I was unaware of the presence of this foam. It looks like it is just for noise cancellation:

https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/...ncs-technology
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 07:01 AM
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2019 E 450, 2016 E350 4matic (retired), 2018 Ford Edge Sport, 2008 Porsche Boxster
I have a question:

I have Pirelli RF on my 2019 E450 with about 5,000 miles. So far no problems and tire wear is excellent. I drive on Long Island, which others have reported as "land of potholes" and so far no problems. I have the standard 18 inch (Luxury Style) wheels.

I am wondering how many with standard wheels, 18 inch, vs. AMG 20 inch have had similar problems?
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 07:41 AM
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I have 18" wheels with P7 245/45 tires. I have had zero problems with the tires. I've had so many issues with Michelin tires (mostly < 10k mileage). Michelin replaced 8 tires under it mileage warranty but the inconvenience issue was such that I will never purchase Michelin tires again.
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 08:16 AM
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is there an indication of damages on the pics anywhere?
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 10:37 AM
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Originally Posted by jhpmbusa
is there an indication of damages on the pics anywhere?
Good question.
I scoured the (front) tire and found a nail (same as the rear) and no obvious damage/distress - see pic. My guess is my NVH came from the rim being bent and I could have also plugged the front tire, but I had already purchased the tire.

I had to put a $150 deposit on the wheel; refundable when I bring the old wheel back to the dealer in the factory box. Methinks maybe I should keep it and see if could be straightened? This way I have a spare .... Most likely the front wheel would be the first to bend.


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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 10:47 AM
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W213 '17 E43 ///AMG - W211, W208 no more
Off topic, but nice personalized plate...
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Old Sep 10, 2019 | 10:58 PM
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Very interesting now that the pics have been added. Originally before the pics, I thought the foam in the inside would resemble a second tire or so... but looks like they are nothing but pieces of foam...

Wondering how the runflat/moe technology really works then - is there something more to the tire than what we see in the pics? Are they really nothing but really tough compound tires that hold onto its shape even with no air?

In the other post, we thought the inner foam could get bent, which would then cause the vibrations and screw with the balancing. But from these pics, doesn't look like the foam can cause such disruption.
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Old Sep 11, 2019 | 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by jhpmbusa
In the other post, we thought the inner foam could get bent, which would then cause the vibrations and screw with the balancing. But from these pics, doesn't look like the foam can cause such disruption.
My thoughts exactly.
There is a lot of "Emperor has no clothes" in these tires...

.
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Old Sep 11, 2019 | 11:30 AM
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I also have a E43 with same set up as yours with Pirelli. I found this tire is super noisy, despite the fact that tire itself has the foam inside for some "noise cancellation".
Most likely, I will change to Michelin Pilot Super Sport 4S, just waiting for a sale going on haha. I had them in my previous E300 and ride was so good, and suprisingly quiet.
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Old Sep 11, 2019 | 05:21 PM
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Around here, it's about $115 to bend a wheel back. I've had a few bent back. Had one that was cracked and it wasn't worth getting it welded and bent back. If you have the part number on the back of the wheel, try checking ebay for used rims and sometimes they sell refurb oem or replica rims. With such a new car, sometimes you're stuck with a dealer, but there's a few online MB dealers that will discount up to 30% off MB list prices. Usually I end up finding those sites just by googling the part number. I think Pirelli has a 1 year warranty on run flat tires, not sure if it applies to news cars though.

https://dsonqtq9c1uhr.cloudfront.net...5505011188.pdf
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Old Sep 12, 2023 | 04:32 PM
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Last edited by hard_six; Sep 12, 2023 at 04:33 PM. Reason: deleted
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