gobiman

Yup - good spot!

ble2716

Bips,

if you go to tire rack web site and searching for the wheels for your GLC. You'll see a lot of wheels have an offset of 35mm, some even have 32mm offset.

bips

A very BIG thank you ble2716 for pointing me in that direction!!!! That's the first tire/tyre site that I've seen that actually listed wheels for the GLC. (Part of my problem may have been that I kept putting in 2015 when looking, because mine was one of the first. The Tire Rack for example only lists the GLC from 2016.) And as you say, 35 seems to be the most common offset. You've saved me from another awkward phone call with the tyre shop. What a lot of choice people in the US have - I only had two.

I had a closer look and there isn't a huge amount of clearance on the front brakes. It's ok, and I think the OEM wheel was similar. But you probably wouldn't want 3mm less clearance, which is what I think you'd get with an offset of 3mm more, if my newly found understanding of offset calculations is correct. So I now suspect that's why I ended up with the ET35 rather than ET38.

That's the first I'd heard of one of these kits, so a big thank you to you too, Teckno. I take it that if you use one of these kits on a tyre, it can still be properly plugged later?

If you use the goo kit, how long can you drive on the tyre? For example, if you pick up a nail and use the goo kit, the nail is still in there.

I have another question. I only bought four of these tyres with the 235/55 R19 tyres. I was planning to still use my complete fifth wheel 255/45 R20 runflat spare as the spare. The diameter is virtually the same. I can't see that the run-flat indicator would complain as there shouldn't be any noticeable different in wheel rotation speeds from a 0.4% difference in diameter. (There wasn't when I mixed my unused spare with three well-used tyres after the tyre damage that started all this.) It would have to be way better than the emergency spare. But how long could I drive like this, with one 20" runflat and three 19" non-runflat? I'd need to be a bit careful, as the handling will be affected. Perhaps I need a new thread for this question to attract answers.

Thanks again to all.

Teckno

Well done bips.
What did you do with your OEM rims & tyres ? trade in or keep ?


I did drop into Melb MB dealer who said another visitor on Thur came asking for data on space saver for GLC. They have one in stock.
A2534000300 is mini spare 4.5x19h2 T155.80r19, 114m. Priced at $822.27 plus 10% GST. Spare parts said it was not a steel wheel, but an alloy one, so use same wheel bolts; this begs the question, if I got a 2nd hand space saver from ML series, it may be steel and I might have to source steel bolts !


I would be grateful for feedback on right hand turns in wet on round-a-bouts and overall comfort with normal tyres compared to your runflats , given same brand, but different construction.

bips

Kept them. I'll put them back on when selling. AMG rims were over $AUD1300 each when I was buying my fifth wheel (and was why I didn't buy one!), and I'd expect that selling with the AMG wheels would bring the best price for the car. Although I guess that's an interesting question - do you get the best price for the wheels by selling them separately, or on the car? Anyway, the set of these new black wheels cost less than one AMG wheel, so it's not like I have a lot of money sunk in them, and would just sell them off at the time. I do have to work out how best to store the unused wheels - I assume flat is better than vertical. Tempe very kindly wrapped them in plastic.

That's a lot less than the $AUD2K that I was quoted back in Jan 2016. What is going on? Also, re tyre and wheel data, I discovered that it's all listed in the printed manual on pp347-53.

Sure. The main impression from a trip down the Hume yesterday was "have they balanced these wheels properly?" I now suspect that part of it was the condition of the Hume, combined with tyre over-inflation. I suspect that they had some trouble with the runflat indicator being triggered during the test drive, because that's where the display was when I drove away, so perhaps they just cheated and just pumped them all up.

From the small amount of off-highway driving that I did late yesterday I think they'll be good. The usual bumps near home were much less noticeable, and the handling in the corners that I speed around more sure-footed. But that's on a very small sample of data.

I have been reading these crabbing threads with interest. I think I've only had it very rarely, so I haven't raised it with my dealer, and just try to avoid full lock if possible. I plan a longer trip next weekend and will report.

Teckno

Thanks for the update. Appreciate your feedback.
We still get crabbing on my GLC and wife's Coupe. I still notice some feathering on Left Passenger front tyre. My external TPMS tends to show a 2-3psi increase from the other 3 tyres. I have resorted to tyre rotation every 10K and alignment ($249) at the dealer. Noted last time data telemetry had changed on MB settings from previous one, dealer could not explain, my guess MB trying to fix juddering ???
Coupe has been good so far, 20", but normal Michelin tyres. This week it suffered firt juddering on a cold wet Melb morning on round-a-bout and some turns. Overall wife still happy. I think I have 10K to make my mind up before replacing GLC Wagon tyres.
By the way I too got a $1900 quote lasr Mar 16 for the spare kit, jack is now $167.54 plus GST and wheek securing bag with tie downs is $313.18 plus GST, so total, incl GST quoted at $1433. Dealer wanted $630 for Pirelli runflat, not sure if price incl GST, guess it would, but never know.


Have you enquired about fixed price servicing for 5 years from dealer, either Silver or Plat package ? If so who much was your quote.
Your car looks same as mine, minus tow bar, and now w different rims !
Thanks again

bips

No. I only just saw your other thread. I'll add it to my list of questions for my dealer, along with crabbing. I thought that we now had fixed price servicing for three years from new, so isn't this something that you'd buy after that? I suppose if it's cheaper than the fixed price servicing in the first three years then perhaps you could buy it now.

bips

Here is a short report based on a 550km run I did today to the far south coast and back. I can confirm my previous report, which was only based on limited data.

. The ride over sharp bumps is much improved. The AMG 43 with air that I test drove was probably better, but this is not too bad.

. A bumpy road is still a bumpy road. These tyres don't make it a hovercraft and it's still a German car with aspirations to be sporty and with firm handling. The same was true of the AMG 43 with air. Perhaps the ride would be softer with the supposedly less-firm non-AMG air - but my dealer said that some people don't like it because it's too "floaty".

. The thing that surprised me the most was the improved handling and steering. I'm not a grand prix driver, and I don't like to drive in a dangerous manner, but it's nice to be able to drive in a little more sporty manner and push the car a little. I could do this within reason with my previous car (Honda Accord Euro, or Acura TSX in North America). Ever since I've had the GLC I've struggled to do the same. I've always found it dificult, and kept trying to convince myself that I just needed to adjust to a different style of car. However it wasn't just an inability to push a little - the precision of the steering and the handling weren't all that convincing in less that perfect conditions.

But now at last, I can drive it, and not just steer it. This has been the major advantage of the change to higher profile non-runflats, although the improvement in ride quality was also very welcome.

For those familiar with the roads, I did a bit of a charge down and (in the dark) up Brown Mountain in the NSW far south coast region, and I am still grinning from ear to ear. The fact that I was on my own and not constrained by the passenger helped.

In another thread, where a prospective GLC owner asked for advice, a number of people said that they were very happy with their runflats. Far be it from me to tell someone who is happy with their car that they shouldn't be. If it ain't broke then don't fix it. But if you're not entirely happy, then reread the above.

augerpro

Is that right? I know there was a thread recently discussing this, but maybe the poster was referring to the GLC43, I don't remember. I'm looking for the best controlled ride, not stiff, but not wallowing around either. Overall the air seemed the way to go for that (on the GLC300).

bips

I'm only repeating what I was told: (i) AMG air and non-AMG air are different, or configured differently; (ii) the reported reactions to non-AMG air from some people. Both types of air have a range of settings, and it wasn't clear whether changing the setting might change the impression. I suspect that this is one area where you definitely have to form your own judgement, as the ideal balance between comfort and handling will vary markedly from person to person.

The local dealer has a demonstrator that is virtually the same as my GLC, but minus the AMG Line pack and with air. I've been meaning to take it for a drive to form my own view.

augerpro

If you do let us know the results. Our dealers here never have an air suspension GLC300 on the lot.

bips

I took the car with air for a 1¼hr test drive today. The car was identical in all respects to my 250d with the same options, plus air. Of course this demonstrator had the 20" AMG wheels with runflats, whereas I now have 19" wheels with non-runflats.

In short, I think I'll keep what I've got.

I agree that the air (non-AMG 43 version) is floaty, at least in comfort mode. You can tame this down a bit by putting the suspension in sport+ mode, in which case it's reasonably close to my new wheels. The air may be a bit softer but my car with new wheels feels like it is slightly more under control.

The benefits of the non-AMG 43 air are mixed. It's true that sharp bumps have less of an impact, but on a generally bumpy road the floating around doesn't make for a more relaxed drive. I hope I'm not exaggerating this, as it wasn't exactly wallowing, but it is noticeable.

I think that if someone wanted a softer ride than my current car and wheels, they'd probably be better off moving to 18" wheels and running the even higher profile tyres at 32psi (I am currently at 34psi) rather than switching to a car with air.

I still found the steering and handling on the 20" rrunflats worse than my new wheels and tyres, and was glad to switch back.

No crabbing so far on the 19" non-runflats.

augerpro

Thanks for the feedback! I know it's hard to recall in the distant past, but how would you compare the air ride to when yours had the original runflats?

bips

It's not that distant, perhaps only a couple of weeks, although one does adapt rather quickly.

My statement "The benefits of the non-AMG 43 air are mixed. It's true that sharp bumps have less of an impact, but on a generally bumpy road the floating around doesn't make for a more relaxed drive. I hope I'm not exaggerating this, as it wasn't exactly wallowing, but it is noticeable" probably applies to a comparison of the air + runflats to non-air with both my old and new wheels / tyres. It's definitely a softer ride that my old run-flats, and given a choice I'd probably choose the run-flats with air over the run-flats without air, although I'd leave it in sport+ mode for the suspension, which I think means running in individual mode if you don't want full sport+ mode.

My statement was probably made more in comparison with my new wheels. The improved ride quality with air is less noticeable in comparison to the new wheels and the floatiness less acceptable to the sense of control I get with non-run-flats.

As I said, if you want a softer ride than I currently have, while air would give it, at a cost of handling, my hunch is that 18" non-runflats would deliver a better compromise.

A word of caution. I've done my best to give my honest impressions, but a test drive is no substitute for having the car for an extended period. Also, some of these trade-offs are very much personal preference, so anyone considering doing something rash should do their own testing.

augerpro

I'm pretty sensitive to just how crappy some runflats can be, that's why I was curious about the comparison prior to you moving to better tires. My own plan, whether I go with air or not, would be to immediately install some Michelin Premier LTX (non-rft). So I'm trying to determine what the difference would be in suspension under that scenario. I want compliant but controlled. I've heard comments that the more noticeable advantage of air was in the corners on the highway where the air would lower the body roll. But again that may have been pertaining to the GLC43, I don't remember now.

bips

Compliant but controlled is a fair description of my current setup. Shorter and more to the point than my rambling. I wasn't able to take either demonstrator on really twisty roads, but I find it hard to believe that the standard air would improve matters in the corners. The AMG 43 air might, but that test drive is now rather distant. And the local AMG 43 comes not only with AMG air but also 21" non-runflats, so that's quite a different beast in a number of respects.

One interesting question is - how would standard air perform with non-runflats? Would a more compliant tyre make the air less floaty if the tyre was doing more of the shock absorption?

augerpro

Does the standard coil suspension have adjustable dampening with the Comfort/Sport switch?

bips

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class...ml#post7118226

I get the impression that in some countries it does, but not here.

The fact that the same car comes in quite different specifications and with different options to select from in different countries is a source of much confusion here on mbworld. It's possible that if the US model does have adjustable dampers that this would change some of my conclusions. I wish we had it here.

augerpro

Yeah I get so much conflicting info on the air suspension. I really like having adjustable dampening on my car now, and with Individual mode I suppose I could set it up with Sport suspension if I go with the air. Then it's just a click away, unless you have to cycle through all the modes before you get Ind? That would annoy me if I wanted to do it every time I got in the car.

shadownddust

This is in fact the case. It starts out in Comfort mode, one click down is Eco, one click up is Sport, one more is Sport+, and then finally Individual. I would have had Individual two clicks down, instead of 3 clicks up...but alas, that was not the decision. Flipping the toggle a few times isn't too bad, but I end up leaving it in comfort or dropping it Eco when cruising on the highway.

I also would have just had the car start in the same mode it was turned off in, but that's a whole different discussion.

bips

Re individual mode, in the GLC available in this country, mode selection is one of those things that sticks for four hours, and then resets to 'Comfort'. So you have to reset it at least once a day, and thereafter after a four hour break. Agree on all other points.

@augerpro: If you already have adjustable dampers then I'd have thought that combined with non-runflats that may well be enough. But as you say, opinion varies a lot. Tough to make your own decision if you can't test drive air.

augerpro

bips> I was referring to my current car BMW M235xi. Looking to move to an SUV and trying to nail down the "perfect fit"

bips

This is now a distant thread, but I thought I'd post a follow-up report. Yesterday I was driving on some of our poor quality (sealed, allegedly) minor roads. Between Batlow & Tumbarumba and the Hume Highway for those that know the area. Narrow, windy, bumpy, off-camber and with potholes. These were the sort of roads that lead to my initial dissatisfaction with the ride quality or the GLC, and a desire to switch to non-RFT. The new non-RFT don't turn a bad road into a good road, but there was none of of the crashing into potholes that I had when last on these roads. It was still difficult driving, but at last I felt I had a luxury car that I was driving over these roads, and not simply steering and hoping and occasionally crashing.

That said, I've also been driving around Adelaide recently, and it's amazing how bad some of their roads have become. The non-RFT were less help on holes that have a smooth edge, like man-hole covers that have become increasingly lowered due to road resealing. But these probably wouldn't have caused a hard crash with RFT. There are some roads that are just not nice to drive on no matter what, although I suspect that they'd be worse with RFT.