nycstev

Just picked up this S and dealer wants to sell WT insurance. It has the Continental ContiProContact GX Run-Flat Design SSR tires and was wondering what experience anyone has had with this tire regarding flat tires. are they flat prone,Can flats be fixed, how long do they last?
Also are there any S63 style wheels out there?

thanks !!

pvrick

I took the Pirelli run flats off and replaced with continental dws 06. Run flats were warn out after 10,000 miles and they rode really rough and noisy. I bought wheel and tire coverage and they have cleaned up three wheels and replaced one tire w with a bubble. With the 20 inch wheels being as on expensive I think it will be a good investment.

MTrauman

On my '14 S550 4matic I had the 19" Sport Package with the 19" Conti Run flats that you have. The car was totaled at 16000 miles. I still had atleast 5k to 10k of wear to go before replacement.


I replaced the '14 S550 with a '16 S550 4matic 14 months ago with the 19" Sport Package and the 19" Conti Runflats again. I have just over 13000 miles on the '16 now. At 9200 I got a nail in the tire. MB dealers will not fix the tire they will only replace it even if I did not drive on the tire flat. So two new tires (they want to replace in pairs) and $800 later I had two new front Contis.


I generally will not buy the insurance since it is rare that I bang up the wheels with curb rash. But just after I bought the '16 I did rub a curb. The dealer charged me $200 to fix the wheel. Looks new after the fix.


I cannot remember how much the dealers charge for the wheel/tire package. I will not buy these packages but of all the packages the dealers offer at the time of sale, this is probably the best of all the packages since one can easily damage the S Class wheels. Just my 2 cents.

johndong888

I never opt for the tire insurance on any of the cars. But I will for teh next S class. I keep cracking the 19" wheels on the car. Cracks cost at least 200 to repair. Past week was the third time. Might just get a new s soon since i"m over miles already and all this nonsense.

wows500

I had WT insurance on my 2008 S and now on the 2015 S. From my experience, as I purchase my cars, I have found that this is the best investment. Specially with the RF. Every one's experience could be different.

Vallie123

Almost exactly my experience. Run flats were never fun and wore out at 11k-- but the first hour after installing the DWS 06s, I kicked myself for not doing it sooner. Literally night and day--quieter, better handling and far less harsh of a ride. You'll feel and hear it immediately.

My new policy is to take off the run flats right after delivery and store them in the garage until lease return. Just did it last week on a new C43--off with the RFs and on with Michelin PSS which is my favorite tire period.

woppenhe

Why should we have to buy wheel and tire insurance to protect us against their design defects? They should include this in the warranty.I have had 11 run flat flats in 37000 miles, one of which took three day and two 100 mile trips to resolve. What was Mercedes thinking. their vehicles are not to be considered reliable until they get rid of these tires.

Streamliner

The larger the wheel diameter, the less sidewall depth. Run flat sidewalls are extremely stiff and unforgiving. Put 20’s with RFT on a huge, heavy vehicle like an S Class and you have a recipe for anything from a cracked wheel with a slow leak to a complete wheel failure and a potential disaster. 19’s are better, but still inappropriate, IMO, for a car like the S.

IMHO, huge diameter wheels with low profile, load rated tires serve two purposes for auto manufacturers: they look SEXY and MB & others can charge dearly for them. This is true first for the additional option cost and then for all the replacement wheels that are sold. The argument can be made that cars so equipped “handle” better, so maybe they serve a purpose on the track, but are nothing more to a W222 on the street, than 5” stiletto heels are to some tootsie on the make. They are uncomfortable, impractical, but they sure LOOK hot!

The 18” wheels on my 2018 cost nothing extra. The nice, deep, non-RFT sidewalls give me a wonderful, very compliant & comfortable ride. I’ve NEVER had a cracked wheel, ever. She may not look sexy, but I don’t think she looks bad.

Katie22

Funny how they sell these warranties as if they sell them to protect you from some unforeseen catastrophic event. I wonder if they sell this stuff out of the goodness of their hearts or do they sell them to make money off gullible people? Have to ponder that one for a few, ha ha.

MacMP

WT coverage is the only one I buy whenever I have the chance. It wasn't available when I bought my 16 S550. Within 500 miles I'd already cracked two of the 19 inch rims. All four wheels had previously been repaired for cracks.

I replaced my wheel with aftermarket, another 2,500 miles without a problem. The Mercedes wheels suck.

bkdc

Yep. My Pirelli run-flats wore out at 10K miles and wore out on the shoulders even though my wheels were perfectly aligned. The early shoulder wear was noticeable even after 2 to 3K miles. I would skip the tire replacement program unless you have 21 inch rims.

Replaced with non-fun flat Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, and the Michelins are wearing VERY well. Initial stiff ride became nice and compliant after 3K miles.

I did crack my 19 inch AMG rim a while back on the initial run-flats. It was a minor rim crack easily drill and weld repaired for 250 bucks at my local wheel shop.