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UPDATED W/PHOTOS Front tires bald after 9,700 miles?
Hello,
Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and had a great New Years.
Haven't been driving my S much because of the tires... Pirelli P Zero Run Flats 245/40 R20 in the front. They are bald. Confused because the car only has 9,700 miles. The rear tires are different - Pirelli P Zero Run Flats 275/35 R20. Rears look brand new. Anyone else having this problem? And does everyone else with 20s have the same tire setup too? Wasn't prepared to be replacing tires at 10k but might have to. Been sticking to beating up my Ford Fusion Plug-in instead.
Front - 245/40 R20
Rear - 275/35 R20
Sorry for wrong orientation. Bad on my part.
Also, purchased a 2010 E350 Sport for my son. Amazing condition, only 40k miles. Great car!
Last edited by S550e; Jan 14, 2018 at 04:04 PM.
Reason: added photos
My S65 front tires lasted over 17,000 miles but they are 255-40x20's, non run flat. One would think 245-40's on the lighter 550e should last longer than 10,000 miles. It is either the run flats, you are tracking the car on weekends or the alignment and tire pressures are messed up. I would blame the run flats unless the tires are not worn evenly across the tread. Curious the rears are still fine. My front and rears all wore at the same rate. As Streamliner pointed out, you pay a lot extra for that quick wear feature.
The front end alignment is off, the toe setting is way high on all the new C and S class cars from factory. Have the tires replaced and the alignment done, you will see how much the toe is out. Most of the cars I do have at least a half degree more toe-in on the front axle than the spec calls for. They just grind the tires off as a result.
I would start with an alignment from a reputable expert. You should be getting a lot more miles out of those sneakers. I have around 26K on my Michelin AS3 staggered set up and they probably still have another 8K miles left on them.
The front end alignment is off, the toe setting is way high on all the new C and S class cars from factory. Have the tires replaced and the alignment done, you will see how much the toe is out. Most of the cars I do have at least a half degree more toe-in on the front axle than the spec calls for. They just grind the tires off as a result.
We had the same thing and the service dept told me that it is common on S550's. But we had our car aligned at the dealer and this still continued. So it appears to a toe issue as stated but apparently the "in-spec" range is too broad to resolve it.
A good alignment does wonders for these cars. I can let go of the steering wheel at 70MPH on a flat freeway and it goes straight as an arrow for as long as the road is straight.
A good alignment does wonders for these cars. I can let go of the steering wheel at 70MPH on a flat freeway and it goes straight as an arrow for as long as the road is straight.
Ride height makes a difference as well. If it's out, the cars don't track true. A properly done alignment will check/correct it, some techs skip it if there's not a complaint. All the info should be on your alignment printout. Ask for a copy when you drop the car off for the alignment, so if there's a continuing issue, you have something to go off of.
The factory ranges are broad, yes, but adjusted properly you should see more than 9k miles out of a set of tires, unless you are tracking the car.
FWIW, the sport setting of the suspension lowers the car and increases toe and therefore tire wear. If you want the car lowered but want better tire life, have them align the car in sport (normally it's supposed to be in comfort height). The toe can be set to correct specs in already lowered position, and will help with tire life, at the cost of handling if you were actually to track the car.
Ride height makes a difference as well. If it's out, the cars don't track true. A properly done alignment will check/correct it, some techs skip it if there's not a complaint. All the info should be on your alignment printout. Ask for a copy when you drop the car off for the alignment, so if there's a continuing issue, you have something to go off of.
The factory ranges are broad, yes, but adjusted properly you should see more than 9k miles out of a set of tires, unless you are tracking the car.
FWIW, the sport setting of the suspension lowers the car and increases toe and therefore tire wear. If you want the car lowered but want better tire life, have them align the car in sport (normally it's supposed to be in comfort height). The toe can be set to correct specs in already lowered position, and will help with tire life, at the cost of handling if you were actually to track the car.
We had switched to conventional tires (Conti DWS) and the rears were perfect after 16k miles the front also had good profiles except on the outer edge.
MB considered them good in profile either way (on lease turn-in). Didn’t even have time to switch back to the Pirelli run flats as we ended up with our new car unexpected. Made the switch in 10 minutes...
Btw, aligning the car in sport mode makes no difference on the S550 as the ride height doesn’t adjust while standing. This is different on some other MB models.
We had switched to conventional tires (Conti DWS) and the rears were perfect after 16k miles the front also had good profiles except on the outer edge.
MB considered them good in profile either way (on lease turn-in). Didn’t even have time to switch back to the Pirelli run flats as we ended up with our new car unexpected. Made the switch in 10 minutes...
Btw, aligning the car in sport mode makes no difference on the S550 as the ride height doesn’t adjust while standing. This is different on some other MB models.
Not true, it does make a difference. Airmatic sport lowers the car slightly. Not a lot, but it affects the alignment enough to make a change.
On my 2015 C300 the front tires showed signigicant wear at 11K miles. Service advisor said a lot of city driving will wear out the fronts very quickly. Another bad feature of run flats.
I've learned that keeping my suspension in Sport mode at all times has reduced the wear on my front tires greatly. In the past, many have read my posts where I was only getting 12,000 miles or so on a set of front tires. The rears get over 25,000. I decided to see what would happen if I left the suspension on Sport at all times (it remembers that setting between start ups) and so far the brand new front tires after 4000 miles still look brand new and I don't see any strong wear patterns developing on the edges , inside or out. Keeping my fingers crossed as the dealer won't give me any satisfactory explanation nor service to remedy the problem.
Last edited by MBS63AMG; Jan 15, 2018 at 10:09 PM.
Should I go to my local Mercedes Benz dealership for this alignment problem or should I got to an independent Mercedes Benz mechanic?
The specs should be the same no matter where you go. Once the first alignment is done they are usually good, but the first time we do them it's always off by a large margin.
We had the same thing and the service dept told me that it is common on S550's. But we had our car aligned at the dealer and this still continued. So it appears to a toe issue as stated but apparently the "in-spec" range is too broad to resolve it.
Yes, that’s right it is no wonder the “in-spec” range is so broad because try all they want but - at the end of the day all the dealer or alignment shop has to work with is front and rear toe “in” or toe “out” (directional) adjustment!
There is no Camber or Caster to change tire contact angles. Essential to cater for situations encountered in day to day commuting.
High Cambered roads, altered height through load carrying or lowering, fitting wide profile tires, worn suspension bushings, steering pull, curb knock damage.
We saw the need to fix it right the 1st. time by re-instating from the early 90’s full precise front and rear Camber, Caster adjustment.
Ending the frustration of ongoing trips to dealers and alignment shops or being shown “in spec” printouts leading to the incorrect conclusion that changing tire brands will somehow alter tire contact angles and resolve the premature edge wear.
Virtually all todays auto’s because of cost cutting and the ever increasing speed of vehicle assembly lines only have front and rear Toe adjustment K-MAC manufactures the worlds largest range of kits and also is the longest established most experienced.
They simply replace the 4 front and 4 rear highest wearing suspension bushes. The unique patented design allows precise single wrench adjustment accurately on car (under load direct on alignment rack). No more the time consuming (and inaccurate) need to remove and reposition for a setting change.
The front bushings are mono ball/2 axis design without the OEM oil and air voids. Result is also noticeably improved brake and steering response.
For the front (only) bushes you can fit inaccurate “one offset position” fluted bolts. But besides not being adjustable on car – they only offer 1/8” (0.3 degree) change. With the K-MAC’s providing up to 4 times this adjustment range and the accuracy of being “precisely adjustable” on car under load.
Another popular kit manufactured is replacement bushings for the 6 rear multi-link arms. Less twitch/flex especially when applying power lane changing/overtaking.
W222 Front Camber and Caster Adjuster bush kit #502816L $545
Rear Camber (and extra Toe) Adjuster bush kit #502226K $480
Rear Multi link arms bush kit (‘12’) #502828K $480
All kits come with instructions and extraction/insertion tubes.
Delivery one kit $30. Each additional $20. Payment by PayPal, Visa or M/Card.
Should I go to my local Mercedes Benz dealership for this alignment problem or should I got to an independent Mercedes Benz mechanic?
Given that your car is less that a year old I would definitely go back to the dealer and if the alignment is out ask for that to be done for free and some proration on the replacement tires.
Should I go to my local Mercedes Benz dealership for this alignment problem or should I got to an independent Mercedes Benz mechanic?
I have a reputable independent mechanic do my work. He only works on Mercedes and once worked for the local MB dealership years ago. Very good prices and spends more quality time listening to me about any issues and spends more time getting it done right. The dealership I bought my car at is too busy to listen , much less do the work correctly. For example, every oil change is only $100. He never stabs me with those $400-600 service tabs. I used to think that a relationship would grow if I took it to the dealership, but they don't care anymore like they used to.
I have a reputable independent mechanic do my work. He only works on Mercedes and once worked for the local MB dealership years ago. Very good prices and spends more quality time listening to me about any issues and spends more time getting it done right. The dealership I bought my car at is too busy to listen , much less do the work correctly. For example, every oil change is only $100. He never stabs me with those $400-600 service tabs. I used to think that a relationship would grow if I took it to the dealership, but they don't care anymore like they used to.
I'm in the same boat......and I also used to think that if I continued to the dealer a relationship would flourish.......how fawking wrong I was!
I love my indy shop and all the folks that work there..........do you have a website for your indy shop?
Front is showing EITHER toe or camber alignment issue, or a driver issue (rushing into turns and then braking, accelerating out of turns too early, for example)
The rear is showing overinflation wear.
When you take it in for an alignment tell the technician to make the caster camber and toe numbers on both sides equal (not just "within range") friggen absolutely equal.
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UPDATED W/PHOTOS Front tires bald after 9,700 miles?
Been sticking to beating up my Ford Fusion Plug-in instead.
