SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: My tire pressure

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Old Dec 27, 2004 | 08:31 AM
  #1  
Saud's Avatar
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My tire pressure

Hi,
I just adjusted my tire pressure according to the chart on the gas tank's inside cover. So I did 30 psi for the front and 33 psi for the rear. I have 18" rims and Pirelli Russo tires.
Is it right, or is there another psi # to consider?
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Old Dec 27, 2004 | 11:20 AM
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Chris 45971's Avatar
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Huh, I have Pilot Sports (18s - 255 front - 285 back) that came with my AMG package. The recommended pressure in my driver door and gas compartment is 26PSI - front and 29PSI - back. Its interesting that your SL suggests a different tire pressure.

Was your SL purchased in the States or Saudi Arabia?
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Old Dec 27, 2004 | 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Chris 45971
Huh, I have Pilot Sports (18s - 255 front - 285 back) that came with my AMG package. The recommended pressure in my driver door and gas compartment is 26PSI - front and 29PSI - back. Its interesting that your SL suggests a different tire pressure.

Was your SL purchased in the States or Saudi Arabia?
I have the same tires as Chris and I agree with the recommended tire pressures.
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Old Dec 27, 2004 | 01:24 PM
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tire pressures

According to Tie Rack, the pilots should be 34 front and 30lbs rear for best handling.
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Old Dec 27, 2004 | 07:46 PM
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For what its worth, my tire guy recommends that you keep them 10% below the max PSI. (This is in AZ) The ride may be stiff but you will extend the life of the tires. The recommended pressure on the doors and by tire co's is based on ride comfort, not handling or extending the life of the tire. His company sells to just about every high end dealership in AZ and seems to know a lot about this issue.
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by mattnaz
For what its worth, my tire guy recommends that you keep them 10% below the max PSI. (This is in AZ) The ride may be stiff but you will extend the life of the tires. The recommended pressure on the doors and by tire co's is based on ride comfort, not handling or extending the life of the tire. His company sells to just about every high end dealership in AZ and seems to know a lot about this issue.
This doesn't seem to be sage advice. The tire pressure rises at least 3-4 psi when the car is driven normally, and it also rises as the outside temperature increases. If you are inflating to 90% of the maximum pressure when the tires are cold, you are taking on unnecessary risk just to extend the life of the tires.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Chris 45971
Huh, I have Pilot Sports (18s - 255 front - 285 back) that came with my AMG package. The recommended pressure in my driver door and gas compartment is 26PSI - front and 29PSI - back. Its interesting that your SL suggests a different tire pressure.

Was your SL purchased in the States or Saudi Arabia?
My SL was purchased in Saudi Arabia.It has the original AMG package.
Does the weather temp has to do with these pressure recommendation?
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 08:32 PM
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Tires are a few hundred bucks.
The car is a lot more.
And your life even more (well... depends on the car )

Keep the tire pressure at what the car says or tire rack. They've tested numerous tires at numerous pressures, there is a reason why their advice is the right advice.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 10:53 PM
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Originally Posted by brent951
According to Tie Rack, the pilots should be 34 front and 30lbs rear for best handling.
Do we have a link for this information?
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by mattnaz
For what its worth, my tire guy recommends that you keep them 10% below the max PSI. (This is in AZ) The ride may be stiff but you will extend the life of the tires. The recommended pressure on the doors and by tire co's is based on ride comfort, not handling or extending the life of the tire. His company sells to just about every high end dealership in AZ and seems to know a lot about this issue.
I did this on my SLK 320 and bounced all over the road. I also did some sliding around curves. I discovered if you have your tire pressure too high, your tires would not grip the road.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 11:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Saud
Hi,
I just adjusted my tire pressure according to the chart on the gas tank's inside cover. So I did 30 psi for the front and 33 psi for the rear. I have 18" rims and Pirelli Russo tires.
Is it right, or is there another psi # to consider?
Originally Posted by Saud
My SL was purchased in Saudi Arabia.It has the original AMG package.
Does the weather temp has to do with these pressure recommendation?
I used to live in Jeddah. I can see the pressure on the gas cap will be higher than the cars in the US because it gets about 110 degrees in Saudi Arabia. Hemm, 30-4 is 26 and 33-4 is 29. In the morning, you should use 26 and 29 because the sun has not heated up everything. Do you have a R230 and have standard 18" MB wheels?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...p#maxinflation
A tire's maximum inflation pressure is the highest "cold" inflation pressure that the tire is designed to contain. However the tire's maximum inflation pressure should only be used when called for on the vehicle's tire placard or in the vehicle's owners manual. It is also important to remember that the vehicle's recommended tire inflation pressure is always to be measured and set when the tire is "cold". Cold conditions are defined as early in the morning before the day's ambient temperature, sun's radiant heat or the heat generated while driving have caused the tire pressure to temporarily increase.

For the reasons indicated above, It is also normal to experience "hot" tire pressures that are up to 5 to 6 psi above the tire's recommended "cold" pressure during the day if the vehicle is parked in the sun or has been extensively driven. Therefore, if the vehicle's recommended "cold" inflation pressures correspond with the tire's maximum inflation pressure, it will often appear that too much tire pressure is present. However, this extra "hot" tire pressure is temporary and should NOT be bled off to return the tire pressure to within the maximum inflation pressure value branded on the tire. If the "cold" tire pressure was correctly set initially, the temporary "hot" tire pressure will have returned to the tire's maximum inflation pressure when next measured in "cold" conditions

Last edited by tiggerfink; Dec 29, 2004 at 11:27 PM.
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Old Dec 30, 2004 | 09:16 AM
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My mistake- I didn't realize maximum inflation pressure referred to cold inflation pressure. Thanks tiggerfink, sorry mattnaz.
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