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

SL/R230: Tire Pressure Question

Old Jan 15, 2005 | 09:56 AM
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Question Tire Pressure Question

What has anyone found to be the best tire pressure for the Piolit Sport?
I am in Southern Florida.... Can you give me the PSI when tires are cold front and rear. Thanks!
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Old Jan 15, 2005 | 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted by hclassic
What has anyone found to be the best tire pressure for the Piolit Sport?
I am in Southern Florida.... Can you give me the PSI when tires are cold front and rear. Thanks!
It all depends upon your desire for comfort verses wear. The more pressure, the less comfort but the less wear you get.

The Mercedes specifications say 26 front and 29 rear. I do 27 front and 30 rear and it does not really seem to affect comfort but may help in the wear department. It also may be so little a change in the recommended pressures it makes no difference.

Try different pressures out and see how you like the ride.

I know people that do 30 in the front and 34 in the rear. In that situation you would get better wear but I can't imagine your ride would be as comfortable.

Good luck.

Last edited by LovinMercedes; Jan 15, 2005 at 10:11 AM.
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Old Jan 15, 2005 | 02:26 PM
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Like Lovin said; trial and error.

I have been as low as 26-29 and as high as 29-32 (cold). I feal best at 28.5 and 31.5. Also, I'm not positive, but I think that the tires look a little fuller when the air-pressure is higher. I like this. I will continue to closely monitor in order to see if this is indeed a fact (to my naked eye).
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 12:51 AM
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My friend owns a tire store, and he let me have it when I increase the tire pressure by 4 PSI over the recommended PSI. About a year ago on my SLK320, I increased the pressure by 4 PSIs and nearly slid out of a curve. I always like taking that curve fast. My friend shock his head and said next time listen to an expert.

We drove to his store and he showed me a neat trick. He placed some paper in front of my wheels and drove over them. We did it several times at different PSIs. I noticed the edge of the tires was not touching the paper as we put more PSIs in the tires.

Also the center of the tire was not touching when we took out a lot of air out of the tire.

The bottom line is we want maximum tire surface on the road. Because weather heat/cold is a big factor, we adjust the PSIs to get maximum tire surface area on the road when tires are hot. Not all tires behave equally to heat/cold, so some folks may have different PSIs in their tires. By getting the maximum tire surface on the road, the tires will wear evenly across the tire surface and that will help your tire life.

Last edited by tiggerfink; Jan 16, 2005 at 12:59 AM.
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 01:05 AM
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Originally Posted by tiggerfink
My friend owns a tire store, and he let me have it when I increase the tire pressure by 4 PSI over the recommended PSI. About a year ago on my SLK320, I increased the pressure by 4 PSIs and nearly slid out of a curve. I always like taking that curve fast. My friend shock his head and said next time listen to an expert.

We drove to his store and he showed me a neat trick. He placed some paper in front of my wheels and drove over them. We did it several times at different PSIs. I noticed the edge of the tires was not touching the paper as we put more PSIs in the tires.

Also the center of the tire was not touching when we took out a lot of air out of the tire.

The bottom line is we want maximum tire surface on the road. Because weather heat/cold is a big factor, we adjust the PSIs to get maximum tire surface area on the road when tires are hot. Not all tires behave equally to heat/cold, so some folks may have different PSIs in their tires. By getting the maximum tire surface on the road, the tires will wear evenly across the tire surface and that will help your tire life.
Tigger, totally understand and agree. What does this translate into with respect to the PSI. The recommended 26 front 29 rear?
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 03:01 PM
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Does anyone run there car infrequently, and if so do you have to keep a close eye on the pressure levels.
Got my car in October but haven't checked the levels yet, they look ok.
How often should the levels be checked on normal use.
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by jasab
Does anyone run there car infrequently, and if so do you have to keep a close eye on the pressure levels.
Got my car in October but haven't checked the levels yet, they look ok.
How often should the levels be checked on normal use.
If you have the Tire Pressure Monitoring System you never have to check them.

If you don't, they tell you at least every few months.
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by LovinSL600
Tigger, totally understand and agree. What does this translate into with respect to the PSI. The recommended 26 front 29 rear?
LovinSL600 and all,

It is something that we all will have to experiment. Condition in your area like weather, climate, altitude, and other environmental factors will affect your tires. Since we all here have two seaters, weight will not be a big factor like in a truck or 4-door car.

The best advice I can give is to look at the wear pattern on your tires. If you have more wear on the edges, then you need more air in your tires. Of course if you have more wear in the center, then you need to reduce the air in the tires. Also put a piece of white paper in front of your tires and drive over it. Just try out different PSIs and find the one that gives you the biggest black mark on the paper. But do the white paer test when your tires are hot.

I personally put 1 to 2 PSI above recommend because I forget to check every month. It is my safety blanket to not have under inflated tires.

Read these articals because they have good information in them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/

Last edited by tiggerfink; Jan 17, 2005 at 01:35 AM.
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