I took my E to the dealership because I was feeling vibrations in the steering wheel at highway speeds. The faster I went the worse it got. They said both of my front tires were cupped and needed to be replaced. I got these tires from Tire Rack and they only have about 4k miles on them. I always ran the recommeded pressure of 32 in the fronts. How could this happen on such new tires?

 

sounds like you might have some alignment issues...

 

I am really tired of alignment issues on this E500. Consider my E500 2003

1) The factory tires wore even and well with no noise or cupping at 30000miles.
2) I installed Bridgstone UT-1 technology tires. They cupped out quickly and made noise.
3) I spent over $350 for alignment and two trips to the dealer for alignment. I took the tires off and installed a new set of Cooper HP tires.

4) The coopers cupped at 5000 miles and ride like a truck.
5) The car went back to the dealer as you did and they confirmed alignment was ok. (the alignment was also confirmed at a specialty shop as correct and I have the #'s in my file for reference)

6) The dealer stated only the Michelin's or Conti's will run well on this car and any other tire will give problems.

7) From analytical problem solving the problem / cupping /noise started when I took the Conti's off and installed the Brigdstone UT1 tires.

8) Alignment and over $350 did not stop the cupping

9) I was running 3 psi over the factory reco of 26 in the front. Now I run 36.

10) The current coopers have 10,000 miles and you have to turn the radio up to hear the radio.

11) I will take it to the dealer and have them install replacment tires as recommended by Mercedes to see if it solves this issue.

12) If it doesn't Mercedes will have installed the tires and holds the warranty and alignment. So it will be up to Mercedes to solve this issue.

Summary I believe it is the way the tires are build that affects the cupping. I had a similar issue on my 1970 Pontiac in 1971 with cupping and it was the design of the fabric webbing of the tire. New michelins on the Pontiac solved the problem and IT WAS NOT ALLIGNMENT although all indication were alignment.

So my plan it to not change aligment but run Mercedes recommended and installed tires and on the front 36 psi. Then I will know for sure if it is tire issues.

My recommendation is DON"T run anything but the Conti's or Michelins that came on the car until this is resolved. Any other tire will give unsatisfactory result. At least based on the $2000 for tires I have spent in the last 12 months.

 

The Goodyear F1 They are great for the first 3K miles and by 6K turn up the radio, cause they are done. I question the great ratings that Tire rack gives on these tires, it is almost like a one last comeback attempt by Goodyear.

 

I've never had a cupped set of tires before these. The alignment on the car is fine, they checked. Guess I'll go back to the stock Contis as I never had any problems with those tires.

 

Ok, had enough on tire cupping. Tire mfg states car,, car states tires.

My opinion is tire design of the tread in combination with the belt design, so I am for the tires as the problem and NOT THE CAR>

I have confirmed the alignment more than once with both Mercedes and independant. I have run tire pressure specifiec by Mercedes and the tire MFG.

SO today..

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/

I filed a formal complaint with the NTSB Highway Federal Goverment for cupping and tire wear resulting in hydroplaning in the rain creating an unsafe driving condition and I will replace the tires with German tires.

Now I'll let the tire mfg, and Fed. goverment sort it out while I drive on a new set of tires. Had enough.

Jim

 

mine never cupped, but like you guys said, it was great for the first 4-5k on my e55, then it was really loud, and it wore like crazy.....oh well...good luck

 

My car came with the GS-D2 which were, as you said, a train wreck after a short time. The redesign GS-D3 is vastly improved IMO. I have a set almost down to the wear bars that are still fairly quiet.

 

Today I had installed new tires at the Mercedes Dealer, ($$$$$)
Drives smooth like a new car. Tires are Michelin Pilots same tires installed factory new S500.

Alignment is good we'll see how these wear.
So far very quiet and smooth.

Jim

 

Are you running 245's on 17-inch wheels?

A co-worker of mine has a 2003 E320 that goes through a set of tires in about 9k miles: cups the outside and wears the inside shoulder off the tire.

He's tried Michelins, Contis, BFGoodrich, and also Douglas, Cooper & some other off brands (he's got 150k on it now). He's down to just buying the cheapest tire, because they all wore prematurely, and cupped the outside edge.

After several trips to the dealer, they've now told him that this is 'normal' for the car.

 

[QUOTE=dmatre;2406449]Are you running 245's on 17-inch wheels?
QUOTE]

Yes 245x45x17 but that is not normal. I run the same size on my Corvette and they run 30000+ miles and I drive on the track. However the Mercedes is different. I found that the "factory alignment" is set for high speed driving and preloaded during set up. When driving at 70 mph and below this causes too much toe in which will wear the edges off the tire. I modified my chassy with the Mercedes adjustable bolts for the camber. By setting the camber, CASTER, and Toe-in I would expect tire wear to be more in line with US driving. My tires cupped out and I really believe it is a tire issue. Consider the first set of tires went 30,000 miles without cupping. Change tires and you get cupping. I went through two sets of tires cupping and found that both sets were made in Japan. The Michelin's I just installed were made in USA. (Ok,, so what if it is a French company). They run very smooth. IMO it is the spiral wound belts vs wrap and joined belts in other Japaneese tires. Rubber compound also makes a difference. Given how smooth my car is running I really believe it was the tire. (MY GUESS is that both brands that gave me a problem were made in the same tire company with different names on the sidewalls a typical tire industry practice).

By using tires that are made and or designed in Europe I think this is a different tire structure. For your friend that had a problem with Michelin I believe his alignment is still set at the factory settings.

What I would recommend would be to use Michelins, or Conti Touring that are factory tires and go to an independant alignment shop that will just set the alignment properly. Time will tell on our car if this is the solution.

What doesn't make sense is someone stating that the car is designed to wear tires uneven. NUTS. IF they are set properly they will have minimal wear from alignment, which brings you to the next item they must have a good tire. I would suggest research into how the belts are made on the tires and rubber molded to see how there is a difference.

I have called and talked with the tire companies and they ALWAYS blame Alignment/struts. The car dealers ALWAYS blame the tires.

I think the truth is in between. This is why I got tired of trying to save a $ and went full out. 2 Michelins installed today were $740. We will see how this works out. My aligment including 2 adjustment bolts from Mercedes was $425. So if you want to find someone tired of pouring $$ into tires you found him. I filed a complaint with the NTSB on tires given the issues with cupping. Today my wife told me of a friend driving a Camery with the same cupping issue. I believe this is a tire issue for cupping. For inside edge wear alignment. Besides we know tire companies would never hide information from the public.

Firestone 500's.

Jim

 

I hope everything works out in the next miles for you. It would be great if the Michelins did solve the problem.

I agree it's nonsense to tell a customer that 10k miles on a set of tires is 'normal', but I think that the dealer doesn't know what to do next - so they call it normal (kinda like Chrysler and engine rebuilds on the 2.2L four cylinders at 75k miles).

My co-worker has been considering a 'non-factory' spec alignment (similar to what you did), so I'd be interested to see how things are going in about 20k miles.

In any case, thanks for the info. That's the great thing about these boards!

 

Ok,, here's the scoop. The Michelin Pilots 245x45x17 were installed at 67000 miles last week. Today I have 70,100+ miles. The tires show NO sign of cupping or uneven wear.

What I did notice instantly driving out of the dealer before I hit 25 mph was how smooth the Michelin's were compared to the removed tires.

I only changed the 2 front tires and left the two rears for comparisom testing. Some noise persist but it is clearly comming from the rear tires. The front doesn't produce any noise I can hear and the smoothness is amazing.

Given the noise from the rear tires is really hard to hear in the front while driving,, I will probably let them run 8 to 10,000 miles then rotate front to rear and put two more Michelins.

The Michelins after 3000 miles makes the E500 feel like a new car.

I will continue to monitor and watch.

FYI the Michelins have 30 PSI.