All C43 AMG owners - What shall I do?

[Richtw]

13 degrees at the beach today and my C43 crabbed like a goodun' into the parking space. Can't wait to be told to fit winter tyres when it hits 25 degreesC

 

[DRIVER200]

13 degrees at the beach today and my C43 crabbed like a goodun' into the parking space. Can't wait to be told to fit winter tyres when it hits 25 degreesC

Ironically the only way to test this theory is actually to fit winter tyres but for all sorts of reasons no one has actually been able to so far. For me, this is all it will take to place a decent body blow on MB surely? Richtw: what tyres do you have and are they run-flats?

 

[DRIVER200]

Oh they most definitely seen the footage. And have been offered the contact details of a significant number of people, but alas aren't interested in running further with the story.

For what it's worth have sent this to the Editor in Chief of Auto Express:

To
[email protected]
Today at 11:21

Hi Steve,
Very disappointed at your recent article concerning the Mercedes GLC especially that you have accepted MB's excuse for the significant 'Clonking/Juddering' to be cold weather/tyre choice related. If you have time suggest you check out the growing number of YouTube items and MBClub forum details to see for yourself how bad this actually is. MB say its just a comfort issue and is safe; find this hard to stomach really as its causing serious tyre related wear and skidding for some owners. Its a pity that a serious organisation like Auto Express have decided not to put MB's theory to the test and fit different tyres to see if it makes any difference as I feel you are letting down the ordinary motorist by not doing so. This problem will not go away come summer as its far too significant lets hope that one of your rivals don't steal a march on A E and cover this story in depth first.


With best regards,

 

[Riverside Red]

You're probably wasting your time there, I sent a couple of e-mails to AutoExpress regarding their quoted prices in the road tests of Porsches, never heard anything not even the courtesy of a reply.

So I voted with my feet and cancelled my subscription...most of these publications and PH too suck up to the big manufacturers.

RR

 

[John Jones Jr]

...most of these publications and PH too suck up to the big manufacturers.

Plenty of back scratching done there, you can be sure.

On a bit of tangent but it seems common practice to report the failings of a current car (any car) which were never mentioned previously when it's only to be superseded by the latest version. There will probably be greater coverage of the GLC/C43 crabbing issue by the motoring press when it's been rectified in the next version!

 

[DRIVER200]

Plenty of back scratching done there, you can be sure.

On a bit of tangent but it seems common practice to report the failings of a current car (any car) which were never mentioned previously when it's only to be superseded by the latest version. There will probably be greater coverage of the GLC/C43 crabbing issue by the motoring press when it's been rectified in the next version!

Well lets hope it's within 3 years so that current owners can claim under warranty!!

 

[dejongj]

13 degrees at the beach today and my C43 crabbed like a goodun' into the parking space. Can't wait to be told to fit winter tyres when it hits 25 degreesC

Ironically the only way to test this theory is actually to fit winter tyres but for all sorts of reasons no one has actually been able to so far. For me, this is all it will take to place a decent body blow on MB surely? Richtw: what tyres do you have and are they run-flats?

So from what temperature should we be running winter tyres? There is no ground frost, ambient temperature is 11 today and crabbing is mad as offer.

Winter tyres will wear very rapidly at these ambient temperatures and their braking and handling is worse than standard tyres.

Weirdly to me it actually feels like the car has too much grip....Not too little.

 

[whitenemesis]

In my experience winter tyres do not wear any more quickly in higher ambient temperatures and their braking performance is perfectly adequate, unless one is driving at 9/10ths

 

[DRIVER200]

Slight tangent to the man subject but thought my 19'' ContinentalSportContact 5P's were runflats eg SSR's but they are not as Conti don't make runflats for this tyre!! Not sure it makes the slightest difference to anything but thought would highlight this.

 

[dejongj]

In my experience winter tyres do not wear any more quickly in higher ambient temperatures and their braking performance is perfectly adequate, unless one is driving at 9/10ths

But surely if they are a softer compound the they must do. Otherwise it is science defying which is pretty cool if correct

The challenge is, there is nothing wrong with the grip and braking of the standard supplied and only available summer tyres either. And traditionally that is the real reason to get winter tyres.

 

[HumberMart]

But surely if they are a softer compound the they must do. Otherwise it is science defying which is pretty cool if correct

The challenge is, there is nothing wrong with the grip and braking of the standard supplied and only available summer tyres either. And traditionally that is the real reason to get winter tyres.

So why are winter tyres recommended?

For me, it can only be for one of two possibilities.

1. (as seems to be the prime assumption) their sidewall is more flexible, so they act as a 'shock absorber', and mask/dilute the fault.

2. They give more grip, so the clutch slips in the transfer box, rather than the tyres slipping.

I can't think of a third, but I'd love for someone to enlighten me.

So as far as I'm concerned, either of the options is unacceptable.

For 1. for you adding a non-standard flexible coupling to disguise the problem and relieve the stress. There is a substantial cost to this fix, and the customer pays.

For 2. It confirms that MB have messed up with the GLK-to-RHD conversion, and again, the customer pays due to excessive tyre wear, having to fit winters at a cost of several thousand (not to mention the inconvenience/storage issue)

Both options must mean that increase stress is being applied throughout the drive train and associated suspension/steering components.

Where in all of the above, is this fair on the customer????

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I think they're only recommending winter tyres so it gives them a bit of breathing space until spring to come up with a plan!

 

[Steveml63]

But surely if they are a softer compound the they must do. Otherwise it is science defying which is pretty cool if correct

The challenge is, there is nothing wrong with the grip and braking of the standard supplied and only available summer tyres either. And traditionally that is the real reason to get winter tyres.

Hi,
I had winters on my BMW 123d - they were put on instead of the normal Bridgestone runflats (that cost around £200 each).
The winters were only £50 each and out of interest, I left them on after the winter to see how they would wear in the warmer months.
I actually left them on for 18 months and only removed them when I sold the car and put the runflats back on!
They wore down much slower than the runflats and were a much more comfortable ride in both summer and winter. Grip was fine and I was not known to drive like Miss Daisy!
The main reason that winters grip so well is not the softer compound particularly - it's the unusual tread pattern that has lots of small grooves within each tread block. These open up when the tyre rotates towards the ground and give amazing grip in snowy conditions!
I doubt that fitting winters is going to really improve the GLC problem - although it might slightly mask the symptoms.
Cheers
Steve

 

[DRIVER200]

I think they're only recommending winter tyres so it gives them a bit of breathing space until spring to come up with a plan!

I've been saying this all along and it wouldn't take too much to prove it but for all sorts of reasons no one has fitted winters yet. As for winter's masking the problem well I don't fully agree as if they significantly ease/cure the problem then surely that's as good as fixing it and when summer comes if the problem doesn't manifest itself with normal tyres then that's all MB need to do is recommend winter tyres in winter?

 

[HumberMart]

Hi,
I had winters on my BMW 123d - they were put on instead of the normal Bridgestone runflats (that cost around £200 each).
The winters were only £50 each and out of interest, I left them on after the winter to see how they would wear in the warmer months.
I actually left them on for 18 months and only removed them when I sold the car and put the runflats back on!
They wore down much slower than the runflats and were a much more comfortable ride in both summer and winter. Grip was fine and I was not known to drive like Miss Daisy!
The main reason that winters grip so well is not the softer compound particularly - it's the unusual tread pattern that has lots of small grooves within each tread block. These open up when the tyre rotates towards the ground and give amazing grip in snowy conditions!
I doubt that fitting winters is going to really improve the GLC problem - although it might slightly mask the symptoms.
Cheers
Steve

Just Googled Winter Tyres...............

Can’t I just buy a set of winter tyres and leave them on all year?

Yes, you can, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Above 7oC, the softer compound gives the same effect as running summer tyres in winter conditions – that is to say, longer stopping distances and a heightened proclivity for skidding in corners.

What’s more, winter tyres wear down more quickly in higher temperatures, which means you’ll end up having to replace your tyres more frequently

 

[whitenemesis]

........

 

[Steveml63]

Just Googled Winter Tyres...............

Can’t I just buy a set of winter tyres and leave them on all year?

Yes, you can, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Above 7oC, the softer compound gives the same effect as running summer tyres in winter conditions – that is to say, longer stopping distances and a heightened proclivity for skidding in corners.

What’s more, winter tyres wear down more quickly in higher temperatures, which means you’ll end up having to replace your tyres more frequently

Neither bad grip nor excess wear happened, in my experience.

 

[crockers]

I use winter tyres all year round. Granted they may not have 100% the grip and stopping of a summer tyres in summer. More like 95%. Whereas the summer has far less in the winter. On a wet summer road the difference is closer still.

Only major drawback is the winters need 4mm tread to be effective winter tyres.

It's all in the sipes. The dense pattern grips the snow and makes it stick to the tyre. Same principle as a sniwsock.

As for your crabbing problem...Imho that's a car not fit for purpose and I would reject it forth with.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I've run Winter tyres all year round on several cars.

The rears lasted three times longer than summer tyres on a RWD, and the fronts would have done the same had I not sold the car - the fronts still have 6mm on after more than 25,000 miles. I used them for more than three years, winter and summer. No I wouldn't have believed it either.

To make it even more amazing, that was a C32 AMG!

 

[DRIVER200]

I know it's been said a zillion times before but when you read articles like this there really is evidence that a change of tyres can make a difference.

Porsche Panamera steering judder - Page 1 - Front Engined Porsches - PistonHeads

Its odd as even the latest Panamera still has this problem so Porsche have not engineered it out. I find that weird man!!!