Anyone changed tyre size on a C43?

[PhilP68]

This morning I had the Continental All Season Contacts fitted, and immediately noticed the crabbing has stopped. I’ve made a few stops on the way home, and usually pulling the car about at slow speeds the front tyres would bump and jump. But nothing of the sort to report which I’m pleased with.

As for the performance of these, it will become clear in the months to come. Thanks to all for your help and advice.

Great result!

Those of us old enough to remember Sutcliffe racing in BTC, may like me, think he knows his stuff on tyres.
Steve reckons you will be okay on the Contis come warmer weather, even up north of the border!

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[JHS]

You really need to stick to the MB specified sizes. The rolling circumference of the 225/40 and 255/35 will be very close so you can't mess with one of them or the front and rear rolling circumference will be different and the vehicle electronic systems may get confused. The other option may be to go down to 18s - check the owner manual for wheel / tyre options.

I really think that you are overthinking this. Your theory would mean that tyre wear would confuse the electronics.
My S205 has a spec of 225/40 fronts and 245/35 rears. I run 255/35 rears with no issues.
From memory, car is out with SWMBO right now, my winter square setup is 245/40, again with no issue.I will check the size and amend if necessary.

 

[JHS]

I really think that you are overthinking this. Your theory would mean that tyre wear would confuse the electronics.
My S205 has a spec of 225/40 fronts and 245/35 rears. I run 255/35 rears with no issues.
From memory, car is out with SWMBO right now, my winter square setup is 245/40, again with no issue.I will check the size and amend if necessary.

Checked the winter tyres and they are as posted.
When I replace the fronts I will go to 235/40 as 225/40 are not available in GY Assy6.

 

[Rossimo]

Great result!

Those of us old enough to remember Sutcliffe racing in BTC, may like me, think he knows his stuff on tyres.
Steve reckons you will be okay on the Contis come warmer weather, even up north of the border!

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Interesting watch, even though it’s a different car and it was track focussed. I am hopeful with the new Continentals fitted, but know they will depend on my driving style across all weathers. Thanks for the link.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This morning I had the Continental All Season Contacts fitted, and immediately noticed the crabbing has stopped. I’ve made a few stops on the way home, and usually pulling the car about at slow speeds the front tyres would bump and jump. But nothing of the sort to report which I’m pleased with.

As for the performance of these, it will become clear in the months to come. Thanks to all for your help and advice.

I missed ^^ this ^^ post this morning. Good news that you’ve found some and that they’ve resolved the skipping

 

[Smiley]

I really think that you are overthinking this. Your theory would mean that tyre wear would confuse the electronics.
My S205 has a spec of 225/40 fronts and 245/35 rears. I run 255/35 rears with no issues.
From memory, car is out with SWMBO right now, my winter square setup is 245/40, again with no issue.I will check the size and amend if necessary.

The correct 35 profile equivalent to a 225/40 is 255/35 so the 245/35 may be a mistake.
And the "square" (non staggered) set up would be 225/40.
Plenty of people mess around with tyre sizes for all sorts of different reasons and logic, some of it considered and some of it flawed.
I don't think that just sticking with the sizes that the car was designed for is overthinking it - to me it just makes sense; but each to their own.

 

[JHS]

The correct 35 profile equivalent to a 225/40 is 255/35 so the 245/35 may be a mistake.
And the "square" (non staggered) set up would be 225/40.
Plenty of people mess around with tyre sizes for all sorts of different reasons and logic, some of it considered and some of it flawed.
I don't think that just sticking with the sizes that the car was designed for is overthinking it - to me it just makes sense; but each to their own.

In an ideal world you are no doubt correct, my point is that a few mm will not cause any big issues. Tyre wear and manufacturing tolerances mean that exact sizing is impossible, indeed, there is a poster on here who boringly anal on the subject of tyre sizes.
Bold above would mean that following the MB recommendation would be wrong in your view.

 

[PhilP68]

Interesting watch, even though it’s a different car and it was track focussed. I am hopeful with the new Continentals fitted, but know they will depend on my driving style across all weathers. Thanks for the link.

Most tests are performed in winter conditions on snow, wet and dry conditions. This test was unique as its 35oC, pushing a 2 tonne car, lap after lap. If the tyres can stand up to this puinishment, then I'm sure they will be okay for spirited driving in the UK summer months. Let's face it, the C43 just makes you push on for the additive soundtrack alone. I never used the shift paddles so much on with my previous cars

 

[Smiley]

In an ideal world you are no doubt correct, my point is that a few mm will not cause any big issues. Tyre wear and manufacturing tolerances mean that exact sizing is impossible, indeed, there is a poster on here who boringly anal on the subject of tyre sizes.
Bold above would mean that following the MB recommendation would be wrong in your view.

I would agree that some can go a bit over the top with all sorts of aspects; but getting the right size and load rating of a tyre is not difficult and is a basic aspect of car maintenance imho.
Correct - the MB recommendation is wrong. It is easy to check / calculate yourself - the tyre wall depth on the 225/40 is 90mm (225*40/100). A 245/35 is 85.75mm and the 255/35 is 89.25mm. The 255/35 is close enough - the 245/35 is not - it would be a full 8.5mm smaller diameter - probably not enough to upset the car's electronics as it is the difference between new and really really worn out illegal tyres - but not sure why anyone would do it.
The 225/40 and 255/35 set up is very common on an 18 inch rim and probably explains why you found it difficult to source the 245/35 tyres.
Someone in the MB tech literature dept was having a bad day

 

[PhilP68]

Be interested in how you get on if you go with the Goodyears.

I did see winter tyres in the correct sizes but changing back to summer tyres at some point would still mean the crabbing issue persists. I’ll see how I get in the coming 6 months with the All Season Contacts and decide if I want something else in the new year. Thanks.

Well I finally had Conti All Seasons fitted to my C43 too. Decided not to go with the Goodyears as the price jumped up. The Contis have been on back order until the beginning of Feb; short supply from Conti has been the issue, so I've been patiently waiting and putting up with the skipping. My car was skipping after 3/4 of the way to full lock and almost at any recent temperature, irrespective of how long I had been driving.

I found the same as you; immediately no more skipping, at any temperature or lock of the front wheels. Also, the ride is transformed, more more comfortable, the car just reacts so much beeter to rough, bumpy, *shit!!) road surfaces.

It will be intersting to see how they hang on for grip once we get to the warmer months and once the tyres are older / part worn, but for now I can't recommend these tyres enough.

Are your tyres still not skipping?

 

[Germgh0st]

I have 19" wheels on my C43. Can't remember what tyres they were fitted with from the dealer, but when I complained about the crabbing the dealer replaced them all FOC with Continental Sport Contact 5's, and whilst the issue is still there in the colder months it has been significantly reduced.

 

[Rossimo]

Well I finally had Conti All Seasons fitted to my C43 too. Decided not to go with the Goodyears as the price jumped up. The Contis have been on back order until the beginning of Feb; short supply from Conti has been the issue, so I've been patiently waiting and putting up with the skipping. My car was skipping after 3/4 of the way to full lock and almost at any recent temperature, irrespective of how long I had been driving.

I found the same as you; immediately no more skipping, at any temperature or lock of the front wheels. Also, the ride is transformed, more more comfortable, the car just reacts so much beeter to rough, bumpy, *shit!!) road surfaces.

It will be intersting to see how they hang on for grip once we get to the warmer months and once the tyres are older / part worn, but for now I can't recommend these tyres enough.

Are your tyres still not skipping?

That’s good to hear. And yes, I can safely say the skipping had complete stopped since running the Conti All Seasons back in December. Run up ~1000miles so far, happy driver again.

 

[sgregory124]

I wouldnt go with continental all seasons if you really really really need all seasons then go Michelin cross climates.

All seasons are a compromise in all seasons. They do not excell under any circumstances.

Have to disagree here, i've recently returned from 2 weeks skiing in Colorado. Drove a round trip of 500 miles over I70 (over a number of mountain passes) on packed/driving snow for most if it and have to say they performed amazingly well, no hint of loss of traction. No idea what brand they were but they inspired confidence even at -20C on up/downhill grades of up to 8%.

 

[PhilP68]

I'm down in Lancashire and away from the Pennines; snow here is 1 - 2 weeks per year. I think the Conti All Seasons will be more than good enough. 99% of people driving around on UHP and UUHP tyres will never get anywhere the limit of those tyres. The limiting factor is rarely the car or tyres, it's us, the drivers.

 

[Rossimo]

I'm down in Lancashire and away from the Pennines; snow here is 1 - 2 weeks per year. I think the Conti All Seasons will be more than good enough. 99% of people driving around on UHP and UUHP tyres will never get anywhere the limit of those tyres. The limiting factor is rarely the car or tyres, it's us, the drivers.

I agree with that, purely on my daily driving. If I had the luxury of running a car that I gave it the beans most days or had it on the track, I’d be genuinely interested in using UHP tyres. But for nursery drop offs, taking the dog to a park, general day to day stuff, the All Seasons feel much more suited to my requirements and I still enjoy driving the actual car on any kind of trip too. We can all have the same car however we obviously want different things from it which then gets us down to the personal set up for intended use.

 

[PhilP68]

I agree with that, purely on my daily driving. If I had the luxury of running a car that I gave it the beans most days or had it on the track, I’d be genuinely interested in using UHP tyres. But for nursery drop offs, taking the dog to a park, general day to day stuff, the All Seasons feel much more suited to my requirements and I still enjoy driving the actual car on any kind of trip too. We can all have the same car however we obviously want different things from it which then gets us down to the personal set up for intended use.

Are you having lots of fun on the Contis in this hot, dry weather? They definatley reach the adhesion limit much sooner than UHP tyres on previous cars but it makes my smile, lighting up the rear tyres (yes the rears in a 4matic), pulling away from junctions.

 

[Rossimo]

Are you having lots of fun on the Contis in this hot, dry weather? They definatley reach the adhesion limit much sooner than UHP tyres on previous cars but it makes my smile, lighting up the rear tyres (yes the rears in a 4matic), pulling away from junctions.

Definitely enjoying driving on the warmer roads. Not been so bold to get the rear wheels frothing about yet but good to know it’s possible. Still pleased with changing to the Conti All Seasons, the weather in Scotland is as variable as ever so they do the job (and the crabbing completely stopped which was my original annoyance).

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The common link is very low profile, very wide, very high performance tyres on a modern car.

The common link is choosing wheel and tyre sizes optimised for the Nurburgring on vehicles that spend most of their lives going to work, the pub, the shops, or the beach