C 200 Kompressor Coupe SE (2006) Tyres

[Hans_Gruber]

Hi
I've been having trouble for years with my back tyres wearing out really quickly. It doesn't matter if they're expensive or budget, about 7000 miles is the most i'd get out of them before i need to change them and the latest ones are gone from just over 5000 miles. The front ones last OK and they are 225/45/17 in size. The rear ones 245/45/17.

When i first had the car, whatever tyres were on there seemed to be OK and had a fairly good life, But every tyre i've had on the back since has been awful.

I've just looked on some online tyre sites, entered my registration and i'm getting recommended 225/45/17 for the fronts (fine) but 245/40/17 for the rear so could it be possible that i've had the wrong size profiles all this time? I've no idea what was on there at the beginning of my ownership 8 years ago and no garage or tyre fitters have ever said those are wrong, they've just fitted new ones. Do you think it could be the wrong size tyre fitted and might this explain the premature wear?

Thanks

 

[Borris1954]

If the wear problem wasn't there in the past I would suspect you have some wear in the suspension somewhere. If you can't spot anything obvious I would be inclined to go for a four wheel alignment check and see if that highlights any issues.

Sent from my SM-T210 using Tapatalk

 

[Hans_Gruber]

If the wear problem wasn't there in the past I would suspect you have some wear in the suspension somewhere. If you can't spot anything obvious I would be inclined to go for a four wheel alignment check and see if that highlights any issues.

Thanks. I have had the 4 wheel alignment done and it threw up no issues. You would like to think that tyre places know exactly what tyres a car should have but if they're just replacing what was there before and the first garage got it wrong? I don't know if rim sizes could cause premature wear. I'm a pretty steady driver so don't think it's me caning it.

 

[markjay]

The rear tyre size that your car came with is definitely wrong. From memory 225/45/17 for the front 245/40/17 for the rear sounds right, though you'll need to check the owners manual to be sure.

Said that, the size in itself won't lead to premature wear.

What affects tyre life is not mileage as such, but the following factors:

- Tyre compound
- Tyre air pressure
- Load on tyre (weight)
- Ambient temperature
- Type of surface (rough/smooth, dry/wet)
- Driving style (harsh acceleration/braking)
- Driving conditions (city driving with frequent stop/start as opposed to motorway cruising)
- Suspension geometry
- Suspension components (e.g. failed damper or spring)

This is why some people get 5,000 out of a certain tyre type while others get 25,000 miles from the same tyre.

 

[slade1]

Should be 225/45/17 and 245/40/17
225/45/17 and 245/45/17 have different rolling distance, this will play havoc with ABS, traction control etc.

 

[Hans_Gruber]

Thanks for your replies. My gut feeling is that the tyre sizes is wrong and this has been followed from the first garage i went too. I paid £300 for some Toyo tyres and they went with less than 7000 miles on them. I did get some compensation because they were surprised they wore out so soon. I do about 150 miles a week and 120 of that is a good run out in the country on A roads so no stop starting etc... The handbook has various tyre sizes so doesn't give an actual size. This has been happening for the last 5 years now and it's starting to get annoying because the tyre guys say let's just try these and see how they go etc...

 

[Petrol Pete]

Could be that your car has been in an accident and the back end is out of alignment with the rest of the car causing scrubbing , The whole rear sub frame is bolted on with 'rubber' bushings. Extreme I know , but other than being a Muppet with tyre pressures and joining a drifting club there is no way a car with such little power should be wearing tyres out at this rate.

Get a 4 wheel alignment check done. Let us know how you get on

 

[markjay]

...The handbook has various tyre sizes so doesn't give an actual size....

The handbook won't tell you which tyre size your car had when it left the factory, but it will tell you what tyre size (and wheel size) combinations are permissible for your model.

Also, when I had the W203, on the first page of the service book there was a large sticker stating the various option codes and also stating the make and model of the tyres that were factory-fitted to the car.

 

[Hans_Gruber]

Could be that your car has been in an accident and the back end is out of alignment with the rest of the car causing scrubbing , The whole rear sub frame is bolted on with 'rubber' bushings. Extreme I know , but other than being a Muppet with tyre pressures and joining a drifting club there is no way a car with such little power should be wearing tyres out at this rate.

Get a 4 wheel alignment check done. Let us know how you get on

Don't think it's been in a smash. Had all the pre purchase checks done when it was 5 years old and my dad was a motor insurance engineer and he saw nothing wrong. Had the 4 wheel alignment done but if they're doing that with the the wrong rim sizes on it it's not going to be right anyway. My thoughts are, can wrong rim sizes badly affect premature wear and do people in tyre specialists know nothing about what size tyres they should be fitting and just replace the size and rim that's on there?

 

[Fununcle]

I would have thought the question should be do owners not know what tyre size their cars should have rather than tyre fitters

 

[Hans_Gruber]

I would have thought the question should be do owners not know what tyre size their cars should have rather than tyre fitters

Well this one thought he did but now is not so sure.

 

[markjay]

Keep in mind that the previous owner may have fitted taller tyres at the rear on purpose to give the car a more aggressive stance.

Or a second hand car dealer may have fitted whatever tyres he could get in order to MOT the car before the sale.

Etc....