C43 Crabbing... which new tyres?

[Clawhamer]

I know this has been discussed a ton of times but I'm 18 months and 9,000 miles into a new C43 which had the crabbing issues from new and Mercedes refused to replace the tyres.

I noticed this evening that the nearside front tyres is down below the marker on the outer tread so I need to replace.

My question is, what's the best tyres to replace with to eliminate the crabbing issue?

I'm hoping to hear from anybody that has gone beyond 10,000 miles on a new set of tyres in a country as cold as the UK without any crabbing issues?

A lot of what I've read seems to suggest all new tyres will be fine but the crabbing will always return once the new tyres wear down?

Thanks in advance for any help.
CH

 

[Engadine]

P Zeros are notorious for this with their hard compound. Mine went away when I changed to Michelin PS4Ss, which have a softer compound, but a friend with a GLE63 had the issue even with these, and resolved it with winter tyres (Sottozeros) with higher profile on smaller wheels. I understand the cold makes it worse as compound is harder.

My PS4Ss have never crabbed, it can happen to tyres that get hard from age rather than mileage also.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Winter tyres will really help. Use them for longer in the year than usual - say September to May - or even all year round if you still experience crabbing even in hot summer weather.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

How bad is the crabbing, and are there any times or conditions where it doesn’t skip? Has that changed over time?

 

[Clawhamer]

P Zeros are notorious for this with their hard compound. Mine went away when I changed to Michelin PS4Ss, which have a softer compound, but a friend with a GLE63 had the issue even with these, and resolved it with winter tyres (Sottozeros) with higher profile on smaller wheels. I understand the cold makes it worse as compound is harder.

My PS4Ss have never crabbed, it can happen to tyres that get hard from age rather than mileage also.

Thanks for your reply. What the second ‘s’ in the PS4Ss? Speed rating?

 

[Clawhamer]

How bad is the crabbing, and are there any times or conditions where it doesn’t skip? Has that changed over time?

Comparing it to videos of the issue I’ve watched I’d say it’s at the worse end of the scale. Does it all year round when wet. Gets very bad when cold. Often times I feel like I’ve hit something because the crabbing noise is so loud.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Thanks for your reply. What the second ‘s’ in the PS4Ss? Speed rating?

Just in plural

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Comparing it to videos of the issue I’ve watched I’d say it’s at the worse end of the scale. Does it all year round when wet. Gets very bad when cold. Often times I feel like I’ve hit something because the crabbing noise is so loud.

Personally I would just run premium winter tyres all year round if it’s as bad as that. The compromise of using the in summer is remarkably small.

 

[Clawhamer]

Personally I would just run premium winter tyres all year round if it’s as bad as that. The compromise of using the in summer is remarkably small.

What would you recommend? Really want to get a proven tyre.

 

[Petrol Pete]

As the OP says , this has been discussed a ton of times....but the whole episode is still pretty bad form for a major car manufacturer. Not sure if I could put up with it myself , having to compromise (ie: faff around) every time it needs new tyres because of a design fault would be enough for me to sell.

Best of luck OP .

 

[Engadine]

Thanks for your reply. What the second ‘s’ in the PS4Ss? Speed rating?

Yes as Bobby said, plural to differentiate from PS4s. Michelin should have thought of that when naming two separate tyres PS4 and PS4S. Pluralise the first and it sounds like the second, pluralise the second and it looks strange, PS4Ss.

Anyway, I think my friend has Pilot Alpin tyres (Michelin’s winter tyres) rather than Pirelli Sottozeros, and zero crabbing since swapping. He uses them year round but he has a big SUV rather than a C43 like you.

I think the winter tyres will be messier near the limit and give you more roll but much better on crabbing, ride and cold wet traction.

Alternatively there is the PS4 (not PS4S!) which is a step towards winter softness from the PS4S.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

What would you recommend? Really want to get a proven tyre.

You may find that there aren’t many brands to choose from in the right fitment. Look up your tyre sizes online to see what’s available. Any premium brand will be fine - Michelin, Continental or Pirelli - so choose based upon availability and price.

I’ve had winter tyres from all three of the above tyre brands, and whilst never on a C 43 or GLC 43, they have been fitted to cars which have a tendency to skip in cool conditions during low speed manoeuvring, and they’ve all been great.

 

[MrGreedy]

Could it worth for the OP to take a trip to Wheels in Motion to see if they can improve things with the new tyres fitted? Not cheap, but the crabbing sounds terrible; I couldn't live with it personally.

 

[zipdip]

Well as this is a kind of experiment I would suggest the Nexen suv tyres for the front they are very hard wearing,and are the least expensive of those that have been mentioned,I wonder if there is anybody who has got more than 10 grand out of the tyres on a C43,there has not been a rush of people boasting of much higher mileage.

 

[Germgh0st]

My C43 was the same when I bought it two and a half years ago, it was really skipping badly. MB replaced all four of my tyres free of charge for OE Continental tyres and whilst it hasn't eradicated it completely it's substantially better than it was. I'm currently at just under 8k and the tyres are still in good condition.

 

[Clawhamer]

Could it worth for the OP to take a trip to Wheels in Motion to see if they can improve things with the new tyres fitted? Not cheap, but the crabbing sounds terrible; I couldn't live with it personally.

I’m near Liverpool but it does need alignment sorting so I’ll find a place to take a look. Really don’t trust Mercedes dealerships as they’ve been utterly worthless and the reason the C43 will be my first and last Mercedes.

 

[Germgh0st]

I’m near Liverpool but it does need alignment sorting so I’ll find a place to take a look. Really don’t trust Mercedes dealerships as they’ve been utterly worthless and the reason the C43 will be my first and last Mercedes.

I think that depends on the dealer, I've never had an issue with my MB dealer - always courteous and accommodating.

 

[Engadine]

I’m near Liverpool but it does need alignment sorting so I’ll find a place to take a look. Really don’t trust Mercedes dealerships as they’ve been utterly worthless and the reason the C43 will be my first and last Mercedes.

Sorry to hear that. My dealership has been very good.
in my experience this is more something for a really good tyre specialist to deal with. Some dealers may not think it's an issue/fault, and many good mechanics in other ways don't know or care about differences between different tyres.

 

[vijilants]

I’m near Liverpool but it does need alignment sorting so I’ll find a place to take a look. Really don’t trust Mercedes dealerships as they’ve been utterly worthless and the reason the C43 will be my first and last Mercedes.

Agreed that the customer service in relation to a lot of Mercedes dealerships isn't great and they could do an awful lot to improve the service and it has been an ongioing issue for some time.

However a lot of people who purchase Mercs do so for the car itself and not the dealership service, something we sometimes sadly have to tolerate.