CLS 2016 shooting brake - wheels and tyres dilemma :-(

[CMJohn]

My 2016 CLS 220d AMG style shooting brake is starting to cost me too much money in upkeep...It's going through a set of rear tyres in 9 months (I do about 15,000 miles a year of mainly non-motorway driving), and just this year I've had cracks in both rear alloys. First crack I had welded, it lasted a month before cracking again, the second attempt at welding has held up so far, but now I've got a crack in the other rear wheel. I'll probably try and get it welded too, but not hopeful it's going to last long.

Dealer wants £900+ for 1 replacement rear wheel! I've looked over Ebay and the size of the rears seems rare (19x9.5, wider than the 19x8.5 on the front), so not had much luck finding a 2nd hand replacement. Also there don't seem to be many bargains, folk seem to want £400-£550 for a refurbished wheel. I did manage to find one, but after purchasing it the tyre fitter noticed that it had a slight wobble to it, which has put me off buying 2nd hand wheels (seems like it's impossible to know if they have been repaired in the past until you've travelled to get them...)

If I'm going to need to buy a new set of tyres every 9 months, and budget for a new wheel on a regular basis, this isn't going to work.

Before I decide to sell on and get something else, I just wondered if you folk could tell me -

• Is my experience with the wheels being weak typical, or have I been a bit unlucky?
• Is 9000ish miles out of the rear tyres fairly normal? They're just Nankangs (285/30/19), but still cost £160 each...
• Are any of the Mercedes wheels known to be stronger than the ones I have? (I have the 19"x9.5 AMG turbine multispoke design)
• What other wheel/tyre size options might be better? Does the car HAVE to have staggered wheels, wider on the rear? Is there an 18" design that would fit, and give the wheels a bit more cushioning with the tyre wall?
• And finally - when I've been looking on Ebay for 2nd hand wheels, most of the refurbished ones are diamond cut. The wheels on my car are painted silver. Did the car come from factory with diamond cut wheels? Because if I order a new wheel from Mercedes for £900, I guess I'd still have to pay to get it painted to match on top of that otherwise!

Thanks for any advice. And sympathy!

 

[OneForTheRoad]

There's loads of wheels for sale on Facebook,marketplace . Full sets with tyres and Tpms can be had for £500 . You can go for a square set up , just buy wheels for the correct offset stamped on your front wheels. Has the car been remapped or fitted with a tuning box ?? Extra torque eats rubber .

For example.

 

[cp3377]

I have experienced similar with the wheels - they don’t have much tyre wall protection and are prone to cracking on our wonderfully-surfaced road. I bought a spare set from eBay as a result. Re tyres - suggest going for premium brands as what it costs you will pay back in terms of mileage based on my experience. My 350‘s have averaged 30k between changes (90% motorway miles) with Pirelli P-Zero (not popular amongst some here in terms of grip but they do last) and Continental Sport Contacts. I make sure they are MO XL 98Y. If you do that you should get at least double and possibly treble the miles. I have had cars with full Airmatic but that shouldn’t make much difference As you will have air suspension in at least the rear too.

The alternative is to drop down a wheel size and buy 18inch instead - it gives a little more tyre wall and I’m sure that will help things.

Hope that’s helpful.

 

[amgv12power]

Would it make any difference if you changed to non-runflat tires?

 

[CMJohn]

There's loads of wheels for sale on Facebook,marketplace . Full sets with tyres and Tpms can be had for £500 . You can go for a square set up , just buy wheels for the correct offset stamped on your front wheels. Has the car been remapped or fitted with a tuning box ?? Extra torque eats rubber .

For example.

View attachment 150776

 

[CMJohn]

OK, thanks, I hadn't thought to look on Facebook marketplace. You say a square set up is possible then? If my current wheels are 19x8.5 et34.5 and rears are 19x9.5 et48, 19x8.5 et 34.5 will be OK to use all round? And if I drop a size, 18x8.5 et 34.5 OK all round too? If there's more options like this then maybe I can live with it - it's hunting down the very specific exact same wheel that's been the problem.

 

[CMJohn]

I have experienced similar with the wheels - they don’t have much tyre wall protection and are prone to cracking on our wonderfully-surfaced road. I bought a spare set from eBay as a result. Re tyres - suggest going for premium brands as what it costs you will pay back in terms of mileage based on my experience. My 350‘s have averaged 30k between changes (90% motorway miles) with Pirelli P-Zero (not popular amongst some here in terms of grip but they do last) and Continental Sport Contacts. I make sure they are MO XL 98Y. If you do that you should get at least double and possibly treble the miles. I have had cars with full Airmatic but that shouldn’t make much difference As you will have air suspension in at least the rear too.

The alternative is to drop down a wheel size and buy 18inch instead - it gives a little more tyre wall and I’m sure that will help things.

Hope that’s helpful.

Yes, thanks for this. I'm considering dropping to 18s and going for premium tyres, thanks!

 

[OneForTheRoad]

OK, thanks, I hadn't thought to look on Facebook marketplace. You say a square set up is possible then? If my current wheels are 19x8.5 et34.5 and rears are 19x9.5 et48, 19x8.5 et 34.5 will be OK to use all round? And if I drop a size, 18x8.5 et 34.5 OK all round too? If there's more options like this then maybe I can live with it - it's hunting down the very specific exact same wheel that's been the problem.

Correct . Have a look on any alloy website for tyre sizes if you drop wheel size , or check on the fuel flap. Rimstyle or wheelbase sell alloy wheel packages with correct tyres .

Also

Some mercs now use same size wheels all round but stagger the tyres instead. My e350 had 19x8.5 all round but 235 35 19 front . 255 30 19 rear .

 

[CMJohn]

Would it make any difference if you changed to non-runflat tires?

They're not runflats at the moment, I don't think they were standard equipment?

Cars not been remapped either, at least not to my knowledge

 

[MCFastybloke]

Something else amiss if rears only lasting 12500 miles

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Something else amiss if rears only lasting 12500 mile

I once ran a set of Avon zv7 off on my old w211 e320 , using a blue spark tuning box ,in less than 5000 miles . Tyre rubbers play a big part .

 

[MCFastybloke]

I once ran a set of Avon zv7 off on my old w211 e320 , using a blue spark tuning box ,in less than 5000 miles . Tyre rubbers play a big part .

Of course it can be done- the other item amiss is a tune and or driving.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Of course it can be done- the other item amiss is a tune and or driving.

Air pressure is another.

 

[CMJohn]

Something else amiss if rears only lasting 12500 miles

It's possible, not even 10,000 miles and the rubber has worn significantly more on the inside than the outside, gone past the limit indicators without me spotting it. The car is 7 years old and I've only had it 2 years, so I don't know it's whole history. I had 4 wheel alignment done each time, if there is something amiss how would you identify it?

I do suspect a combination of the tyres I chose and my driving habits and driving style play a big part though. As I said, most of my miles are non motorway, and on reflection maybe I do drive a bit quickly around corners and away from standstill... No wheelspin, but maybe hadn't appreciated how much torque, heavy car, and rear wheel drive matters

 

[JHS]

I have found that on my S205 the rears wear significantly more on the inner edges due to the really aggressive negative camber that MB seem to think necessary.

 

[sgregory124]

Something else amiss if rears only lasting 12500 miles

Yeah - 'Nankangs' I would have thought. I got close to 30k out of a set of Michelin Pilot 4S's and that was on my old C63S.

 

[cp3377]

It's possible, not even 10,000 miles and the rubber has worn significantly more on the inside than the outside, gone past the limit indicators without me spotting it. The car is 7 years old and I've only had it 2 years, so I don't know it's whole history. I had 4 wheel alignment done each time, if there is something amiss how would you identify it?

I do suspect a combination of the tyres I chose and my driving habits and driving style play a big part though. As I said, most of my miles are non motorway, and on reflection maybe I do drive a bit quickly around corners and away from standstill... No wheelspin, but maybe hadn't appreciated how much torque, heavy car, and rear wheel drive matters

They usually wear in the middle on the rears. Inside wear suggests the tyres aren’t handling the weight of the car well. Thye need to be Extra Load (XL) and the correct stiffness too as a minimum (98). Anything less and the wear and pressure on the inside of the tyre and tyre wall can cause premature wear and even splitting of the tyre wall - which sometimes goes unnoticed until it’s too late. Sounds like you are on the right track with what you‘re thinking.

 

[CMJohn]

Would it be a bad idea to change the rear tyre size to 275/35/19 (from 285/30/19)? I'm aware this would cause the speedometer to be slightly out, but gaining over 10mm sidewall height might help a bit with cushioning?

Was thinking I could also increase the fronts to 245/40/19 (from 255/35/19) so that the car doesn't register a discrepancy between the front and rear axle...

 

[molgrips]

I have a 2913 CLS. They have an unusual offset so all the folk saying that there are cheap wheels on eBay need to check again.

Mine came with 19" AMG wheels like yours, but I changed them for 18s. There are multiple factory options listed in the handbook. I'm now on 255/40R18 all round and they are more comfortable, quieter and about 10% more economical than the tyres they replaced. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 and they have lost maybe 1.5mm tread in 5k miles or so. I paid £168 each from Asda tyres.

In my experience the best place to get wheels is the penz-v ebay store in Germany. Smaller more sensible wheels are popular there for winter use so there are more sets in circulation. I paid £350 for four, with something like £80 shipping.

These will fit 4 Orig Mercedes Benz Alloy Wheels 8.5Jx18 ET34.5 A2184010102 CLS W218 FM428 | eBay

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

They usually wear in the middle on the rears.

Wearing fast in the middle suggests that the rear tyre pressures were too high. Consistent wear (tread depth) across the width of the tyre is what to aim for.