Dieselman
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If rotational it will say and they will have a big arrow showing the direction....
kth286
MB Enthusiast
Do not get too confused by Dieselman's rotational warning.
As per Merc's recommendation you should put front to back ON SAME SIDE OF CAR, so rotational issue does not arise.
I have not seen anywhere that Mercedes says swop diagionally - so DO NOT.
As Dieselman himself says in an earlier post, the tyre wear on front is to the tyre edges and on the rear is to tyre centres.
So front to rear swaps (on same side) is ALL that is required.
As per Merc's recommendation you should put front to back ON SAME SIDE OF CAR, so rotational issue does not arise.
I have not seen anywhere that Mercedes says swop diagionally - so DO NOT.
As Dieselman himself says in an earlier post, the tyre wear on front is to the tyre edges and on the rear is to tyre centres.
So front to rear swaps (on same side) is ALL that is required.
Dieselman
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You should cross rotate the tyres if possible and only swap front to rear if the tyres are directional.
The more locations a tyre sits on the more even the wear will be across it's tread.
Some manufacturers also add the spare into the mix to get a full rotation.
The tyres on the n/s will both wear the edge more than the o/s tyre due to roundabouts.
A quick search.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43
television
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Just as another thought,, so many drivers complain on the 203 about driving instability, what would be the effect of deviating from the MB figures on the camber angle
Philayl
New Member
Hi, these people are supposed to be amongst the best in the business for alignment and castor/camber alignment, http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/ , I haven't used them myself (too far away) but if you are in reach of Chesham it might be worth having a chat with them.
kth286
MB Enthusiast
On a Merc the fronts will not.
This is due to the normally high castor angle built into the Merc front geometry - traditionally about twice the castor angle of other cars.
This means the front wheels lean over a lot on turns. You will see this when looking at your turned front wheels when parking your car for instance.
So, on roundabouts the outer wheel will lean inwards and the inner wheel will lean outwards.
So, the tread on the outer wheel is wearing on the inner side, and the tread on the inner wheel is wearing on the outer side as you travel around about.
Perhaps you need to draw it on a piec of paper to best visualize the situation.
Well, I can't put the fronts on the back as they are different sizes and I can't swap the fronts cross ways because they both wear on their outside edges - unless I removed the tyres from the wheels I guess ??
They are michelin piolet primacy - not sure turning the actual tyres is a good idea even if they are non directional - aren't they worn in one direction already ?
They are michelin piolet primacy - not sure turning the actual tyres is a good idea even if they are non directional - aren't they worn in one direction already ?
television
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
I have heard this said before now
What was the power steering fault?. If you let go of my wheel in a straight line it will always kick to the left the same amount ie the steering wheel will never hold itself straight. - then the car will pull off to the kerb in no time at all.
Cheers
Adam
I thought it was a valve or pressure thing, basically it was very light around the straight ahead making it difficult to drive around light bends, slightly move the wheel and it would steer too much, then get heavy again. Hard to describe.
Alignment was wrong as well, took a few visits to sort out, they replaced the PS pump first, then the rack which solved everything.
If the rears wear in the centre it's because they are over inflated.
I agree with you on the fronts
Dieselman
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If we all check our rear tyres on our RWD Mercs they will be worn in the centres even with correct pressures.
Trust me, I've seen this.
Dieselman
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Ooo..maybe not.
Just how far are you turning the wheels when negotiating a roundabout. I would very much doubt to full lock which is when the steering inclination angle will cause the wheel to lean over.
The edge wears due to the weight of the car forcing the tyre to roll under.
Well that defies common sense. You dont need to be a qualified mechanic to understand this. Why should a Mercedes be any different from any other vehicle ?
If a tyre wears on the middle it is obviously over inflated for the weight of the vehicle on the tyre.
Why should a mercedes be any different from anything else ?
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Dieselman
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I wonder if it's because to handle the torque through the rear tyres the pressure is raised a bit compared to a front drive car.
Thinking about it I think I've noticed this on all my RWD cars.
Thinking about it I think I've noticed this on all my RWD cars.
You think the same as me. I have thought about this after reading the MB brochure which misleads us.
The tyre pressures are aimed at 4 persons in the car and boot fully laden. Fine. But how often do we all use the car with these particulars. Never.
Hence why everyones rear tyres burn out in the middle. Driver only, rear seats and boot empty, no weight on the rear tyres.
Dieselman
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There should be two sets of pressures listed inside the filler flap. Light load/slow speed and heavy load/high speed.
Even on the light load setting they wear in the centre.
Even on the light load setting they wear in the centre.
I know, but most people will blow up to the max pressure. Education required at the pumps ?
On a RWD car the rear tyres handle large loads under acceleration. Use one of the two pressures shown on the fuel flap. Under inflated tyres lead to higher fuel consumption up to + 5%. I've read around 70% cars on the road have under inflated tyres leading to millions of gallons being wasted.
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television
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Its a hard subject, At the unloaded figure my fronts wear dead flat, the rears do eat the middle , by the time they are down to 4mm on the sides, they have 2½ in the middle, where do you trade off the fuel consumption verses ride and wear
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