Michelin Pilots - W208 CLK55 AMG

[MiG]

Running Michelin Pilot low profiles on my W208. Seem to have a flat spot at 60kmph... Any way to fix this? Also, what are the recommended pressures for these tyres? Any advice appreciated.

 

[BTB 500]

What do you mean by 'flat spot' at a certain speed? Doesn't sound like anything to do with tyres.

 

[kwakdonut]

Flat spotted tyres will give you problems at all speeds I believe - had them on my old Celica - the faster you went, the worse it got!!

 

[MiG]

Feel it at all speeds but more pronounced around 60kmph... A mechanic I know recommended to run them at 50psi for a while, but didn't think that would be a good idea!

 

[BTB 500]

If the tyres have developed flat spots because the car has been standing for some time that will normally clear within 10 mins or so of driving. The vibration is noticeable at all speeds, it gets faster as you go quicker.

Anything else needs looking at, IMO. Why do you think it's a tyre problem?

 

[kwakdonut]

Feel it at all speeds but more pronounced around 60kmph... A mechanic I know recommended to run them at 50psi for a while, but didn't think that would be a good idea!

WOW!!! Does he work for a certain well-known High Street fitting centre????? lol

Try getting them balanced first - that might help - look for any obvious damage too

 

[Roger Jones]

Note that tyres have a maximum pressure shown on the sidewall.

Go to the Michelin site for pressures:

http://tinyurl.com/6nck3n

 

[kjay]

Try a good 20 second burn-out ... May even them up a bit.

.

 

[Smatt]

Try a good 20 second burn-out ... May even them up a bit.

.

Is that the equivalent of IT support suggesting you switch it off & back on??

 

[nigel cross]

Is that the equivalent of IT support suggesting you switch it off & back on??

Normally called 'A 3 pin Reset'

 

[MiG]

It was standing for a long time before I bought it and the vibrations at speed are definitely from the wheels... Had the car serviced recently and they found nothing else apart from changing the discs and pads (and the vibration was there from before).

May take it back to be looked at again just to make sure - perhaps after trying the burnout for good measure ;-)

Thanks...

 

[VB123]

Go around a round-about again and again increasing your speed, obviously somewhere with not a lot of traffic, we need to do this after the cars sit at the port in the heat, should come good.............or get the tyres optimised.

 

[BTB 500]

It was standing for a long time before I bought it and the vibrations at speed are definitely from the wheels...

This is a 7 year old car ... so how old are the tyres? 4-digit date code on the sidewall after "DOT ..." - first 2 digits are week (01-52), and second 2 are year. If the tyres are 5-6 years old they should be binned anyway, regardless of wear.

Even if newer, check for any signs of cracking/crazing in the sidewalls. Standing for any length of time is not good for them ... particularly if the air is not being topped up.

 

[Howard]

I bought my old CLK cabrio after it had been standing for 6 months , flat spots on the tyres were gone in a day ....

 

[BTB 500]

Yup I get flats on the SL tyres because it isn't driven much, but they're gone after 10-15 mins driving.

Hence I'd be having a hard look at the tyres. Couple of years back I had a vibration from one of my caravan tyres (2 years old) ... jacked it up and spun it, and the tyre was visibly not perfectly round any more! It had started to delaminate.

On a 5.5 litre AMG you don't want to be taking any chances whatsoever with the tyres, IMHO.

 

[x332race]

Check your tyres...I had this problem and by time I realised what was causing it, part of the (rear) tyre was down to the wire in one place. Can happen with some tyres due to manufactruing process apparently, or if a tyre has been excessivly kerbed or potholed at some time. Put new tyres on and problem went away.
If nothing obviously wrong with tyres, get them balanced (note my problem was with a rear tyre which I would not normally automatically associate with vibration)

 

[MiG]

Cheers will inspect them more closely... Thanks for the heads up on the sidewall info....

 

[c240yaz]

What about basics, like getting the wheels balanced ?

 

[MiG]

Yes, will try that too... Worth exhausting all possibilities before forking out on a new set of rubber!

Car is going in for a replacement washer motor anyway so will get them to look into the problem (another excuse to charge me another 100 quid or so!)

 

[gIzzE]

What size tyres are they??

I have a few pairs of newish Pilot Sports with 5mm plus on them.