SLK 200 wiggling rear end in wet-poor quality tyres?

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Candy said:
Hi,
I've just been outside and this is what is says on my tyres.

Back are: Infinity 225/50R16 96W
One of the front are: Infinity 205/55R16 94W INF-05
Other front is: Hifly 205/55R16 94W

I think it's a good idea to ring the garage and gain assurance that they definately did a 4 wheel alignment - I'm sure they did but worth checking - they said they'd checked everything they could and showed me print outs to show everthing was balanced.

I drove it home tonight and over 'manhole covers' it was still wiggling/jumping it's back end - has anyone else heard of this manouver?

thanks
Candy...........won't be about tomorrow as it's my Birthday....ha...have great weekends everybody
Love Candy
xx
Click to expand...

Get good tyres, it'll make a difference. I vote for the Cont S3. Happy birthday for tomorrow, and snap it is mine too :D
 
I'm on sport contact 3 all round on mine and they are very, very grippy.
 
timskemp said:
I'm on sport contact 3 all round on mine and they are very, very grippy.
Click to expand...

Got 'em on the front, but the ditch finders on the back.

What fun!!!

I'm going to put conti 3's on the back and after that, replace with KuhmoKu31's when they all wear out.
 
The waddling sensation could be square tyres i.e they are no longer circular. This can be caused by the belts in the carcass stretching and giving way, or throwing the tread. A common occurrence with cheap tyres. And unfortunately something I've had happen twice with Pirelli. The SLK200 has a respectable dose of power but probably doesn't demand the expensive high-performance tyres some are recommending.
 
We have all talked about your "cheaper" quality tyres, but I was thinking about your description and the fact that the car was side swiped by a lorry. Did the body shop check the chassis on an appropriate jig. Could have bent something important that doesn't show up on alignement.
Happy Birthday!
 
As a previous R171 slk owner with Contisport 3 on it I can tell you that although they are great in good weather, their wet performance especially standing water isn't great. One thing you must know is that their cold weather performance is awful. Anything below 8c and the performance is dreadful.

I've switched to All Season Hankook 4S tyres which have been great. Another tip with the Slk is to put something heavy in the boot in wet weather. It makes some difference!
 
grober said:
Infinity tyres are made in China http://www.infinity-tyres.com/inftyres3/news/infinity_newsletter_may2010.pdf and although they may have been quite cheap to buy are a false economy on a Mercedes sports car IMHO sorry.

ps if the finances won't stretch to Michelin or Continental then there are mid market tyres which still offer better wet weather performance such as Vredestein, Kumho or Falken
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Agree - Kumho and Falken are top quality mid priced / market tyres. Not so sure Vredestein can be classified as mid market - more premium IMHO

Anyway all these are good. So are Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli etc. If the brand is a well known it has a reputation to uphold.
 
I've tried quite a few different makes and personally I'd go for Bridgestone RE050's. Grip, quality and wear rate is excellent and a fair bit cheaper than Michelin and Conti's.
 
In general you can't beat a bit of quality rubber round your back end.

However, as this is only a recent problem I'd say it isn't the rubber that's the problem.

Long dry spells followed by rain mean very greasy roads, so it's possible you're just noticing extra slipperyness lately and blaming it on the rubber at the back end, or the car isn't set-up right or just feels different to what you have been rocking around in.
 
Dieselman said:
you can't beat a bit of quality rubber round your back end.

you're just noticing extra slipperyness lately and blaming it on the rubber at the back end,
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A fan of the 'Carry On' movies DM? ;)
 
Update on Mercedes SLK - wiggle - JIG check

Hi everyone
Thanks for the comments from you all and it's certainly made me more aware of tyre quality etc.

Today I telephoned the Mercedes dealer who does my service/MOT etc and they said I should definately call my Insurance company back and confirmed when I mentioned a 'jig that the car does get checked on one of these- this being one of the things mentioned on this thread by you.

I reminded the insurance company that whilst on the face of it, the repairs did only appear to be body work/wheel trim replacement/mirror replacement - but reminded them that........if the wheel trim got ripped off - and the lorry's trailer moved me towards the roundabout kerb while I was stationary - ie....shunted me - that just because there wasn't a dent around the rear end - it didn't mean that something might not have been shunted out of place.

My husband drove this car about 100 miles over the weekend (birthday away w/end) and he definately noticed it - he said it felt unsafe to drive - I said to the Insurance company that it didn't feel safe and they'd got an obligation to ensure it's safe to drive - especially when this is the 2nd time I've told them I'm not happy with this back end wiggle thing that wasn't there pre accident.

The garage who repaired it have asked me to take back today and they have booked it into their local Mercedes dealer where they will give it a road test and then report their recommendations - ie whether it requires further investigations.

I have told the garage that I will definately be changing the tyres something more reputable/safer etc - but I want this wiggle investigating firstly - as I only purchased the tyres in December - I only do 26 miles a day - and as the car wasn't driving like this before the accident I can't imagine that it is purely the tyres.

There you go - I will let you know the outcome when I hear.

Much love from Candy's SLK's wiggle

xx
 
Last edited:
Candy said:
Hi everyone
Thanks for the comments from you all and it's certainly made me more aware of tyre quality etc.

Today I telephoned the Mercedes dealer who does my service/MOT etc and they said I should definately call my Insurance company back and confirmed when I mentioned a 'jig that the car does get checked on one of these- this being one of the things mentioned on this thread by you.

I reminded the insurance company that whilst on the face of it, the repairs did only appear to be body work/wheel trim replacement/mirror replacement - but reminded them that........if the wheel trim got ripped off - and the lorry's trailer moved me towards the roundabout kerb while I was stationary - ie....shunted me - that just because there wasn't a dent around the rear end - it didn't mean that something might not have been shunted out of place.

My husband drove this car about 100 miles over the weekend (birthday away w/end) and he definately noticed it - he said it felt unsafe to drive - I said to the Insurance company that it didn't feel safe and they'd got an obligation to ensure it's safe to drive - especially when this is the 2nd time I've told them I'm not happy with this back end wiggle thing that wasn't there pre accident.

The garage who repaired it have asked me to take back today and they have booked it into their local Mercedes dealer where they will give it a road test and then report their recommendations - ie whether it requires further investigations.

I have told the garage that I will definately be changing the tyres something more reputable/safer etc - but I want this wiggle investigating firstly - as I only purchased the tyres in December - I only do 26 miles a day - and as the car wasn't driving like this before the accident I can't imagine that it is purely the tyres.

There you go - I will let you know the outcome when I hear.

Much love from Candy's SLK's wiggle

xx
Click to expand...

So, looks like my "jig" thing is something the garage is considering :) Keep us posted please as I'm sure we all want to hear the last word on the Candy SLK's wiggle :D
 
Result of the SLK200 back end wiggle

Hi everyone
After insisting to my Insurance company that I wanted my car to go to Mercedes to have a 4 wheel alignment check etc - I now have a result - no wiggle and feels safe to drive.

It appears the garage who did the repairs set all the tracking/alignment things by the book they had and in their view - all was lined up perfectly and even gave me the print out to prove it.

However, when Mercedes plugged my actual car into a machine they had - the recommended settings for my car were different to the 'book' the other garage had - and it appeared the settings were quite a bit out.

Now they've set them as they should be - the car drive perfectly again (well as perfect as it can be driven by a woman.....which means it's more than perfect, obviously)!

The garage who did my bodywork repairs though I must say offered me a first class experience and did everything they could to resolve 'the wiggle' - they took it and collected it from the Mercedes dealer and did all the arranging.

Therefore, the SLK is now very happy again, and me even more so.

Byeeeeeeeeeee :):bannana:
 
I'm glad the problem has been sorted. Now, with some good quality tyres all round, it will approach perfection :D
 
Glad you have the car back to handling the way you are accustomed to. Good for you sticking to your guns and getting it sorted.
 
Glld you got it sorted and all is good again. My experience says that MB aren't the best on alignment though - they had 3 goes on mine and couldn't fix it, was done in 40 mins by Wheels In Motion :). No one touches my alignment other than WIM now.
 
Back end wiggle

I have had exactly the same problem as you described in your original post.
Go over a manhole cover and the backend is all over the place. I am running on Perelli's something or other.
The car was fine until I had the roll bar? bushes and links replaced as they were in a bit of a mess. Got the car back and it was frightening. Had the alignment checked and re-Aligned, a bit better, rear shocks replaced , a bit better but still not as good as before, this may just be me as I do not drive the slk a lot it is just a summer toy.
The tyres a re still legal but will change next year, could this be a flat spot on the tyres as the car sits idle 6 months a year at least.
Lew
 
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