Tyre problems with an '07 SLK 200 (or not)

[Gerry Eccles]

My wife drives an '07 SLK 200k with 14ooo miles on it and the rear tyres need replacing again after 7ooo miles ( the first set lasted only 7k as well)Is this normal with this model considering that the driving style is not excessive and the transmission is automatic.

 

[Mactech]

My wife had an 06 SLK 200K and after 11k miles when it was sold the rear tyres still had 5mm tread on. They were the 245 Pirelli on 17" rims. Where do you live? Santa Pod?
That sounds a very high wear rate for whatever tyre!
Same wife got through a rear pair of Sportcontact2 on a C180K in 17k miles, the highest wear rate on any of our Mercedes in the past 8 years.

 

[rf065]

My wife drives an '07 SLK 200k with 14ooo miles on it and the rear tyres need replacing again after 7ooo miles ( the first set lasted only 7k as well)Is this normal with this model considering that the driving style is not excessive and the transmission is automatic.

How did the tyres wear, across the whole width evenly, one or both edges or only the centre? That will give you a clue to the problem.

Russ

 

[Beetnik]

Have an 08 model with 10k miles and 3.5 mm left and I drive it pretty hard.

 

[lynall]

You sure shes not drifting it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wlEkmPXw2k


Lynall

 

[fuzzer]

My wife drives an '07 SLK 200k with 14ooo miles on it and the rear tyres need replacing again after 7ooo miles ( the first set lasted only 7k as well)Is this normal with this model considering that the driving style is not excessive and the transmission is automatic.

sounds like P zeros or contisports then change them to michelin.

 

[Beetnik]

Conti SP3's 245/40 17s just reached the legal limit at 15k miles.

 

[mikey_m]

sounds like P zeros or contisports then change them to michelin.

my 2008 SLK200 manual likewise eats rear tyres. I replaced the originals (Continentals?) at 16k miles (reasonable, I suppose) with Pirelli Pzero but they are showing considerable wear after only 3k miles and will soon need to be replaced. My driving style is sensible.

 

[mikey_m]

my 2008 SLK200 manual likewise eats rear tyres. I replaced the originals (Continentals?) at 16k miles (reasonable, I suppose) with Pirelli Pzero but they are showing considerable wear after only 3k miles and will soon need to be replaced. My driving style is sensible.

I checked the paperwork and it seems I have done 6k miles on the P-zeros and they have 3mm left. It's still a fairly fast wear-rate, in my book

 

[Goldfish11]

On ours the continentals on the rears have done 14k miles and have just been replaced. Fronts look as if they will do an other 20k miles.

 

[crockers]

Never got more than 15k on a set of rears....have used Contis, Michelin, Goodyear and Kumhos.

 

[rf065]

Does anyone bother to read the treadware rating on their tyres sidewall?
I had a set of Bridgestone Potenzas, didn't wear very well and not good in the wet either. Treadware rating was 140 which is low, changed to Falken ZE912's with a treadware rating of 360 and better wet grip than the Bridgestones, and lasting a lot longer too.

Russ

 

[grober]

Might be worth getting a 4 wheel geometry check- we had a SLK poster on here not long ago complaining of strange rear handling- turned out to have a bent rear track arm[ possible kerbing damage?]

 

[GP801]

Rear Continentals on ours lasted 22,000 miles and still had quite a bit of tread left but had to be replaced after damage to the sidewall.

 

[Paphian]

I'm glad it is not just me then. My 2008 SLK 200 automatic (facelifted model) went through its first set of factory fit rears (Dunlop SP01 Sport) at 13000km (8000 miles). The car has now done 26000km and the rears need replacing again and the fronts are now shot also. To be fair the car has rarely seen a motorway and most of my driving is (shall we say enthusiastically driven) on mountainous roads with less than perfect surfaces, but the tyre wear is nevertheless alarming. It will be a toss up between Continentals and Michelins for the replacements.

 

[Paphian]

To follow up on my earlier post, I replaced the Dunlops with Michelin Primacy HP 205/55R16 front 225/50R16 rear. Today I ran the car around a familiar 200km route through the mountains (I don't live in the UK). What instantly was obvious was that the Michelins were much more forgiving of poorer road surfaces, thus giving a smoother ride, and there was a slight tendency to increased over-steer. I found myself cornering faster and more comfortably than before, without making any particular effort to do so, but the car did not seem to squat down on the road in quite the same way when powered through fast bends. Certainly as a road tyre the Michelins are the better choice. Whether they will last any better is anyone's guess.

 

[wheels-inmotion]

Your complaint is common nowadays with the heavy powerful car. Manufactures ambition for tyre wear has become sacrificial so to maintain performance -V- grip levels.

Everything the car possesses goes through that little tiny tyre contact patch, the forces involved are huge as are the expectations, so something had to go and that's longevity.

Here's a few examples from some of my customers cars.... Ferrari F430, just fitted with twin superchargers stuffed it's new rear Michelin cup tyres in 1140 miles!! 1000bhp Supra did his new Toyo R888's rears in 500 miles!!

The more technology added to the car regarding yaw, traction and stability the more sacrificial the tyres will become, problem is most the time we don't even realize we are using the technology, but we are?