W205 18" Premature Tyre Wear, Continental Tyres

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richardgr88

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Joined
Nov 1, 2016
Messages
54
Car
Mercedes CLK 280 Sport Cabrio
Hi,

Over the past year I have just had the luxury of having a 2015 65' plate C250 AMG Line Premium Plus which was a lovely car. Now the proud owner of a 2008 A209 280 Sport which is going well so far (despite the frequent trips to the petrol station but that might be down to the sound of the V6 and my right foot)

My question is about the W205 though, at the rear it had 245/40/18 Continental Sport Contact 5 tyres. When I handed the car back it had only done just over 9,000 miles and the rear tyres were on the verge of legal in the centre.

I had only ever inflated them to the recommended 250kPa and would have expected to get more thank 9k out of them. I never drove it particularly hard, occassionally a little spirited maybe. The outsides of the tyres seemed ok suggesting over inflation but I only ever did it to the manufacturers specification.

Has anyone else experienced this? I've paid £230 for the tyres to be replaced in order to sign off the return but am thinking of writing a letter of complaint.

Many thanks in advance.
Richard
 
Hi,

Over the past year I have just had the luxury of having a 2015 65' plate C250 AMG Line Premium Plus which was a lovely car. Now the proud owner of a 2008 A209 280 Sport which is going well so far (despite the frequent trips to the petrol station but that might be down to the sound of the V6 and my right foot)

My question is about the W205 though, at the rear it had 245/40/18 Continental Sport Contact 5 tyres. When I handed the car back it had only done just over 9,000 miles and the rear tyres were on the verge of legal in the centre.

I had only ever inflated them to the recommended 250kPa and would have expected to get more thank 9k out of them. I never drove it particularly hard, occassionally a little spirited maybe. The outsides of the tyres seemed ok suggesting over inflation but I only ever did it to the manufacturers specification.

Has anyone else experienced this? I've paid £230 for the tyres to be replaced in order to sign off the return but am thinking of writing a letter of complaint.

Many thanks in advance.
Richard

Just move on, they will simply say you ragged the car and wore out the tyres.
 
Well thanks for that and I'd happily accept that if I had ragged the car.

If I'd have ragged the car from previous experience I'm pretty sure the wear would have been quite even and not just in the centre of the tyre.

The bloke when it was handed back said it was a fairly common problem with the C class and 18 inch wheels - he suggested that the PDI whatever that is may have got the pressures wrong which would explain the centres wearing out.

While I realise £230 might not seem much in Mercedes world that is £230 that could go towards my new to me CLK.
 
I'm a bit miffed myself I own a A250 w176 Sport and I'm in need of two new tyres, and i have only done about 7tho miles.
I do boot it one now and again but would not of expected to wear 5he tyres out so quickly
Mine are also continentals and run flats which I hate.
The road noise is horrendous.
MB recently serviced my car and quoted me £320.00 like for like.
Cheers
Ben
 
Thanks for the feedback Ben on yours. I am so pleased mine weren't run flats otherwise the £230 would have been £350.

I think I'm going to write a disgruntled email to them - better than just taking it, I could understand if I drove it like I stole it every day but it had a fairly easy life.

I shall be watching my CLK280 ones though as they're 255/35/18!! Never really had much experience with Continental, my favourites have always been Michelin. Think the CLK has Pirelli on the front and something unheard of on the back but so far so good.
 
According to my ready reckoner, 250kPa is just over 36psi. The recommended rear tyre pressure for my 211 estate is 32psi, so I reckon you'd been running them slightly over inflated, which is what would have caused the wear in the centre.
 
2 things:

I always run RWD rear tyres at the lowest suggested inflation taken from the fuel flap and the higher for the fronts - assuming I'm not carrying unusual loads - this has seen me return nearly 40k miles on a full set.

Continentals are noisy when worn.
 
My bog-standard W205 has a notice under the fuel filler flap that says the tyre pressure should be 250kPa and that's what I use. The wear pattern is pretty even across the tyres.
 
Well thanks for that and I'd happily accept that if I had ragged the car.

If I'd have ragged the car from previous experience I'm pretty sure the wear would have been quite even and not just in the centre of the tyre.

The bloke when it was handed back said it was a fairly common problem with the C class and 18 inch wheels - he suggested that the PDI whatever that is may have got the pressures wrong which would explain the centres wearing out.

While I realise £230 might not seem much in Mercedes world that is £230 that could go towards my new to me CLK.

It wasn't a criticism of your post, I was just saying that's what they'll use to wriggle out of any refund :thumb:
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the responses all. No worries moonloops, I know what you mean :)

I also thought 250kpa was a bit much and like has been said is just over 36 psi.

So the verdict is that they were overinflated which is what has caused the wear but if 250 is what the fuel filler cap said surely that's Merc's fault and not mine.

I will see if I can find a photo on my phone of the inside of the filler cap just to confirm that I'm not loosing my marbles and then I'm going to give it a shot.
 
36 psi sounds high for 18 inch wheels. My 204 says 36 psi for the 195,60 on 16 inch wheels but for wider tyres and bigger wheels the pressure is less. There is a lot of information on the fuel flap referring to pressures which can be easily misread.
 
Maybe 36psi is the safest recommended pressure.

Doesn't make it the lightest on your wallet though.
 
I always thought larger tyres which are low profile had higher pressures than smaller wheels with greater profile tyres.

Maybe 36psi brings in the fuel economy but screws with the tyre economy!
 

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