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Tyred out
Jun 8, 2021 21:15:10 GMT
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Post by dixinormus on Jun 8, 2021 21:15:10 GMT
Ponytail is preferable to a man-bun anyway...
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WDB
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Tyred out
Jun 23, 2021 13:22:27 GMT
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Post by WDB on Jun 23, 2021 13:22:27 GMT
But it does get through tyres — at £200-plus a time — by wearing out the inner edges. I’ve thrown more money at trying to find out why — tracking / alignment / balance all measure fine... Well, they didn’t measure so good this morning, quite a lot of red ink on the printout: too much negative camber (leaning inward) at the front, and not enough toe-in at the back. Both would lead to too much load on the inner edges of the tyres, consistent with the wear pattern I’m seeing. Fixing it isn’t as easy as measuring it. Apparently Mercedes used to fit adjusters at the factory. It still makes the adjusters but now sells them separately, so the job costs as much as a tyre. Of which, it turned out, the car already needed two. So it was an expensive morning. But I now have four good Continental 5Ps and the prospect of no more premature replacements. Possibly, at my current mileage, no more replacements at all. As a bonus, there does seem to be an improvement in the steering feel — not that electric steering is ever that feely — the car still runs on straight and the steering wheel still centres correctly. Let’s hope this is the end of an expensive story. |
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Post by Humph on Jun 23, 2021 13:34:46 GMT
Good job done though. Glad it was fixable.
I've still not got around to replacing the Jeep tyres. But, "she" doesn't go very far and they're not illegal yet. Still debating whether to just replace the front two with like for like Michelins or bite down on a bit more of a wallet shock and put 4 rufty tyres on it. Seems a bit excessive really on a car that seems to spend most of its time taking her mother for coffee at garden centres or for returning things to TKMaxx
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bpg
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Tyred out
Jun 23, 2021 13:51:21 GMT
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Post by bpg on Jun 23, 2021 13:51:21 GMT
Stick with what you know. Car handles well, you got bonus points in the bank, don't spoil it now with rufty-tufty tyres and increased road noise. You could blow it and be back to null point.
Edit: or even Nul points.
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Post by Humph on Jun 23, 2021 15:21:23 GMT
Yes, I'm similarly inclined. There were perhaps two days this last winter when a bit of ruftiness might have been of some measureable benefit I suppose, but no more than that. Anyway, I'll no doubt put the full winters back on the Merc in November-ish so we'd have one car with snow boots on anyway.
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WDB
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Tyred out
Jun 23, 2021 15:31:30 GMT
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Post by WDB on Jun 23, 2021 15:31:30 GMT
Good job done though. Glad it was fixable. Thanks Humph. Tyres, so far, have been the only significant unexpected expense of running this car. And I knew when I bought it there’d be something; I may have paid Mondeo money for it, but it’s still a £50,000 car underneath. But, "she" doesn't go very far ... taking her mother for coffee at garden centres or for returning things to TKMaxx My Continentals have an ‘MO’ mark on them for a specific use case on Mercedes cars. You may be able to find a ‘CH’ version designed especially for Cheshire. 🤠 |
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Post by Humph on Jun 23, 2021 15:36:15 GMT
The only real reason to put chunky tyres on the Renegade is that they would look kind of kewl. And, I'm not sure I'm ready to publicly demonstrate being that man.
Trips to pointy and occasionally snowy bits of geography will still be made primarily in the Merc anyway.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Jun 23, 2021 17:50:24 GMT
Unless I get a puncture I'm not expecting to need tyres on the BMW whilst I have it. I won't have done 10k miles my next March at this rate.
Glad you're sorted WDB - so this adjustment on the wheels needed an extra bit of kit. Is that permanently attached then? Seems like a bit of cost cutting.
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WDB
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Tyred out
Jun 23, 2021 18:06:13 GMT
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Post by WDB on Jun 23, 2021 18:06:13 GMT
Yes. Weirdly, Mercedes makes the adjustment bolts but doesn’t fit them at the factory. Back in the day of carved-from-solid W124s, every car got them. No idea why or how that changed.
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Post by Humph on Sept 28, 2021 11:49:35 GMT
Apparently, some regions of France are introducing a mandatory winter tyre requirement from 1st November this year, or, the carrying of snow chains.
I already have some winter tyres, and indeed probably won't be taking the car to France this winter either, so more or less no effect on me, but if anyone here was thinking of crossing the channel this winter, it might be relevant.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2021 12:20:27 GMT
Great tip, thanks. I've come to the conlusion that any tyres I buy from now on must be all season with a 3MPSF symbol.
I'm ashamed to admit I got in a bit of a tizzy last February on our ski trip to Slovenia, in our rental car from Trieste airport, which I hadn't thought to check for or request had winter tyres fitted. One day we were driving to a ski slope in Austria, which involved going through a tunnel between the countries. On the way back, the tunnel was closed for an accident and we had to detour. The detour was a long mountain pass, and as we started the ascent, yep you've guessed it, it started snowing heavily, but it wasn't all that cold and it was turning to slush over ice rather quickly. At one wide bend, some other cars were stopped to put on the snow chains, and it was there my car started slithering, it simply wasn't going to make it. So I just about managed to turn around safely and head back to the lower altitudes and try to work out another route, or find a hotel for the night. Happily the tunnel had re-opened, but I don't wish to repeat anything like that again.
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Post by Humph on Sept 28, 2021 12:35:51 GMT
Straw poll of one of course, but "proper" winter tyres on the Merc make a heck of difference. Before the apocalypse, I was getting up steep Welsh mountain roads in snow in my RWD car more easily than some 4x4s on summer rubber. However, putting CrossClimate all season tyres on the Qashqai didn't seem to have as much benefit. Still slipped and slid quite a bit in tricky conditions. Slightly suspect that they were too much of a compromise. Bit like so called "hybrid" bikes, neither fish nor fowl sort of thing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2021 12:40:28 GMT
Did they have the 3MPSF symbol, or was this before that standard was introduced?
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Post by Humph on Sept 28, 2021 13:01:38 GMT
To be honest I can't remember.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2021 13:05:23 GMT
Ah OK. It was introduced in 2012, and is supposed to be an indicator of good performance in snow. Most of the Alpine countries, so far as I'm aware, accept any tyre marked 3MPSF as a suitable alternative to snow chains.
Maybe BPG could verify that, it's all jolly sensible and whatnot in those Tuetoniclands.
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