So I got the non-run flat tires put on the S560 today. They are a staggered size, fronts are 245/45/19s and the rears are 275/40/19s. Ordered a set of Michelin Primacy Tour A/S for it, they were installed today. For some reason in the front size Michelin put an aggressive rim protector into the sidewall, but no rim protector into the sidewall of the back size. The result is the tires look really different front to back on the car. The front tires almost have a stretched appearance. Back tires look how I expected. Really strange. Already talked to TireRack and they will exchange them...

My question is, would this bug you? I'm not sure whether I'm being too picky...

Front:




Back:

 

Would probably bother me. I think tires can look so awesome with a wheel. Two tires that don’t really match looks off. First world problems I guess.

 

Yeah I’m leaning towards replacing them, just have to make sure what I choose to replace them doesn’t have the same issue. The TireRack “product specialist” wasn’t much help in that regard...

 

did the car really ride that bad with the run-flats????? those things saved me doing 118mph and LR pressure went to zero (ran over large bolt or something).

 

No, I just want it to ride as well as it can. It definitely rides better on these, impacts are much less sharp. I built it into the deal.

 

Like you said, not sure what tire you'd go with other than those Michelins.

 

With Michelin I could replace them with the older Primacy MXM4 which comes in RunFlat and not RunFlat. I have driven the car on the RunFlat version and it drives very well. Those tires don't have that sidewall issue. Here's what they look like, much better IMO:




I think I'm going to do that, just have to decide whether to just get the MB Spec RunFlat or get the non RunFlat.

 

My 2009 IS350 that I bought new and still own has staggered wheels. The original tires I think were Dunlops and now I have Michelins, and both sets of tires have the same differences front to back as yours do. I am very particular and it has never bothered me in the least bit.

Congrats on the car, by the way. Although I have never owned a Mercedes I will always have a soft spot for them. I was very close to my grandfather growing up and he had a 450SLC (and later three Lexus LSs, although he kept the SLC), and my father-in-law had an SL600 at one point, too.

 

Thank you!

 

IMO hard to go wrong with either Michelins or Contis, rim protector or not.

I agree that run-flats aren't for me either, but my review/test-drive experience lately has been that the newest designs of run-flats don't rise as harshly as they did when the technology got them first came out. To adequately support the car's weight without any air-pressure (particularly a large heavy car like a S-class), they have to have stiff, hard-riding sidewalls...but even that has been toned down a little as the engineers discover new materials and tire-producing methods.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the slight difference in tire-appearance. In fact, some vehicles (such as Porsches) actually come with larger tires/wheels on the rear as up front....you can't even rotate them normally. Other vehicles have unidirectional tires that can't be cross-rotated.


And, as far as having the rim-protectors on the tire in the first place, you probably won't need them at all. First, I know you aren't a careless driver, and Second, that's what the 360-cameras and tilt-down mirrors are for...to show you exactly where the curbs are, to prevent curb-rash and/or tire-scrubbling. Third, as you note, the front-tires are more likely to have the rim-protectors because the average person, most of the time, is more likely to curb the front wheels.

Last, I notice that the tires are 275/45s and 40s...ordinarily, a 40-height sidewall, all else equal, would ride pretty firmly, but the 275 width means you still have some sidewall even with the 40-height, and Mercedes (and older BMW) suspension-engineers knew how to design a smooth ride in spite of good handling.....in that regard, the Germans are arguably the best in the industry.

Does your S-class have the camera that reads the roadway ahead of it and adjusts the suspension/shock/damping to compensate? That will, of course, also help the ride....but I don't know if it is standard or optional in your car.

 

No, it doesn’t have Magic Body Control. I’ve been looking at them off and on all evening, I’m going to return them for the older MXM4 that doesn’t have that issue with the sidewall look front to back. They come in RF and non RF, have to decide which direction to go...

 

Like I said, sounds a little picky to me, but, first, it's your car, and second, when you shell out 100K+ for something, yes, you have a right to be satisfied.

 

Those really do look very different front to back, and they're definitely the same model of tire? Seems like the fronts are the wrong size or the rears are oversized. Are they the exact same ratio/sizes as factory? Maybe that model of tire doesn't come in exactly the same size as factory.

 

I love tires with rim protectors, both look and function, but yeah it kind of looks weird with different size protector on the tires.

Do you have carpet in your garage?

 

Yeah! Same tires, the OEM sizes. I was really surprised by how different they are...

Yeah, if both had the rim protectors that would be fine!

I do! LOL, indoor outdoor carpet. I did it years and years ago as a poor mans garage floor and I’ve just never redone it.

The neighbors think I’m weird for many reasons, but vacuuming the garage is one of the big ones.