Run flat tire option
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No, I was considering it but read several reviews that stated that the tires did not provide a very smooth ride. Also, I was told that if a tire had to be replaced you had to replace the entire wheel and not just the tire. Don't know if that is true or not but I felt I was better off without them.
I cannot imagine why you would have to replace a wheel to replace a tire, PAX or not. Road and Track just did a test of a PAX equipped car and found it quite satisfactory. Corvettes have had them for years, with alternative versions available from Goodyear, Firestone, and Michelin. They were very impressed with the Run-flats on the C6 Corvette. I would order them on a R-171; the inflatable weenie tire on the R-170 is a joke.
A friend of mine has run flats on his Lexus. He ran over a bolt which punctured the tire creating very noisy one studded tire. He could not find a replacement over the weekend while away from home and ended up having to have the car towed 150 miles. I think I will stick with my P-Zero Nero M+S tires.
It is not because of the run flat tire but because of the Tire Pressure Monitoring System which is the wheel. Read the Tire Rack site re TPMS. Ther seems to be two types of systems, direct and indirect, and MB uses directwhich appears to mean you have to buy a wheel package to replace.
Are you suggesting that when the tires wear out, the entire wheel has to be replaced? No way. If you are saying that someone who wants to buy a second set of wheels to mount snow tires on would also have to buy a set of pressure sensors for them, then you are correct. Some cars with "pressure sensors" are not equipped with actual sensors; they simply look at the relative rotation speed of the wheels (as measured by looking at the ABS sensors) and assume that when one wheel is rotating at about 20% slower than the other on the same end of the car, that the associated tire is probably flat; this is a very crude and approximate way to do a "pressure" sensing system, but it does not require active sensors to be placed on the wheel itself, thus aftermarket wheels can be installed without having to buy pressure sensors for them.
The car I just picked up has the run flat tires. It is not an option I would have ordered, but the opportunity to get the car immediately was great enough to overlook it. I'm working with my salesman to find more information about the tires and what it would take to replace them, if desired.
In my first trips in the new car I seem to notice more tire noise, especially on pitted roads, than I remember in the Launch Edition I test drove. Until I can do a side-by-side comparison, I'm hesitant to draw any conclusions. My other car has double-paned glass and is dead quiet at 80 mph, so my memory may be tricking me.
As I gain more experience driving as well as info from the dealer, I'll post it here.
In my first trips in the new car I seem to notice more tire noise, especially on pitted roads, than I remember in the Launch Edition I test drove. Until I can do a side-by-side comparison, I'm hesitant to draw any conclusions. My other car has double-paned glass and is dead quiet at 80 mph, so my memory may be tricking me.
As I gain more experience driving as well as info from the dealer, I'll post it here.
We've had some really nasty weather recently so I haven't taken the SLK out at all. I live off a dirt road that currently looks exactly like the surface of Titan...now I know what those ESA vans were doing here last week.
This weekend is pedicted to be clear and I'll be taking the SLK on a trip that is a couple of hours each way. I'll post my impressions of the run-flats upon return Monday.
This weekend is pedicted to be clear and I'll be taking the SLK on a trip that is a couple of hours each way. I'll post my impressions of the run-flats upon return Monday.
It would be helpful to just have some basic info:
tire make, size, tire warranty, service info, etc from the tire brochure that came with the car.
My wife now has a Honda Odyssey Touring with the Michelin Pax run flat system and with those you can drive 125 miles, supposedly getting you to the nearest Honda dealer where they will swap out yours for a tire they must stock. Otherwise Michelin guarantees 12 hour delivery and room and board.
If anyone cares I'll report the first trip end of month to ski country - the tires are 'm+s' [no snows available yet so Michelin advises a specific tire chain - hopefully to never get used.
Robert
tire make, size, tire warranty, service info, etc from the tire brochure that came with the car.
My wife now has a Honda Odyssey Touring with the Michelin Pax run flat system and with those you can drive 125 miles, supposedly getting you to the nearest Honda dealer where they will swap out yours for a tire they must stock. Otherwise Michelin guarantees 12 hour delivery and room and board.
If anyone cares I'll report the first trip end of month to ski country - the tires are 'm+s' [no snows available yet so Michelin advises a specific tire chain - hopefully to never get used.
Robert
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