Wheels, Tires - Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3 Owner's Manual

Wheels, Tires

In case of replacement we recommend
you use tires and rims of identical de­
sign, version and brand.
See any MERCEDES-BENZ service
station for information on tested and
recommended wheels and tires for
summer and winter operation. They will
also offer more advice concerning tire
service and purchase.
Front tires should be replaced in sets. If
possible, the spare tire should be used
on the rear wheels. We recommend
that you break in new tires for approx.
100 km/60 miles at moderate speed.
After a wheel change, it is imperative
that the wheel mounting bolts be retigh­
tened after approx. 800 km/500 miles.
On new vehicles retightening is carried
out in the course of the 1 st inspection.
Retightening is also necessary when
new wheels are fitted at a later date,
e.g. when the spare wheels is used for
the first time or when a new set of
wheels with M + S tires is fitted.
For tire specifications, refer to "Techni-
cal Data" .
Rotating wheels:
The wheels can be rotated according
to the degree of tire wear while re­
taining the same sense of rotation. Ro­
tating, however, should be carried out
before the characteristic tire wear pat­
tern (shoulder wear on front wheels
and tread center wear on rear wheels)
becomes visible at a mileage of 5 0 0 0 -
10 000 km /3 0 0 0 -6 0 0 0 miles as other­
wise the driving properties deteriorate.
Slowly leaking air (e.g. due to a nail in
the tire) may cause damage to the tire
such as tread separation. Regular tire
pressure checks at intervals of no more
than 14 days are therefore essential.
For the tire pressure checks, keep in
mind that hot tires show higher pres­
sure than cold tires. See tire pressure
chart on last page.
Should the tire pressure decrease con­
stantly, check whether foreign objects
have penetrated the tire or if rim or
valve allow the air to leak.
Thoroughly clean the inner side of the
wheels any time you rotate the wheels
or wash vehicle underside.
Dented or bent rims cause tire pres­
sure loss and damage to the tire
beads. For this reason, check rims for
damage at regular intervals. The rim
flanges must be checked for wear be­
fore a tire is mounted. Remove burrs, if
there are any.