2009 CL500 5.5 A few issues to sort on my new acqusition - help appreciated

[branxta]

Hmm, not a big fan of welding alloy wheels, for what it's worth I would bin and replace, personally.

Thanks. yeah i've been thinking if its more sensible to simply replace it..
in the meantime since i need to do some trips to the continent i was thinking about getting these from ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371736842932?_trksid=p2055359.m2763.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

they seem to have enough profile, could get them from the guy for 550, only thing im concerned about is the DOT nr sais '10 which means they're manufactured in 2010, not sure it makes any difference reg elasticity.
2 independent tyre specialists i spoke to said it makes no difference, tempted to buy them..

 

[SL63 Mark]

Thanks. yeah i've been thinking if its more sensible to simply replace it..
in the meantime since i need to do some trips to the continent i was thinking about getting these from ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371736842932?_trksid=p2055359.m2763.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

they seem to have enough profile, could get them from the guy for 550, only thing im concerned about is the DOT nr sais '10 which means they're manufactured in 2010, not sure it makes any difference reg elasticity.
2 independent tyre specialists i spoke to said it makes no difference, tempted to buy them..

Aren't 7 year old tyres too old to fit ? I thought six years was the max. Personally I would go for new ones.

 

[Submariner1]

Hmm, not a big fan of welding alloy wheels, for what it's worth I would bin and replace, personally.

Agree on that, however there is a company in London that claim welded repairs are as good as new.
But I'd just get another myself unless they had some kinda untra sound thingy or x ray machine to prove it was all good.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Agree on that, however there is a company in London that claim welded repairs are as good as new.
But I'd just get another myself unless they had some kinda untra sound thingy or x ray machine to prove it was all good.

My two front alloys were bent by potholes, and impossible to straighten/repair correctly. If it's cracked it'll be bent too. You'll never get it to balance. They will be weakened. I am surprised anyone would contemplate an attempted repair on such a heavy, high performance car. (unless they want to pass them on to some poor unsuspecting buyer on eBay ?

 

[Submariner1]

Thanks very much for this, much appreciated.
Yes , absolutely cool to have someone with the same year / model.
I just bought the car 2 weeks ago and im super happy. i also own the S-class 350TD from 1996 - my dad was the first owner, i refurnished it few years ago, helluva car.
but the 09 / CL500 i drive here in the UK is an absolute joy!
what a smooth ride.. such an upgrade after carrera 4.

and thanks for the ABC pump advice, ill stay clear of it!

i also found out the reason why the tyre was low - unfortunately there is a small crack on the front left wheel on the inside. the roads in london are full of potholes, i believe the 20'' AMG rims are not the right choice for these roads. im thinking about buying a second hand 18'' wheels on ebay and stick some winter tyres on them since i plan to do some trips to the continent over the next few months, feb is supposed to snow quite a lot.. i will probably put 255/45/18 on all 4.
also i will probably get the 20 AMG cracked wheel welded, its a small crack only. so in summer i can roll with 275 in the back and 255 in the front.

Yes its a very smooth ride, even smoother with 19" ers
I would go 19" if I were you. The ideal balance of performance and comfort.
My sister has 20" and they are noisy and just a tad too harsh.

 

[Submariner1]

Thanks very much for this, much appreciated.
Yes , absolutely cool to have someone with the same year / model.
I just bought the car 2 weeks ago and im super happy. i also own the S-class 350TD from 1996 - my dad was the first owner, i refurnished it few years ago, helluva car.
but the 09 / CL500 i drive here in the UK is an absolute joy!
what a smooth ride.. such an upgrade after carrera 4.

and thanks for the ABC pump advice, ill stay clear of it!

i also found out the reason why the tyre was low - unfortunately there is a small crack on the front left wheel on the inside. the roads in london are full of potholes, i believe the 20'' AMG rims are not the right choice for these roads. im thinking about buying a second hand 18'' wheels on ebay and stick some winter tyres on them since i plan to do some trips to the continent over the next few months, feb is supposed to snow quite a lot.. i will probably put 255/45/18 on all 4.
also i will probably get the 20 AMG cracked wheel welded, its a small crack only. so in summer i can roll with 275 in the back and 255 in the front.

Still seems funny the tyre pressure loss system didnt let you know?
But then hopefully someone who knows how this works can chip in.

 

[branxta]

Still seems funny the tyre pressure loss system didnt let you know?
But then hopefully someone who knows how this works can chip in.

thanks very much for all the comments, really valuable.
so finally - mystery solved!
tyre pressure system works fine, after i inflated the cracked wheel tyre to 40psi and rolled away with it few minutes later the tyre pressure loss warning came on.

since im driving to europe next weekend i needed a decent set of wheels asap so i went and bought ones i found above - 18 original merc in mint condition with 4 continental winter tyres 255/45/18 with 7.5m left on them. set me back 550.- think it was a good price for wheels + tyres.

now its much smoother ride!

i think overall 18'' makes more sense in London than 20''. roads here are worst than in the mad max movie.

i kinda cooled of from the idea to get the cracked wheel welded, i think i could spot that its unbalanced even with the bare eye.
this now leaves me with 3 AMG 20'' ones. so the chopices are either :

1)- sell the 3 20''AMG ones with tyres and buy 19'' new wheels and tyres for the summer
2) - buy another 20'' AMG wheel + new tyre

only thing making me consider option 2 is the looks - car really looks nice with those rims. .

 

[Craiglxviii]

If I were you I'd stick with the 18" wheels. They really are the optimum size, best compromise (if there is such a thing) between ride comfort and fuel efficiency. 20" wheels with their tiny sidewall profiles do not make sense on the frankly awful roads we have here nowadays.

Keep the wheels on the car, invest in some good wet weather tyres and just have the rubber changed over when required.

 

[Submariner1]

If I were you I'd stick with the 18" wheels. They really are the optimum size, best compromise (if there is such a thing) between ride comfort and fuel efficiency. 20" wheels with their tiny sidewall profiles do not make sense on the frankly awful roads we have here nowadays.

Keep the wheels on the car, invest in some good wet weather tyres and just have the rubber changed over when required.

On balance financially keeping the 20" are the better bet. Just thinking of this investment as a % of the total value of the car, especially if you get genuine Merc wheels. Plus tyres that 18" option is too much £
Unless of course you hit an immaculate bargain.
Also one has to consider if you hit a big ABC fault. You might wished you had left the 20" ones alone. :-/

 

[branxta]

On balance financially keeping the 20" are the better bet. Just thinking of this investment as a % of the total value of the car, especially if you get genuine Merc wheels. Plus tyres that 18" option is too much £
Unless of course you hit an immaculate bargain.
Also one has to consider if you hit a big ABC fault. You might wished you had left the 20" ones alone. :-/

thanks . im not quite sure i understand what is the correlation between the size of the wheels and the ABC system?

 

[Craiglxviii]

thanks . im not quite sure i understand what is the correlation between the size of the wheels and the ABC system?

Nothing whatsoever.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Yes its a very smooth ride, even smoother with 19" ers
I would go 19" if I were you. The ideal balance of performance and comfort.
My sister has 20" and they are noisy and just a tad too harsh.

18" are the optimal size for ride comfort and fuel efficiency given the average Condition 4.5 roads we have in the UK...

Go to Germany and it's 19". Go to Japan and it's 20"...

 

[John Laidlaw]

18" are the optimal size for ride comfort and fuel efficiency given the average Condition 4.5 roads we have in the UK...

Go to Germany and it's 19". Go to Japan and it's 20"...

Is right Craig and why I have 18s

 

[Craiglxviii]

Is right Craig and why I have 18s

Me too, and I've still lost 3 tyres I the last 12 months to ****** potholes.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Me too, and I've still lost 3 tyres I the last 12 months to ****** potholes.

Damn, stupid uk

 

[Craiglxviii]

Damn, stupid uk

Well two years ago Bedfordshire Council stated openly that they had done a study, and it was cheaper for them to reduce their roads maintenance department and increase their insurance premiums, so that's what they did. So just down the road from home, in heavy rain, a section of road about 100 yards long went from "normal" one week to heavily potholed the next week. Heavily, like 3" deep and sharp-sunk edges, not dished. No end of cars lost tyres going over it.

 

[shine]

When I purchased a 2010 CL500 w216 it had only 11k on the clock, it came with factory fitted 20"amg wheels with low profile tyres and as luck has it I have not had pothole damage as yet, did find them a slightly harder ride than my previous S class but then that is to be expected.
The CL has a very positive feel to the steering that I like and the tyre noise on some roads can be a bit high but i just do like the look of 20"amg wheels on a CL, I did think of changing to 18"wheels to get that softer ride but what the heck the CL is a stunning car with 18" or 20" wheels, I just love the driving position, that huge luxurious cockpit, long wide armrest and no gear leaver in the way..."Thank you Lord" I have a MB☺

 

[John Laidlaw]

Well two years ago Bedfordshire Council stated openly that they had done a study, and it was cheaper for them to reduce their roads maintenance department and increase their insurance premiums, so that's what they did. So just down the road from home, in heavy rain, a section of road about 100 yards long went from "normal" one week to heavily potholed the next week. Heavily, like 3" deep and sharp-sunk edges, not dished. No end of cars lost tyres going over it.

Glad I don't live your way Craig...my A6 sits on stupid 20in wheels...gives it tne suspension of Fred Flintstone's knees!

 

[branxta]

When I purchased a 2010 CL500 w216 it had only 11k on the clock, it came with factory fitted 20"amg wheels with low profile tyres and as luck has it I have not had pothole damage as yet, did find them a slightly harder ride than my previous S class but then that is to be expected.
The CL has a very positive feel to the steering that I like and the tyre noise on some roads can be a bit high but i just do like the look of 20"amg wheels on a CL, I did think of changing to 18"wheels to get that softer ride but what the heck the CL is a stunning car with 18" or 20" wheels, I just love the driving position, that huge luxurious cockpit, long wide armrest and no gear leaver in the way..."Thank you Lord" I have a MB☺

i couldnt agree more. having said that, even with the 20'' the road noise in the CL is neglectable compared to my previous 2003 carrera 4. and yeah the 20 do look slick, however i must say with 18'' i feel a bit less paranoid about the pot holes.

 

[Submariner1]

Me too, and I've still lost 3 tyres I the last 12 months to ****** potholes.

Did some Directors corporate headshots last year, and the girl who helps me set up (you are not given a lot of time, and 'cos she is a total charmer, and utterly stunning has these power freaks eating out of the palm of her hand within 5 mins) collected 2 sidewall damaged tyres on the way to the job. She was gutted as they were only 2 month old.
Anyway we drafted a letter to her Council, and they paid up £260 for 2 tyres. But she was able to take pictures of the potholes on the way back home.