ml270 rear wheels tyre wear on outer edge

tony jr

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My rear tyres are at the point were I need to change them. They have appeared to wear evenly but as they got down to the minimum tread I have noticed slightly more wear on the outer edges of both rear tyres - probably 1mm more tread on the inside edge compared to the outer. Would you say this was normal or something that needs looking at?
 

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1mm is not too bad, the camber angle is a tiny bit out, hardly worth bothering about. the minimum tread has to be across 3/4 the width of the tyre, but winter is with us now and all the wet roads
 
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tony jr

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1mm is not too bad, the camber angle is a tiny bit out, hardly worth bothering about. the minimum tread has to be across 3/4 the width of the tyre, but winter is with us now and all the wet roads

I agree - I have been trying to get some new tyres for a few weeks but I'm having difficulty sourcing the ones I want - The size is not a common one used across different car manufactures so they tend not to held in stock. That's usually ok until you are told the tyres are manufactured in batches and the next production run is not due to arrive into the UK till mid Dec. It would also appear that the rest of Europe are given first refusal before the UK because we have a strong market that keeps the prices down so lower profit margins.
 

oigle

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My rear tyres are at the point were I need to change them. They have appeared to wear evenly but as they got down to the minimum tread I have noticed slightly more wear on the outer edges of both rear tyres - probably 1mm more tread on the inside edge compared to the outer. Would you say this was normal or something that needs looking at?

These vehicles run negative camber, so camber is unlikely to be the culprit. More likely you have slightly excessive toe-in on the rear wheels. Easily adjusted. My experience suggests you only need about 2mm toe-in to offset the negative camber.
 
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tony jr

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New tyres arrive tomorrow - decided to change all 4 but will keep the existing front two as spares. The front tyres show a slightly increased wear on the inside edge tracking and wheel alignment was reset 6 months ago. Can the setting be improved to reduce this wear?
 

FIBAMAN

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New tyres arrive tomorrow - decided to change all 4 but will keep the existing front two as spares. The front tyres show a slightly increased wear on the inside edge tracking and wheel alignment was reset 6 months ago. Can the setting be improved to reduce this wear?

Good idea, with regard to tyre sourcing.
My sons Merc van has been off the road for several weeks now due to non availability of tyres in UK (or Europe). It is costing his employer megabucks to hire a replacement.
I was absolutely dismayed that a manufacturer would choose to use a certain size which is not readily available across Europe, this situation must be duplicated many times and I wonder if fleet buyers especially will take this into consideration in future.
 

w44nty

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Never have any problems sourcing tyres for my ML here in Norfolk,order one day fitted the next
 
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jibcl500

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Did your ML have the spare wheel carrier on the back?

Mine did but it was removed sometime ago but there are two different rear springs for the ML and I mine has the springs for the ml with carrier fitted but now removed it makes the back stand taller and as a result the rear camber is out.

Just a thought.

jib
 
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tony jr

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Did your ML have the spare wheel carrier on the back?

Mine did but it was removed sometime ago but there are two different rear springs for the ML and I mine has the springs for the ml with carrier fitted but now removed it makes the back stand taller and as a result the rear camber is out.

Just a thought.

jib

Good thought but it has never had a spare wheel carrier
 

oigle

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is that for the pre-facelift W163

Your details show a 2003 W163 - that is post facelift. Which do you have?
Mine is a 2003 also and is post f/lift. I found with mine that front toein should be 6mm to get even wear across the tyre - 70000km on last set. Need to ensure that the front camber is at a minimum too (around -1°), to get best result.
As an aside, I have changed my tyres from the 255's to 235/65/17 with very positive results. Better steering and ride and tyre size availability is better. The gearing stays the same so no issues there.
 
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tony jr

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Your details show a 2003 W163 - that is post facelift. Which do you have?
Mine is a 2003 also and is post f/lift. I found with mine that front toein should be 6mm to get even wear across the tyre - 70000km on last set. Need to ensure that the front camber is at a minimum too (around -1°), to get best result.
As an aside, I have changed my tyres from the 255's to 235/65/17 with very positive results. Better steering and ride and tyre size availability is better. The gearing stays the same so no issues there.

I looked into changing the tyres over to 235/65/17 like you and many others have said improves the ride. However when I spoke to my insurance company about it they said that this is not a MB recomended size for my model so they were not prepared to allow me to make the change since this configuration as not been tested by MB any may affect the handling on the vehicle (albeit for the better as most seem to agree!) - so i'm going to change like for like.
 

oigle

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I looked into changing the tyres over to 235/65/17 like you and many others have said improves the ride. However when I spoke to my insurance company about it they said that this is not a MB recomended size for my model so they were not prepared to allow me to make the change since this configuration as not been tested by MB any may affect the handling on the vehicle (albeit for the better as most seem to agree!) - so i'm going to change like for like.

The new ML164 comes with 235/65/17 as the standard default tyre so they can hardly say it isn't suitable. As long as you keep to the load rating, I'd be surprised if they have a case.
 

ianstaley

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I wouldn't have thought that the rear end of an ML would drop by using a carrier or not. The weight and mass of the spare would be the same on either, may 20 - 30 pounds difference in carrier weight. So could only be momentum mass movement up and down when driving, stationary I can't see it making any difference, on a 2 ton car 30-40 Lbs shouldn't make itself felt. Worth checking out though as I have just bought one on the continent for 100 euros.
 

oigle

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I wouldn't have thought that the rear end of an ML would drop by using a carrier or not. The weight and mass of the spare would be the same on either, may 20 - 30 pounds difference in carrier weight. So could only be momentum mass movement up and down when driving, stationary I can't see it making any difference, on a 2 ton car 30-40 Lbs shouldn't make itself felt. Worth checking out though as I have just bought one on the continent for 100 euros.

I checked the rear wheel alignment specs on a ramp using various loads in the rear. Very little change in toe or camber so can't see that the carrier would make any noticeable difference. The toe in actually increases very slightly with load - opposite to the front which decreases. Neg camber on the rear also increases very slightly with load, which works well with the slight increase in toe-in.
 

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