SL500 R129 uneven tyre wear

[Brindek]

I have a '91 Sl500 R129. It has 265/35/18 on the rear which came with the car when I bought it 2 years ago. I am getting quite extreme type wear on the inside edges. Last year I had a laser alignment check which showed a -2 deg camber on the left rear and -1deg on the right rear but the garage said this is not adjustable on the rear only the front?

My question is....Is the rear camber adjustable? If so, do you think this is the cause of the tyre wear or is it because the wheels are just too wide and are affecting the camber angle? Incidentally I have another set of AMG's which came with the car which are 265/40/17 which approximately give the same rolling radius. Would these help?

Any comments you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[pascal]

the 265/40 r18s have a rolling circumference of 2102.35mm, which in my opinion is too high.

The 265/35 R18s have a rolling circumference of 2019.1mm, which is near ideal, and fitted to some R129s from factory.

It really depends on the with of your rim. If the are 9" or less, 245/40 (2052.09mm) would be a better fit.

Keeping the tyre pressures correct will also have a huge bearing on tyre wear.


BTW: Brindek, Wellcome to the forums

Pascal

 

[Brindek]

Thanks for the reply and so quickly too!
I will have to check on the rims, the car is at the garage having an MOT at the moment. 265/40's are R17 and not R18 so so the rolling circumference is 2022.56 which is still very close.

Do you know if there is camber adjustment on the rear?
After reading a number of threads on this forum it seams that wider tyres do seem to exhibit this type of problem as there is so match rubber in contact with the ground.

 

[pascal]

You have me a little confused here (easy to do). re 17s. I thought we were talking about 18s.

For 17s 245/45 r17 are the best match or 265/40 r17 on 10" rims (back only).

Have you got 17s 0r 18s

 

[SLIGOGOLFER]

the rear is adjustable, I had 4 wheel alingment done on my R129 recently and watched them do it. The car now feels like its on rails

 

[Brindek]

Thanks for your input all.

Pascal......Sorry to confuse. :? I have 265/35/R18 on the car at the moment, but have another set of AMG's in the garage which have 265/40/R17 which are about the same rolling radius as each other.

Sligogolfer.....That's interesting....I am sure I will be able to sort out this wear issue before I have to put yet another pair of Pilot Sports on at great expense :-x

I absolutely love the car by the way :grin:

 

[R129]

With the age of the car it is likely that the rubber bushes that are used to mount the various metal arms and links that make up the rear suspension are well worn. This will alter the basic geometry of the rear wheels and can cause the problems you describe. A good mot man will be able to point out any apparent wear as to the untrained eye it is not always easy to spot.
Repair is not expensive as the components are shared with the old w124 e class.

I used to run 265/35's on the rear of my car as they were significantly cheaper than the 275/35's that are specified for the 10" AMG wheels.
275's are now comparable in price and the extra height of them fills the arch better on my car which now has the sl60 amg 2 piece 18"wheels.

 

[pascal]

I have to put yet another pair of Pilot Sports on at great expense

I have them on mine. Super grip. Downside: wear quick, road noise.

There is a new version called 'Pilot Sport PS2'. Supposingly better wear and lot less noise. Or you could go for the new 'Eagles F1 GS D3' discussed near the end of this thread: http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=9983&page=2&pp=40&highlight=pilot