2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 body

655 Technical data
Rims and tires
Rims and tires
!
Only use tires which have been tested and
approved for your vehicle by Mercedes-Benz.
Tires approved by Mercedes-Benz are developed
to provide best possible performance in conjunc-
tion with the driving safety systems on your vehi-
cle such as ABS or ESP
®. Tires specially
developed for your vehicle and tested and ap-
proved by Mercedes-Benz can be identified by
finding the following on the tire’s sidewall:


MO = M
ercedes-Benz O
riginal equipment
tires
Using tires other than those approved by
Mercedes-Benz may result in damage that is not
covered by the Mercedes-Benz Limited
Warranty.
!
Using tires other than those approved by
Mercedes-Benz can have detrimental effects,
such as


poor handling characteristics


increased noise


increased fuel consumption
Moreover, tires and rims not approved by
Mercedes-Benz may, under load, exhibit dimen-
sional variations and different tire deformation
characteristics that could cause them to come
into contact with the vehicle body or axle parts. Damage to the tires or the vehicle may be the re-
sult.
i
Further information on tires and rims is
available at any authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center. A placard with the recommended tire in-
flation pressures is located on the driver’s door
B-pillar (
page 503). Some vehicles may have
supplemental tire inflation pressure information
for driving at high speeds (
page 510) or for ve-
hicle loads less than the maximum loaded
vehicle condition (
page 518). If such informa-
tion is provided, it can be found on the placard lo-
cated on the inside of the fuel filler flap.
The tire inflation pressure should be checked
regularly and should only be adjusted on cold
tires. Follow tire manufacturer’s maintenance
recommendation included with vehicle.
i
The following pages also list the approved
wheel rim and tire sizes for equipping your vehi-
cles with winter tires. Winter tires are not avail-
able as standard or optional factory equipment,
but can be purchased from an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Depending on vehicle model and the standard or
optional factory-equipped wheel rim/tire config-
uration on your vehicle (Appearance Package,
Sport Package etc.), equipping your vehicle with
winter tires approved for your vehicle model may
also require the purchase of two or four wheel
rims of the recommended size for use with these
winter tires. See an authorized Mercedes-Benz
Center for more information.

669 Technical terms
ABC
(A
ctive B
ody C
ontrol)
Active, computer-controlled system
that hydraulically adjusts the suspen-
sion at all four wheels in response to
various driving situations.
ABS
(A
ntilock B
rake S
ystem)
Prevents the wheels from locking up
during braking so that the vehicle can
continue to be steered.
Accessory weight
(
page 526)
Adaptive Brake
Brake system that is coupled with
->ABS, ->ESP and ->BAS. Adaptive
Brake takes driver and vehicle charac-
teristics into consideration, thus
achieving an optimal braking effect.ADS
(A
daptive D
amping S
ystem)
Automatically adapts the optimum sus-
pension damping to prevailing driving
conditions.
Advanced TPMS*
(T
ire P
ressure M
onitoring S
ystem)
The Advanced TPMS monitors the tire
inflation pressure in all four tires. A
warning is issued to alert you to a de-
crease in pressure in one or more of
the tires. Tire inflation pressure inquir-
ies are made using the ->Instrument
cluster control system.
Airmatic
Automatically selects the optimum sus-
pension tuning and ride height for your
vehicle. Airmatic consists of two com-
ponents:


Adaptive Damping System


Vehicle level controlAir pressure
(
page 526)
Alignment bolt
Metal pin with thread. The centering
pin is an aid used when changing a tire
to align the wheel with the wheel hub.
A-pillar
Front connecting pillar between the
roof and the vehicle body (->B-pillar,
->C-pillar).
Aspect ratio
(page 526)
Bar
(page 526)
BAS
(Brake A
ssist S
ystem)
System for potentially reducing braking
distances in emergency braking situa-
tions. The system is activated when it
senses an emergency based on how
fast the brake is applied.

670 Technical termsBAS Plus*
(B
rake A
ssist S
ystem Plus)
A system based on radar sensors for
providing brake support in situations
where there is a risk of collision.
BAS Plus is activated in hazardous situ-
ations by stepping quickly on the brake
pedal. During the process, the brake
force is adapted depending on the
proximity to the vehicle in front.
Bead
(
page 526)
Bit
(Binary digit)
The smallest unit of digital information.
Bit rate (MP3)
Measurement of transmission speed.
Indicates the number of ->bits trans-
mitted per time unit.Bi-xenon headlamps
Headlamps which use an electric arc as
the light source and produce a more in-
tense light than filament headlamps.
Bi-xenon headlamps produce low beam
and high beam.
B-pillar
Center connecting pillar between roof
and vehicle body (->A-pillar, ->C-pillar).
Bluetooth
Standard for short-range wireless tech-
nologies, suitable for transmitting
voice and data. It is possible to connect
Bluetooth devices wirelessly.
Bluetooth technology uses the freely
available ISM (Industrial Scientific
Medical) wireless network that works
at 2.45 GHz. Ranges of up to ten
meters are possible with Bluetooth.CAC
(C
ustomer A
ssistance C
enter)
Mercedes-Benz customer service cen-
ter, which can help you with any ques-
tions about your vehicle and provide
assistance in the event of a break-
down.
CAN system
(C
ontroller A
rea N
etwork)
Data bus network serving to control ve-
hicle functions such as door locking or
windshield wiping.
CD
(C
ompact D
isc)
Digital storage medium in disc form.
CD-R
(C
ompact D
isc R
ecordable)
->CD which can be written to once and
read many times.
CD-RW
(C
ompact D
isc R
ew
ritable)
->CD which be read and written to
many times.

671 Technical terms
Cockpit
All instruments, switches, buttons and
indicator/warning lamps in the passen-
ger compartment needed for vehicle
operation and monitoring.
Cold tire inflation pressure
(
page 526)
COMAND
(Cockpit M
anagement and D
ata Sys-
tem)
Information and operating center for
vehicle sound and communications
systems, including the radio and navi-
gation system, as well as other optional
equipment (CD changer, telephone*,
etc.).
C-pillar
The C-pillar is the rear connecting pillar
between the roof and the vehicle body
(->B-pillar, ->C-pillar).Cruise control
Driving convenience system that auto-
matically maintains the vehicle speed
set by the driver.
Curb weight
(
page 526)
DISTRONIC Plus*
A driving convenience cruise control
system which helps the driver maintain
a pre-selected speed:


If there is no vehicle directly ahead,
the system operates in the same
way as conventional ->cruise con-
trol.


If a slower moving vehicle is ahead,
DISTRONIC Plus will reduce your
vehicle speed to the extent permit-
ted by reduced throttle and up to
20% braking power to maintain the
preset minimum following distance.DOT
(D
epartment o
f T
ransportation)
(
page 526)
DVD
(Digital V
ersatile D
isc)
Digital storage medium for storing
large amounts of data, e.g. movies.
DVD-R
(D
igital V
ersatile D
isc R
ecordable)
->DVD which can be written to once
and read many times.
DVD+R
(D
igital V
ersatile D
isc R
ecordable)
->DVD which can be written to once
and read many times.
DVD-RW
(D
igital V
ersatile D
isc R
ew
ritable)
->DVD which can be read and written
to many times.

678 Technical termsTightening torque
Force times lever arm (e.g. a lug
wrench) with which threaded fasteners
such as wheel bolts are tightened.
TIN
(T
ire I
dentification N
umber)
(
page 527)
Tire load rating
(page 528)
Tire ply composition and material used
(page 528)
Tire speed rating
(page 528)
Traction
(page 528)
Tread
(page 528)
Treadwear indicators
(page 528)UDF
(U
niversal D
isc F
ormat)
A universal file system for optical me-
dia allowing an operating system to
read, write and modify data stored on
optical media that was created by an-
other operating system.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
(
page 528)
Uphill driving assistant
While you are driving up a hill, this sys-
tem holds the vehicle in place for ap-
prox. one second after you have taken
your foot off the brake pedal.
Vehicle capacity weight
(page 528)
Vehicle level control
The ground clearance of the vehicle is
automatically controlled according to a
selected setting and speed. The driver
can choose manually within a range of
ground clearance, for example on very
rough roads. Vehicle maximum load on the tire
(
page 528)
VIN
(Vehicle I
dentification N
umber)
The number set by the manufacturer
and stamped on the body to uniquely
identify each vehicle produced.
Voice Control*
Voice control system for car phones,
portable cell phones and audio sys-
tems (radio, CD, etc.).