2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER Owners Manual

Tyre
sand wheels 182 Tyre
sand wheels Points to remember
! For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz rec-
ommend sthaty ou onlyusetyres and
wheels which have been approved by
Mercedes-Benz specifically for your vehi-
cle .These tyres have been specially adap-
ted for us ewitht he control systems, such
as ABS or ESP ®
,a nd ar emarked as follows:
R MO =Mercedes-Benz Original
R MOE =Mercedes-Benz Original Extended
(with run-flat characteristics)*
*Mercedes-Benz Original Extended tyres
shoul donlybeu sedonw heelsthath ave
been specifically approved by Mercedes-
Benz.
If yo uuseother tyres and wheels,
Mercedes-Benz cannot accep tany respon-
sibility for damage tha tmayresul tfrom
this. Furthe rinformation abou ttyres,
wheels and approved combinations can be
obtained fro many Mercedes-Benz Service
Centre.
If yo uusetyres other tha nthose tested and
recommended for Mercedes-Benz vehi-
cles, characteristics such as handling ,vehi-
cle noise emissions and fuel consumption ma
ybea dversely affected .Inaddition, the
wheels ma ycom einto contact with the
body or axl ecomponents when heavil yloa-
de dorw hend riving with sno wchains .This
could resul tindamag etothe tyres or the
vehicle.
! Retreade dtyres ar eneithe rtested nor
recommended by Mercedes-Benz, since
previou sdamag ecann ot always be detec-
ted on retreade dtyres .Asa result,
Mercedes-Benz cannot guarante evehicle
safety if retreade dtyres ar efitted .Don ot
fi tu sedt yres if yo uhavenoi nformation
abou ttheir previou susage. G
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If wheels or tyres other tha nthose which
have been tested ar efitted:
R the brakes or chassi scomponents could
be damaged
R whee land tyr eclearances ca nnolonger
be guaranteed
This could caus eanaccident.
Modificatio nworkont he brake syste mand
wheels is not permitted ,nor is the us eof
spacer plate sorbrake dust shields .Thisi nva-
lidates the Genera lOperating Permi tfor the
vehicle. Note
sons electing,fittin ga nd replacing
tyres R
Onl yfittyres and wheels of the same type
and make.
R Onl yfittyres of the correc tsizeo nto the
wheels.
R After fitting new tyres ,run the minatm od-
erate speeds for the first 100 km as they
onl yreach their full performance after this
distance.
R Fit new tyres on the front wheels first if
tyres of the same size ar erequired on the
front and rea rwheels.
R Replac ethe tyres after si xyears at the lat-
est, regardles sofwear.This also applie sto
the spar ewheel *.
R Do not drive with tyres which have too little
trea ddepth as thi ssignificantly reduces
the tractio nonwetroads (aquaplaning).
! Store tyres tha tare not being used in a
cool, dry and preferably dark place .Protect
the tyres against oil, grease, petrol and die-
sel. Operation
*optional
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Tyre
sand wheels 183
Note
sonr egularly inspecting wheels
and tyres R
Regularl ycheck the wheels and tyres of
your vehicl efor damage (e.g. cuts, punctu-
res ,tears, bumps on tyres and deforma-
tion, cracks or sever ecorrosio nonwheels),
at leas tevery 14 days ,aswellasa fter driv-
ing off-roa doronrough roads .Damaged
wheels could cause alos soft yrep ressure.
R Regularl ycheck the tyr etrea ddepth and
the condition of the trea dacros sthe whole
width of the tyr e(Ypage 184) .Ifneces-
sary ,tur nt he front wheels to full lock in
order to inspect the inne rsideoft he tyre
surface.
R All wheels must have avalve cap to protect
the valv eagain st dirt and moisture.
R Regularl ycheck the pressure of al lyour
tyres including the spar etyre* ,particularly
prior to long trips ,and correc tthe pressure
as necessary (Y page 184).
Note sond riving R
Whil edriving, pa yattentio ntovibrations,
noise sand unusual handling characteris-
tics ,e.g.p ulli ng to one side .Thism ayindi- cate tha
tthe wheels or tyres ar edamaged.
If yo ususpe ct tha tatyreisd efective,
reduc eyours peed and sto pthe vehicl eas
soon as possibl etocheck the wheels and
tyres for damage .Hidde ntyred amage
could also be causing the unusual handling
characteristics .Ifyoufind no signs of dam-
age, have the wheels and tyres examined
at as pecialis tworkshop ,for exampl eata
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
R When parking your vehicle, make sure that
the tyres do not ge tdeformed by the kerb
or other obstacles. If it is necessary to drive
ove rkerbs, spee dhum ps or similar, try to
do so slowly and at an obtus eangle .Oth-
erwise, the tyres ,particularl ythe sidewalls,
could ge tdamaged. Directio
nofrotation
Directio nofrotation Tyres with
aspecified directio nofrotation
have additional benefits, e.g .ifthere is arisk
of aquaplaning. Yo uwillo nlyg aint hese ben-
efits if the correc tdirectio nofr otatio nis
observed.
An arrow on the sidewall of the tyr eindicates
its correc tdirectio nofr otation.
i Youm ayfitas pare tyre* against the
directio nofrotation. MOExtende
drun-flat system*
Th eM OExtended run-flat syste mallow syou
to continue driving the vehicl eevenw heno ne
or mor etyres lose al lairpressure.
Th eM OExtended run-flat syste mmayonl ybe
used in conjunctio nwitht he tyr epressure
loss warning syste morthe tyrepressure
monitor* and on wheels specifically tested by
Mercedes-Benz.
i Vehicle swithM OExtended run-flat sys-
tem ar enot equipped with the TIREFIT
kit* 19
.
19 Onl yfor certai ncountries Operation
*o ptional
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Tyre
sand wheels 184It is therefore recommended to additionally
equi pyourv ehicl ewitht he TIREFIT kit*
when fitting tyres tha tdon ot featur erun-
flat properties ,e.g.w inter tyres.
i ATIREFIT kit* is availabl efroma ny quali-
fied specialis tworkshop ,e.g.aM ercedes-
Benz Service Centre.
Yo uw illf indn ote sond riving with aflatt yre
in the "Practical advice" section
(Y page 275). Tyre tread
G
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Bea rinm indt hat:
R tyr eg ripd ecreases rapidl yonwetroads
when the trea ddepth is less tha n3mm.
Yo us houl dthusr eplace tyres tha thave
insufficient tread.
R winter tyres shoul dbereplaced when the
trea ddepth is 4mmorl essb ecause oth-
erwis etheynol ongerp rovide adequate
grip.
R the trea donatyrem aynot wear evenly.
Yo us houl dthu sregularly check the tread
depth and the condition of the tread acros
sthe entire width of al ltyres .Ifnec-
essary ,tur nt he steering whee lsothat
yo uc an seet he tyr etrea dm oree asily.
Yo uc ould otherwis elosec ontrol of the
vehicl eand caus eanaccident du etothe
reduced gri pofthe tyres on the road. Tyre pressures
i Youw illf indat able of tyr epressures for
variou soperating conditions on the inside
of your vehicle' sfue lfiller flap
(Y page 175).
Th ev alid valuefor the spar ewheel *iss ta-
ted on the spar ewheel and in the technical
data section. G
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Tyre pressure tha tise ithe rtoo high or too
lo wh asan egative effect on the vehicle’s
driving safety ,which could lead yo uto
caus eana ccident. Yo ushoul dtherefore
regularly check the pressure of al lyour
tyres (including the spar etyre*), particu-
larl yprior to long trips ,and correc tthe
pressure as necessary.
To tes ttyrep ressure, us easuitabl epressure
gauge. Th eouter appearanc eofatyred oes not permi
tany reliabl econclusio nabout the
tyr ep ressure. On vehicles fitted with the elec-
troni ctyrep ressure monitor* ,the tyr epres-
sure ca nbechecked in the on-board com-
puter. G
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Shoul dthe tyr epressure dro prepeatedly:
R Check the tyr efor foreign bodies.
R Check whether the whee lislosin gairor
the valv eisleaking.
Tyre pressure tha tist oo lo whasan egative
effect on the vehicle’ sactive safety ,which
could lead to your causing an accident.
Tyre pressure change sbyapproximately
0.1 ba rfor every 10 °C change in ambient
temperature.
If yo umeasure the tyr epressure in enclosed
spaces where the temperatur ediffers from
the outside temperature, yo uwillh avetoc or-
rec tthe measured valu eaccordingly.
When the vehicl eisdriven, the tyr etempera-
ture, and with it the tyr epressure, will
increase depending on the roa dspeed and
the load on the tyres.
Therefore, yo ushoul donlyc orrec ttyrep res-
sures when the tyres ar ecold. Operation
*optional
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Tyre
sand wheels 185
Th
ep ressure of warm tyres shoul donlybe
corrected if it is too lo wfor the current oper-
ating conditions.
Driving with tyr epressure tha tist oo high or
too lo wcan:
R shorten the service life of the tyres
R increase the likelihoo doftyred amage
R have anegative effect on handling charac-
teristics (e.g. by causing aquaplaning)
i Thet yrep ressure values given for low
load sareminimum values which offer you
good ride comfor tcharacteristics.
Yo uc an,however, also usethe values given
for higher loads. Thes earepermissibl eand
will not adversely affec tthe running of the
vehicle. H
Environmental note
Check the tyr epressure regularly ,atleast
every 14 days. Tyre pressure loss warning system
G
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Th etyrep ressure loss warning syste mdoes
not warn yo uofanincorrectly se ttyrep res-
sure. Th etable on the insid eofthe fuel filler
flap will help yo udecidew hether the tyre
pressures shoul dbecorrected.
Th etyrep ressure loss warning syste mdoes
not replace the nee dtoregularly check
your vehicle' styrep ressures ,since an even
loss of pressure on several tyres at the
same tim ecann ot be detecte dbythe tyre
pressure loss warning system.
Th et yrep ressure loss warning syste mis
not able to warn yo uofasuddenlossof
pressure, e.g .ifthe tyr eispenetrate dbya
foreign object.
In the event of asudde nlossofp ressure,
bring the vehicl etoahaltbyb raking care-
fully. Do not make any sudden steering
movements when doing so.
Whil ethe vehicl eisinmotion, the tyr epres-
sure loss warning syste mmonitors the set
tyr ep ressure using the rotational spee dof
the wheels .Thise nables the syste mtodetect
significant pressure loss in atyre. If the speed
of rotatio nofawheelchange sasa resultof
al ossofp ressure, acorresponding warning message will appear in the multi-functio
ndis-
play.
Th efun ctio noft he tyr epressure loss warning
syste misl imited or delaye dif:
R sno wchains ar efitted to your vehicle's
tyres
R roa dconditions ar ewintry
R yo ua redriving on sand or gravel
R yo ua dopt averys porty driving style (cor-
nering at high speeds or driving with high
rates of acceleration)
R yo ua redriving with aheavy load (i nthe
vehicl eoront he roof)
Restarting the tyre pressure loss warn-
in gs ystem Restart the tyr
epressure loss warning system
if yo uhave:
R change dthe tyr epressure
R change dthe wheels or tyres
R fitted new wheels or tyres
X Before restarting ,consul tthe table of tyre
pressures on the insid eofthe fuel filler flap
to ensur ethatthe tyr epressure in al lfour Operation
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Tyre
sand wheels 186tyres is se
tcorrectly for the operating con-
ditions concerned.
X Als oo bser ve the note sinthe sectio non
tyr ep ressures (Y page 184). G
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Th et yrep ressure loss warning syste mcan
onl ygiver eliabl ewarnings if yo uhaves et
the correc ttyrep ressure.
If an incorrect tyr epressure is set, these
incorrect values will be monitored.
At yrew ithi nsufficient pressure results in
vehicl einstability when driving, thus
increasing the risk of an accident.
X Make sure tha tthe key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
Th es tandard displa yappears in the multi-
functio ndisplay ( Ypage 110).
X Press korj to select the tyr epres-
sure function:
Run Fla tIndicator active
Menu: R-Button æ
X Press the reset button on the left of the
instrumen tcluster.
Th ef ollowing message appear sinthe
multi-functio ndisplay:
Restar tRun Fla tIndicator? Yes Cancel
If yo uwishtoc onfirmthe restart:
X Press the æbutton.
Th ef ollowing message appear sinthe
multi-functio ndisplay:
Run Fla tIndicator restarted
After ateach-i nperiod, the tyr epressure
loss warning syste mwillm onitor the set
tyr ep ressures of al lfou rtyres.
If yo uwishtoc ancel the restart:
X Press the çbutton.
or
X Wait unti lthe message
Restar tRun Fla tIndicator?
Yes Cancel disappears.
Th et yrep ressure values stored at the last
restar twillc ontinue to be monitored. Checking the tyre pressure electroni-
cally*
Th et yrep ressure monitor onl yfun ctions if
the correc twheel electronics ar efitted to all
wheels .These monitor the pressure in al lfour
tyres ,which yo uhaves etwhen restarting the
tyr ep ressure monitor. Th emonitor warns you
when the pressure drops in one or mor eof
the tyres. G
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Th et yrep ressure monitor does not warn
yo uofani ncorrectly se ttyrep ressure. The
table on the insid eofthe fuel filler flap will
help yo udecidew hether the tyr epressures
shoul dbec orrected.
Th et yrep ressure monitor is not able to
warn yo uofasuddenlossofp ressure, e.g.
if the tyr eispenetrate dbyaforeign object.
In the event of asudde nlossofp ressure,
bring the vehicl etoahaltbyb raking care-
fully. Do not make any sudden steering
movements when doing so.
i Theo peratio noft he tyr epressure moni-
tor ca nbeaffected by interferenc efrom
radi otransmitting equipment (e.g. radio
headphones, two-wa yradios )tha tm aybe
being operated in or nea rthe vehicle. Operation
*optional
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Tyre
sand wheels 187
i
If yo uarecarrying adefla tedt yreint he
vehicle, yo umayonl yreactivate the tyre
pressure monitor if:
R the deflate dtyreisnol ongerint he vehi-
cle
R yo uh avea djusted the tyr epressure cor-
rectly
Callin gupt he tyre pressure using the
on-board computer X
Make sure tha tthe key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
X Press the jork button to select the
tyr ep ressure function. Th
ec urrent tyr epressure for each whee lwill
be displayed. If the vehicl
ehasbeen parked for longe rthan
20 minute soryouhave not driven faste rthan
25 km/h since the vehicl ewasparked ,the
following message appears:
Tyr epressure displayed onl yafter
drivin gfor afew minutes
i Thet yrep ressure values indicated by the
on-board computer ma ydiffe rf romt hose
measured at afillin gstatio nwithap ressure
gauge. Th etyres pressures shown by the
on-board computer refer to those meas-
ured at se alevel.T he tyrep ressure values
indicated by the on-board computer may
diffe rwhent he vehicl eisathigha ltitude.
In thi scase, d onot reduc ethe tyr epres-
sures.
Restarting the tyre pressure monitor In mos
tcases, t he tyrepressure monitor will
automaticall ydetect the new reference val-
ues, e.g .ifyouhave:
R change dthe tyr epressure
R change dthe wheels or tyres
R fitted new wheels or tyres
If yo uwishtod efinethe new reference values
manually: X
Use the table on the insid eofthe fuel filler
flap to ensur ethatthe tyr epressure is set
correctly in al lfou rtyres for the current
operating conditions.
Als oo bser ve the note sinthe sectio non
tyr ep ressures (Y page 184).
X Make sure tha tthe key is in position 2in
the ignition lock.
Th es tandard displa yappears in the multi-
functio ndisplay ( Ypage 110).
X Press the jork button to select the
Tyr epressure function or wait untilthe
following message appears:
Tyr epressure displayed onl yafter
drivin gfor afew minutes
X Press the reset button on the left of the
instrumen tcluste r(Ypage 193).
Th ef ollowing message appear sinthe
multi-functio ndisplay: Check current
tyr epressure?
X Press the æbutton.
Th ef ollowing message appear sinthe
multi-functio ndisplay:
Tyr epressure monito rrestarted
Th et yrep ressure monitor ha sstored the
pressure of the tyres as anew reference
value. Operation
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Tyre
sand wheels 188
If yo
uwishtoc ancel the restart:
X Press the çbutton.
If the following message appear sinthe multi-
functio ndisplay:
R Reactivat etyrep ressure monitor
after correctin gtyrep ressure
R Please correc tthe tyr epressure
X Check the tyr epressure on al lfou rw heels
and correc tasn ecessary.
X Star tthe tyr epressure monitor again. Interchanging the wheels
G
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Interchange the front and rea rwheel sonly
if the yhavet he same dimensions :for exam-
pl es ize, offset, etc.
After every whee linterchange/change,
have the tightening torque checked at a
qualifie dspecialis tworkshop tha thas the
necessary specialis tknowledg eand tools
to carry ou tthe work required .Mercedes-
Benz recommend sthaty ou usea
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for thi spur-
pose .Inp articular, work relevant to safety or on safety-related systems must be car-
ried ou
tataqualifie dspecialis tworkshop.
Th ew heel scould work loos eiftheya renot
tightened to atorque of 130Nm .
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends tha tyou onlyusewhee lbolts of the
correc tsizew hich have been approved for
Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Th ew earp attern sont he front and rea rtyres
diffe rdepen ding on the operating conditions.
Interchange the wheels befor eaclear wear
pattern ha sformed on the tyres .Front tyres
typicall ywearm oreont he shoulders and the
rea rtyres in the centre.
Interchange the wheels every 5,000 km to
10,000 km depending on the degre eoftyre
wear ,provide dthatthe vehicl ehasthe same
size front and rea rtyres .Don ot revers ethe
directio noftyrer otation.
Clea nthe contact surfaces of the whee land
the brake disc thoroughly every tim eawheel
is interchanged. Check the tyr epressure and,
if necessary ,restar tthe tyr epressure loss
warning syste morthe tyrepressure moni-
tor*. !
On vehicles fitted with atyrep ressure
monitor* ,electroni ccomponents ar eloc a-
ted in the wheel.
Tyre fitting tools shoul dnot be applie din
the area of the valve, as thi scould damage
the electroni ccomponents.
Alway shavet he wheels interchanged/
change dataqualified specialis tworkshop,
e.g .aM ercedes-Benz Service Centre. Operation
*optional
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Winte
rdriving 189Winte
rdriving Points to remember
Have you rvehicle winterproofed at aqualified
specialist workshop, e.g. at aMercedes-Benz
Service Centre, at the onset of winter.
! Take care not to damage the sealing strip
and the moulding on the sid eofthe rear
window whe nscraping ice off the rear win-
dow. Winte
rtyres
Use winter tyres at temperatures below
+7 °C and on snow or ice-covere droads. Only
then can the effect of the ABS and ESP ®
driv-
ing systems be ensure dinwinter too.
Use winter tyres of the same make and tread
on allw heels to maintain safe handling char-
acteristics. G
Risk of accident
Winter tyres with atread depth of less than
4mmm ust be replaced immediately .They
are no longe rsuitabl efor winter use ,can
no longe rprovide sufficient grip .This could
cause you to lose control of you rvehicle
and cause an accident. Always observe the maximu
mpermitted
spee dspecified for the winter tyres you have
fitted. If you fit winter tyres which have a
lower maximu mpermitted spee dthan that of
the vehicle, affi xanappropriate warning sign
in the driver's fiel dofvision. This can be
obtained at aqualified specialist workshop,
e.g. from aMercedes-Benz Service Centre.
Under these circumstances, you should also
restrict the maximu mspee doft he vehicle
using permanent Speedtronic 20
to the maxi-
mum permissible spee dfor the winter tyres
(Y pag e136).
Once you have fitted the winter tyres:
X Check the tyre pressures (Y page184).
X Restart the tyre pressure moni-
tor* (Y page186). G
Risk of accident
If you fit the spare wheel* whe ndriving with
winter tyres, bea rinmind that driving sta-
bility wil lbeimpaired owing to unstable
cornering characteristics caused by the dif-
ferent tyres. You should therefore adapt
you rdriving styl eand drive carefully.
Have the spare wheel* replaced at the
nearest qualified specialist workshop which has the necessary specialist knowl-
edge and tools to carry out the work
required
.Mercedes-Benz recommends
that you use aMercedes-Benz Service
Centre for this purpose. In particular, work
relevant to safety or on safety-related sys-
tems must be carrie dout at aqualified
specialist workshop. Sno
wchains
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use snow chains which
have bee nspecially approved for you rvehicle
by Mercedes-Benz, or are of acorresponding
standard of quality.
! Information about the use of snow chain-
compatibl eAMG winter tyres is applicable
for AMG tyres. Use of snow chains is only
permissible with these tyres.
If you intend to fit snow chains, please bear
the following points in mind:
20 Only available for certai ncountries. Operation
*o ptional
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