ditions. Only these tires will allow driving
safety systems such as ABS and ESP®to
function optimally in winter. These tires have been developed specifically for driving in
snow.
Use M+S tires of the same make and tread on
all wheels to maintain safe handling charac-
teristics.
Always observe the maximum permissible
speed specified for the M+S tires you have
mounted.
When you have mounted M+S tires:
XCheck the tire pressures (Ypage 368).
XRestart the tire pressure monitor
(
Ypage 371).
Snow chains
GWARNING
If snow chains are installed to the front
wheels, they may drag against the vehicle
body or chassis components. This could
cause damage to the vehicle or the tires.
There is a risk of an accident.
To avoid hazardous situations:
Rnever install snow chains to the front
wheels
Ralways install snow chains in pairs to the
rear wheels.
For safety reasons, Mercedes-Benz recom-
mends that you only use snow chains that
have been specially approved for your vehicle
by Mercedes-Benz, or are of a corresponding
standard of quality.
If you intend to mount snow chains, please
bear the following points in mind:
RSnow chains may not be mounted on all
wheel/tire combinations. Permissible
wheel-tire combinations (
Ypage 388).
ROnly use snow chains when driving on
roads completely covered by snow.
Remove the snow chains as soon as possi- ble when you come to a road that is not
snow-covered.
RLocal regulations may restrict the use of
snow chains. Observe the appropriate reg-
ulations if you wish to mount snow chains.
RDo not exceed the maximum permissible
speed of 30 mph (50 km/h).
ROn vehicles with AIRMATIC (Ypage 197) or
Active Body Control (ABC) (
Ypage 194),
you must drive at raised vehicle level if
snow chains have been installed.
RWhen snow chains are installed, never use Active Parking Assist (
Ypage 202).
You may wish to deactivate ESP
®(Ypage 74)
when pulling away with snow chains installed.
You can thereby allow the wheels to spin in a
controlled manner, achieving an increased
driving force (cutting action).
Tire pressure
Tire pressure specifications
Important safety notes
GWARNING
Underinflated or overinflated tires pose the
following risks:
Rthe tires may burst, especially as the load
and vehicle speed increase.
Rthe tires may wear excessively and/or
unevenly, which may greatly impair tire
traction.
Rthe driving characteristics, as well as steer-
ing and braking, may be greatly impaired.
There is a risk of an accident.
Follow recommended tire inflation pressures
and check the pressure of all the tires includ-
ing the spare wheel:
Rmonthly, at least
Rif the load changes
Rbefore beginning a long journey
Runder different operating conditions, e.g.
off-road driving
Tire pressure365
Wheels and tires
Z
All about wheels and tires
UniformTire Quality Grading Stand-
ards
Overview ofTire Quality Grading Stand-
ards
Uniform Tir eQuality Grading Standards are
U.S. governmen tspecifications. Their pur-
pos eis to provide drivers wit hunifor mrelia-
ble information on tire performance data. Tir e
manufacturers hav eto grad etires usin gthree
performance factors :: tread wear grade, ;
traction grad eand =temperature grade.
These regulation sdo no tapply to Canada.
Nevertheless, all tires sold in North America
are provide dwit hth ecorresponding qualit y
grading marking son th esidewall of th etire.
Quality grades can be found, wher eapplica-
ble, on th etire sidewall between th etread
shoulder and maximum tire width.
Example:
RTreadwear grade: 200
RTraction grade: AA
RTemperaturegrade: A
Al lpassenger car tires mus tconform to th e
statutory safet yrequirements in addition to
these grades.
iThe actual value sfor tires are vehicle-
specific and may deviat efrom th evalue sin
th eillustration .
Treadwear
The treadwea rgrad eis acomparative rating
base don th ewear rat eof th etire when te sted
under controlled condition son aspecifie d
U.S. governmen tcourse. Fo rexample, atire
graded 15 0would wear on eand one-half
times as well on th egovernmen tcours eas a
tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depend s
upon th eactual condition sof their use, how-
ever, and may depar tsignificantly from th e
norm due to variation sin driving habit s, ser-
vic epractice sand difference sin road char-
acteri stics and climat econditions.
Traction
GWARNIN G
The traction grad eassigned to this tire is
base don straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does no tinclude acceleration ,cor-
nering, hydroplaning ,or peak traction char-
acteristics .
!Avoid wheelspin .This can lead to damag e
to th edriv etrain .
The traction grades –from highest to lowes t –
are AA ,A, Band C. Those grades represen t
th etire' sabilit yto stop on wet pavemen tas
measured under controlled condition son
specifie dgovernmen tte st surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. Atire marke d Cmay hav epoor
traction performance .
The saf espee don awet ,snow covered or icy
road is always lower than on dry road surfa-
ces.
You should pay special attention to road con-
dition swhen temperatures are aroun dfreez -
ing point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends aminimum
tread dept hof ã in (4 mm )on all four winte r
tires . Observ eth elegall yrequire dminimum
tire tread dept h (
Ypage 363). Winte rtires can
reduce th ebraking distanc eon snow-covered
surfaces in comparison wit h summer tires.
The braking distanc eis still muc hfurther than
376All about wheels and tires
Wheels and tires
