
Check wheels and tires for damage at least once
a month. Check wheels and tires afterdriving
off-road or on rough roads. Damaged wheels
can cause a loss of tire pressure. Pay particular
attention to damage such as:
Rcuts inthe tires
Rpunctures
Rtears inthe tires
Rbulges on tires
Rdeformation or severe corrosion on wheels
Regularly check the tire tread depth and the
condition of the tread across the whole width of
the tire (
Ypage 347). Ifnecessary, turn the
front wheels to full lock inorder to inspect the
inner sideof the tire surface.
All wheels must have a valve cap to protect the valve against dirtand moisture. Do not mount
anything onto the valve other than the standard
valve cap or other valve caps approved by
Mercedes-Benz for your veh icle. Do not use any
other valve caps or systems, e.g. tire pressure
monitoring systems.
Regularly check the pressure of all the tires par-
ticularly prior to long tr ips.Adjust the tire pres-
sure as necessary (
Ypage 349).
Observe the notes on the emergency spare
wheel (
Ypage 372).
The service lifeof tires depends, among other
things, on the foll owing factors:
RDrivin g style
RTire pressure
RDistance covered
Notes on tire tread
GWAR NING
In suff icient tire tread willreduce tire traction.
The tire isno longer abletodissipat e water.
This means that on wet road surfaces, the risk
of hydroplaning increases, inparticular where
speed isnot adapted to suit the driving con-
dit ions. There isa risk of acc ident.
If the tire pressure istoo high or too low,tires
may exhibit different leve lsof wear at differ-
ent locations on the tire tread. Thus, you
should regularly check the tread depth and
the condition of the tread across the entire
widt h of all tires.
Minimum tire tread depth for:
RSummer tires: âin(3 mm)
RM+S tires: ãin(4 mm)
For safety reasons, replace the tires before
the legally prescribe d limit for the minimum
tire tread depth is reached.
Marking :shows where the bar indicator
(arrow) for tread wear isintegrated into the tire
tread.
Treadwear indicators (TWI) are required by law.
Six indicators are positioned on the tire tread.
They are vis ibleonce a tread depth of approx-
imately áin(1.6 mm) has been reached. Ifthis
is the case, the tire isso worn that it must be
replaced.
Selecting, mounting and replacing
tires
ROnly mount tires and wheels of the same type
and make.
Exception: it is permissible to install a differ-
ent type or make inthe event of a flat tire.
Observe here the "MOExtended tires (tires
wit h run-flat characteristics)" section
(
Ypage 332).
ROnly mount tires of the correct size onto the
wheels.
RBreak in new tires at moderate speeds for the
first 60 miles(100 km). They only reach their
full performance after this distance.
RDo not drive with tires which have too little
tread depth, as this significantly reduces the
traction on wet roads (hydroplaning).
RReplace the tires after six years at the latest,
regardless of wear.
Operation347
Wheels and tires
Z 

Step 3
Example 1Example 2Example 3
Permissible load (maxi-
mum gross vehicle
weight rating from the
Tire and Loading Infor-
mation placard minus
the gross weight of all
occupants)1500 lbs (680 kg)Ò
750 lbs (340 kg) =
750 lbs (340 kg)1500 lbs (680 kg) Ò
540 lbs (245 kg)
=960 lbs (435 kg)1500 lbs (680 kg) Ò
150 lbs (68 kg) =
1350 lbs (612 kg)
Vehicle identification plate
Even if you have calculated the total cargo care-
fully, you should still make sure that the gross
vehicle weight rating and the gross axle weight
rating are not exceeded. Details can be found on
the vehicle identification plate on the B-pillar on
the driver's side of the vehicle (
Ypage 356).
Permissible Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR): the gross weight of the vehicle, all pas-
sengers, load and trailer load/noseweight (if
applicable) must not exceed the permissible
gross vehicle weight.
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR): the maxi-
mum permissible weight that can be carried by
one axle (front or rear axle).
To ensure that your vehicle does not exceed the
maximum permissible values (gross vehicle
weight and maximum gross axle weight rating),
have your loaded vehicle (including driver, occu-
pants, cargo, and full trailer load if applicable)
weighed on a suitable vehicle weighbridge.
Trailer load/noseweight
The trailer load/noseweight affects the gross
weight of the vehicle. If a trailer is attached, the trailer load/noseweight is included in the load
along with occupants and luggage. The trailer
load/noseweight is usually approximately 8% of
the gross weight of the trailer and its cargo.
All about wheels and tires
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Stand-
ards
Overview of Tire Quality Grading Stand-
ards
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards are U.S.
government specifications. Their purpose is to
provide drivers with uniform reliable information on tire performance data. Tire manufacturers
have to grade tires using three performance fac-
tors: :tread wear grade, ;traction grade and
= temperature grade. These regulations do not
apply to Canada. Nevertheless, all tires sold in
North America are provided with the corre-
sponding quality grading markings on the side-
wall of the tire.
Quality grades can be found, where applicable,
on the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and
maximum section width.
Example:
RTreadwear grade: 200
RTraction grade:AA
RTemperature grade: A
All about wheels and tires359
Wheels and tires
Z 

Tire labeling
Overview
:Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
(Ypage 364)
;Department of Transportation, Tire Identifi-
cation Number (Ypage 363)
=Maximum load rating (Ypage 363)
?Maximum tire pressures (Ypage 352)
AManufacturer
BTire material (Ypage 364)
CTire size designation, load-bearing capacity
and speed rating (Ypage 361)
DLoad index (Ypage 363)
ETire name
The markings described above are on the tire in
addition to the tire name (sales designation) and
the manufacturer's name.
iTire data is vehicle-specific and may deviate
from the data in the example.
Tire size designation, load-bearing
capacity and speed rating
GWARNING
Exceeding the stated tire load-bearing capa-
city and the approved maximum speed could
lead to tire damage or the tire bursting. There is a risk of accident.
Therefore, only use tire types and sizes
approved for your vehicle model. Observe the
tire load rating and speed rating required for
your vehicle.
:Tire width
;Nominal aspect ratio in %
=Tire code
?Rim diameter
ALoad bearing index
BSpeed rating
General: depending on the manufacturer's
standards, the size imprinted in the tire wall may
not contain any letters or may contain one letter
that precedes the size description.
If there is no letter preceding the size descrip-
tion (as shown above): these are passenger
vehicle tires according to European manufac-
turing standards.
If "P" precedes the size description: these are
passenger vehicle tires according to U.S. man-
ufacturing standards.
If "LT" precedes the size description: these are
light truck tires according to U.S. manufacturing
standards.
If "T" precedes the size description: compact
emergency wheels with high tire pressure that
are only designed for temporary use in an emer-
gency.
Tire width: tire width:shows the nominal tire
width in millimeters.
Height-width ratio: aspect ratio;is the size
ratio between the tire height and tire width and
is shown in percent. The aspect ratio is calcula-
ted by dividing the tire width by the tire height.
Tire code:tire code =specifies the tire type.
"R" represents radial tires; "D" represents diag-
onal tires
; "B" represents diagonal radial tires.
Optionally, tires with a maximum speed of over
149 mph (240 km/h) may have "ZR" in the size
All about wheels an d tires361
Wheels and tires
Z 

All othermod-
els with::
Opening height
;
Max.
headr oom
AIRMATIC
package83.9in-
86.9 in
(2132 mm -
2207 mm )76.1 in-
79.1 in
(1934 mm -
2009 mm )
ON&OFFROAD
package83.9 in - 88.1 in
(2132 mm -
2237 mm )76.1 in-
80.3 in
(1934 mm -
2039 mm )
Mercedes‑AMG vehicles
Vehicle length203.2 in
(5162 mm)
Vehicle width including
exterior mirrors
Vehicle width without exte-
rior mirrors
Vehicle height72.9 in
1850 mm
Wheelbase121.1 in
3075 mm
Maximum ground clear-
ance
Minimum ground clear-
ance7.8 in
(198 mm)
Turning radius39.7 ft
(12.10 m)
Maximum roof load220 lbs
(100 kg)
All other models
Vehicle length202.0 in
(5130 mm)
Vehicle width including
exterior mirrors84.3 in
(2141 mm)
Maximum vehicle height
(AIRMATIC package)75.2 in
(1910 mm)
All other models
Maximum vehicle height
(ON&OFFROAD package)76.4 in
(1940 mm)
Minimum vehicle height72.8 in
(1850 mm)
Wheelbase121.1 in
(3075 mm)
Maximum ground clear-
ance (AIRMATIC package)10.9 in
( 276 mm)
Maximum ground clear-
ance (ON&OFFROAD pack-
age)12.0 in
(306 mm)
Minimum ground clear-
ance7.9 in
(201 mm)
Turning radius40.7 ft
(12.40 m)
Maximum roof load220 lb
(100 kg)
Vehicle data for off-road driving
Fording depth
!
The depth of water must not exceed the
value specified in the table. Note that the
possible fording depth is less in flowing water.
:Fording depth
On vehicles with the AIRMATIC package or the
Off-Road Engineering package, loads up to the
maximum permissible load have no influence on
fording capability.
Missing values were not available at the time of
going to print.
Vehicle data for off-road driving385
Technical data
Z