Ste
p2 Example
1E xamp le 2
Numb er of people in thev ehicle
(driver and occupants) 51
Distribution of theo ccupant sFront:2
Re ar:3 Fr
ont :1
We ight of occupant sO ccupant 1:150lbs (68 kg)
Occupant 2: 180lbs (82 kg)
Occupant 3: 160lbs (7 3kg)
Occupant 4: 140lbs (63 kg)
Occupant 5: 120lbs (5 4kg) Occupant 1: 200 lbs (9
1kg)
To talw eight of all occupant s750 lbs (340 kg)2 00 lbs (91kg) Ste
p3 Example
1E xamp le 2
Pe rm issible load (maximum
gross vehicle weight rating from
th eT irea nd Loading In form a‐
tio np lacar dminus theg ross
we ight of all occupants) 15
00 lbs (680 kg)00F875 0lbs
(340 kg)=7 50 lbs (340 kg)15
00 lbs (680 kg)00F8200 lbs
(9 1k g)=1 300 lbs (589 kg) Ti
re labeling Overvie
woftirel abeling 1
Uniform Ti reQuality Grading Standards
(/ page226)
2 DOT(Department of Transpor tation), (TIN)
Ti re Identification Number (/ page227)
3 Maximu mtirel oa d( /pag e228)
4 Maximu mtirep ressur e(/ pag e228) 5
Manufacturer
6 Chara cteristics of thet ire( /pag e228)
7 Tire size designation, load-beari ng capacity,
speed rating and load ind ex (/pag e228)
8 Tire name
% The da
tashown in thei llustration is sample
data. Information on tir
equality grades Ac
cording tother equirements of theU .S.
Depa rtment of Transpor tation's "Uni form Tire
Quality Grading Standards" tir emanufacturers
mus tgrade their tires using thef ollowing three
per form anc efactors: 226
Wheels an dtires
The TIN is
aunique identification number fort ires
and consists of thef ollowing components:
R DOT(Department of Transportation): tire
symbol 1indicates that thet irec omplies
wit hthe requ irements of theU .S. Depa rtment
of Transpor tation.
R Manufacturer identi fication code: manu‐
fa cturer identification code 2prov ides infor‐
matio nabout thet irem anufacturer .New tires
ha ve ac odew itht wo symbols. Retreaded
tires ha veac odew ithf our symbols.F or fur‐
th er information about retreade dtires, see
(/ page 231).
R Tire size: identifier 3describes thet ires ize.
R Tire type code: tiret ypec ode 4can be
used bythem anufacturer as acode to
describe specific characteristic softhe tire.
R Dat eofm anufactu re:date of manufacture
5 prov ides informatio nabout thea geof a
tire. The 1s tand 2nd number sindicat ethe
calendar week and the3 rdand 4t hnumbers
indicat ethe year of manufactur e(e.g. "3208"
re fers to the3 2ndw eek of they ear 2008). Information on maximum tir
eload %
The dat
ashown in thei llustration is sample
data.
Maximum tir eload 1isthem aximum permissi‐
ble weight forw hichthe tir eisa pprove d.
Do no toverload thet ires by ex ceeding them axi‐
mum permissible load. The maximum permissible
load can be found on thev ehicle's Tire and Load‐
ing In form atio nplacar dont he B-pillar on thed riv‐
er's side (/ page224). Information on maximum tir
epressure %
The dat
ashown in thei llustration is sample
data.
Maximum permitted tir epressure 1,whichis
permitted fort he tires mus tnotbe exceeded.
Exception: whe nusing the2 25/ 75R16C
12 1/120R (122L) tires as aspare wheel on the
re ar axle of Supe rSinglev ehicles wit hadista nce
limit of 62 mi (100 km) and speed limit of 34 mph
(55 km/h). Information on tir
echaracteristics %
The dat
ashown in thei llustration is sample
data.
This information describes thet ype of tir ecord
and then umber of la yers in side wall1 and
under tir etread 2. Ti
re size designation, load-bearing capacity,
speed ratin ga nd load index &
WARNING Risk of inju rythro ugh exceed‐
ing thes pecified tir eload rating or the
permissible speed rating
Exceeding thes pecified tir eload rating or the
permissible speed rating ma ylea dtot ire
dama geand tothet ires bur sting. #
Therefore, onl yuse tir etypes and sizes
appr ovedfor your vehicle model. 228
Wheels and tires
#
Obser vethet irel oad rating and speed
ra ting requ ired fory our vehicle. 1
Prefixing letter
2 Nominal tir ewidthinm illimeters
3 Aspect ratio (i npercent)
4 Tire code
5 Rimd iame ter
6 Load-bearing index
7 Speed rating
8 Loadind ex
% The dat
ashown in thei llustration is sample
data.
Fu rther information about reading tir edatac an
be obtaine dfroma nyqualified specialis twork‐
shop.
Prefixing letter 1
1:
R "LT": light truc ktires in accordance wit hUS
manufacturer standards.
R "C": tires forc ommercial usage in accordance
wit hE uropean manufacturer standards.
Aspect ratio (i npercent) 3 3:
The size ratio betwee nthe tir eheight and tire
widt hand is shown in percent (tir eheight divided
by tirew idth ).
Ti re code 4
4 (tiretype):
R "R": radial tire
Rim diam eter 5 5:
The diame teroft he bead seat (no tthe diame ter
of ther im flange). The rimd iame teriss pecified in
inches (in).
Load-bearing index 6 6:
Numerical code whic hspecifies them aximum
load-bearing capacity of atire( "91" equals, e.g.
13 56 lb (6 15kg)).
The tir eload-bearing capacit ymustbeatl east
half theg ross axle weight rating of thev ehicle. Do no
toverload thet ires byexceeding them axi‐
mum permissible load.
See also:
R Maximum permissible load on theT irea nd
Loading In form atio nplacar d(/pag e224 )
R Maximum tir eload (/ page228)
R Load index
Spee drating 7 7:
Specifies thea ppr ove dm aximum speed of the
tire.
% An electroni
cspeed limiter pr events your
ve hicle from exceeding aspeed of 130m ph
(2 10 km/h).
Ensu rethat your tires ha vether equired speed
ra ting .You can obtain information on the
re qu ired speed rating at an au thorized Mercedes-
Benz Center.
Summer tires Inde
xS peedrating
LU pto75mph (120 km/h)
MU pto81mph (130 km/h)
NU pto87mph (140 km/h)
PU pto93mph (150 km/h)
QU pto100mph(160k m/h)
RU pto106mph(170k m/h) Summer
,all-season and winter tires Inde
xS peedrating
LM +S1
Upto75 mph(120k m/h)
MM +S1
Upto81 mp h(130k m/h)
NM +S1
Upto87 mph(140k m/h)
PM +S1
Upto93 mph(150k m/h)
QM +S1
Upto100m ph (160 km/h)
RM +S1
Upto118m ph (170 km/h) 1
:or" M+S 004D"f or winter tires
Wi nter tires ar emarke dw itht he 004D snowflake
symbol and fulfill ther equirements of theR ubber
Manufacturer sAssociation (RMA) and theR ubber
Associatio nofCanada (RAC) rega rding thet ire
traction on sno w. Wheels and tires
229
Load index
8 8:
R "Light load": light load tires
R "C": commercial tires Information on definitions (tires and load‐
ing)
Ti re stru ctu reand characteristics: describes
th en umber of la yers or then umber of rubber-
coated la yers inthet iret read and thet irew all.
These ar emade of steel, nylon, pol yester and
ot her materials.
Bar: metric unit fort irep ressu re.
14 .5038 pounds per squar einc h( psi) and
10 0k ilopascals (kPa) ar ethe equivalent of 1bar.
DO T(Department of Transportation): DOT
mar kedt ires fulfill ther equirements of the
U. S. Depa rtment of Transpor tatio n.
Av erag eweight of vehicl eoccupants: the
number of occupants forw hichthe vehicle is
designed multiplied by150lbs (68 kg).
Un ifor mT ireQ uality Grading Standards: auni‐
fo rm standar dtog rade theq uality of tires with
re ga rdstot read quality ,tiret raction and temp er‐
atur echaracteristics. The quality grading assess‐
men tism adebythem anufacturer in accordance
wit htests pecifications of theU .S. go vernment.
The quality grade of atireisi mprinted on the
side wall of thet ire.
Re commended tir epressu re:ther ecommen‐
ded tir epressur eist he pressur especified fort he
tires ins talled on thev ehicle at thef actor y.
The Tire and Loading In form atio nplacar dcon‐
ta ins ther ecommended tir epressures forc old
tires, them aximum permissible load and the
maximu mpermissible vehicle speed.
The tir epressur etable con tains ther ecommen‐
ded tir epressures forc old tires under various
operating conditions, i.e. load and/or speed of
th ev ehicle.
Increased vehicl eweight due tooptional
equipment: thec ombined weight of all standard
and optional equipmen tavailable fort he vehicle,
re ga rdless of whe ther it is actuall yins talled on
th ev ehicle or not.
Rim: thep artoft he wheel on whic hthe tir eis
ins talled.
GA WR (Gross AxleW eightRating): GAWR is the
gross axle weight rating .The actual load on an
axl em ustn ever exc eed theG ross Axle Weight Ra
ting .You can find theG ross Axle Weight Rating
on theB -pillar on thed rive r's side.
Speed rating: thes peed rating is pa rtof thet ire
identification .Itspecifies thes peed rang ef or
whic hatireisa pprove d.
GV W( Gross Vehicl eW eight): theG ross Vehicle
We ight includes thew eight of thev ehicle includ‐
ing fuel, tools, thes par ew heel, accessories
ins talled, occupants, luggag eand thet railer
dr aw bar nose weight if applicable. The Gross Vehi‐
cle Weight mus tnever exc eed theG ross Vehicle
We ight Rating (GVWR )specifie donthe B-pillar on
th ed rive r's side.
GV WR (Gross Vehicl eW eight Rating): the
GV WR is them aximum permitted gross weight of
th ef ully laden vehicle (weight of thev ehicle
including all accessories, occupants, fuel, lug‐
ga ge and thet railer dr awbar nose weight if appli‐
cable). The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is speci‐
fi ed on thev ehicle identification plat eonthe B-
pillar on thed rive r's side.
Maximum weight of thel aden vehicle: the
maximu mweight is thes um of thev ehicle's curb
we ight ,weight of thea ccessories, maximum load
and thew eight of thef actor yins talled optional
equipment.
Kilopascal (kPa): metric unitfort irep ressu re.
6.9 kP aarethee quivalent of 1psi. Ano ther unit
fo rt irep ressu reis bar .100 kilopascals (kPa) are
th ee quivalent of 1bar.
Load index: in additiontothel oad-bearing index,
th el oad inde xmayalso be imprinted on thes ide‐
wa ll of thet ire. This specifies thel oad-bearing
capacity mor eprecisel y.
Cur bw eight: thew eight of avehicle wit hstand‐
ar de quipmen tincludin gthe maximum capacity
of fuel, oil and coolant. It also includes thea ir-
conditioning sy stem and optional equipment if
th ese ar einstalled on thev ehicle, but does not
include passenger sorluggage.
Maximum tir eload: them aximum tir eload is
th em aximum permissible weight in kilog rams or
lbs forw hichat ireisa pprove d.
Maximum permissible tir epressure: maximum
permissible tir epressur efor one tire.
Maximum load on one tire: maximum load on
one tire. This is calculated bydividing them axi‐
mum axle load foro ne axle bytwo.
PSI (pounds per squar einch): standar dunit of
measuremen tfor tir epressu re. 230
Wheels and tires
Aspec
tratio: relationship between tir eheight
and tir ewidthinp ercent.
Ti re pressure: pressureinside thet irea pplying
an outwar dforce toeve rysquar einc hoft he
tire's sur face. The tir epressur eiss pecified in
pounds per squar einc h( psi), in kilopascal (kPa)
or in bar .The tir epressur eshoul donlybec orrec‐
te dw hen thet ires ar ecold.
Ti re pressur eoncoldt ires: thet ires ar ecold
when thev ehicle has been par kedw itht he tires
out of direct sunlight foratl east thre eh our sand
th ev ehicle has been driven less than 1m ile
(1.6 km).
Ti re contact sur face: thep artoft he tir ethat
comes int ocontact wi th theroad.
Ti re bead: thep urpose of thet ireb ead is to
ensur ethat thet ires its securel yonthe wheel
ri m. Ther eareseveralw irec ores in thet ireb ead
to preve ntthet iref romc hanging lengt honthe
whee lrim.
Sid ew all: thep artoft he tir ebetwe en thet read
and thet ireb ead.
Special equipment weight: thec ombined
we ight of those optional extras that we igh more
th an ther eplaced standar dparts and mor ethan
5l bs (2. 3kg). These optiona lextras ,suc has
high-pe rformance brakes, le velc ontrol sy stem, a
ro of luggag erackorah igh-perform anc ebatter y,
ar en otincluded in thec urb weight and the
we ight of thea ccessories.
TIN (Tir eIdentification Number): auniqu eiden‐
tification number whic hcan be used byatire
manufacturer toidentify tires, fore xamp lefora
product recall, and thus identif ythe pur chasers.
The TIN is made up of them anufacturer identifi‐
cation code, tir esize, tir etype code and them an‐
ufacturing date.
Load-bearing index: thel oad-bearing inde x(also
load index) is acode that con tains them aximum
load-bearing capacity of atire.
Tr action: traction is ther esult of friction between
th et ires and ther oad sur face.
We ar indicator: narrow bars(tread wear bars)
th at ar edistributed overthe tir etread. If thet ire
tread is le velw itht he bars, thew ear limit of
1/1 6in( 1.6m m) has been reached.
Distribution of vehicl eoccupants: distribution
of vehicle occupants over designated seat posi‐
tions in avehicle. Maximum permissible pa
yload weight: nomi‐
nal load and luggag eload plus 150lbs (68 kg)
multiplied bythen umber of seats in thev ehicle. Changing
awheel Note
sons electing, installing and replacing
tires Yo
uc an ask fori nformation rega rding permit ted
wheel/tir ecombinations at aqualified specialist
wo rkshop. &
WARNING Risk of accident du etoincor‐
re ct size sofwheels and tires
If wheels and tires of thew rong size ar eused,
th ew heel brakes or wheel suspension com‐
ponents ma ybedamaged. #
Alwaysr eplace wheels and tires with
ones that fulfill thes pecification softhe
original part.
Fo rw heels, pa yattention tothef ollowing:
R Designation
R Type
R Perm issible wheel load
R Wheel of fset
Fo rtires, pa yattention tothef ollowing:
R Designation
R Manufacturer
R Type
R Load-bearing index
R Speed rating &
WARNING Risk of inju rythro ugh exceed‐
ing thes pecified tir eload rating or the
permissible speed rating
Exceeding thes pecified tir eload rating or the
permissible speed rating ma ylea dtot ire
dama geand tothet ires bur sting. #
Therefore, onl yuse tir etypes and sizes
appr ovedfor your vehicle model. #
Obser vethet irel oad rating and speed
ra ting requ ired fory our vehicle. Wheels and tires
231
#
Open ther ear-end doors. #
Place ascrew driver int orecesses 2and
th en pr yoffco vers 1 . #
Using thel ug wrenc hfromt hevehicle tool kit,
unscr ewthen ow visible bolts counter-clock‐
wise byappr oximatel y20turns. #
Slightly raise spar ewheel car rier 4 and
unhook left-hand saf etyh ook 3. #
Assemble thep um pleve rfor thej acka nd
slide it int osleeve5 onther ight-ha ndside
of spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise spar ewheel car rier 4 withthe pump
le ve ra nd unhook right-han dsafet yh ook 3. #
Slowl ylow er spar ewhee lcarrier 4 tothe
ground. #
Lift spar ewheel car rier 4 slightl yand pull
th ep um pleve rout of thes lee ve. #
Use thep um pleve rtol iftt he spar ewheel
be yond ther ear edg eofsparew heel car rier
4. #
Carefully remo vethes par ew heel from spare
wheel car rier 4.T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When thes par ew heel is remo ved, thec enter
of gr avity changes due totheh eavy weight of
th ew heel. The spar ewheel ma yslip down or
tip ove r.
Ve hicles with rear wheel drive: installin gthe
spar ewheel (Cargo Van/Passenger Van) #
Carefully place thes par ew heel ont ospare
wheel car rier 4.T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When youp lacethe spar ewheel ont ospare
wheel car rier 4,t he center of gravity
ch anges due tothew eight of thew heel. The
spar ewheel ma yslip down or tip over. #
Slide thep um pleve rfor thej acki ntos leeve
5 on spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise spar ewheel car rier 4 withthe pump
le ve ra nd attac hright-ha ndsafetyh ook 3. #
Slight lyraise spar ewheel car rier 4 and
attac hleft-hand saf etyh ook 3. #
Pull thep um pleve rout of slee ve5 . #
Using thel ug wrench, tighten saf etyh ook
bolts 3byturning them clockwise. #
Replace and engag ecovers 1. #
Close ther ear-end doors.
Ve hicles with rear wheel drive: removing the
spar ewheel (vehicl ewithl ow ered chassis) Bolt co
vers fort he saf etyh ooks (exa mp le: Cargo
Va n) Wheel
sand tires 241
#
Open ther ear-end doors. #
Place ascrew driver int orecesses 2and
th en pr yoffco vers 1 . #
Using thel ug wrenc hfromt hevehicle tool kit,
unscr ewthen ow visible bolts counter-clock‐
wise byappr oximatel y20turns. #
Slightly raise spar ewheel car rier 4 and
unhook left-hand saf etyh ook 3. #
Assemble thep um pleve rfor thej acka nd
slide it int osleeve5 onther ight-ha ndside
of spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise thes par ew heel car rier wit hthe pump
le ve ra nd unhook right-han dsafet yh ook 3. #
Position loop 7ofextraction device 6on
th es par ew heel so that youw ill later be able
to attac hlug wrench 8. #
Prepar ethe jac k. #
Place thej ackb eneat hthe cor responding
jac ksuppor tpoint. #
Movethep um pleve rupa nd down until the
tir eisr aised amaximum of 1.18 in (3 cm) off
th eg round. #
Hook lug wrench 8intoloop 7ofextrac‐
tio nd evice 6 onthes par ew heel. #
Carefully remo vethes par ew heel from spare
wheel car rier 4.T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When thes par ew heel is remo ved, thec enter
of gr avity changes due totheh eavy weight of
th ew heel. The spar ewheel ma yslip down or
tip ove r. #
Remo vethes par ew heel extraction device
and stor eitinas afep lace. Youc an now
ins tallth es par ew heel on your vehicle. #
Lowe rthe vehicle.
Ve hicles with rear wheel drive: installin gthe
spar ewheel (vehicle with lo weredc hassis)
% In
thee vent of aflat tire, youm aystor et he
fa ulty wheel inside thev ehicle onl y.An intact
whee lmaybe stored in thes par ew heel car‐
ri er onl ywhen thev ehicle is unladen. Aladen
ve hicle mus tfirst be raised. #
Carefull yplace thes par ew heel ont ospare
wheel car rier 4.T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When youp lacethe spar ewheel ont ospare
wheel car rier 4,t he center of gravity
ch anges due tothew eight of thew heel. The
spar ewheel ma yslip down or tip over. #
Slide thep um pleve rfor thej acki ntos leeve
5 on spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise spar ewheel car rier 4 withthe pump
le ve ra nd attac hright-ha ndsafetyh ook 3. #
Slight lyraise spar ewheel car rier 4 and
attac hleft-hand saf etyh ook 3. #
Pull thep um pleve rout of slee ve5 . #
Using thel ug wrench, tighten saf etyh ook
bolts 3byturning them clockwise. #
Replace and engag ecovers 1. #
Close ther ear-end doors. 242
Wheels and tires
Ve
hicles with rear wheel drive: removing the
spar ewheel (chassis) #
Loosen wing nuts 3manually and then
re mo vethem. #
Loosen nuts 2asfarast hethre ad end. #
Slightly raise spar ewheel car rier 4 and
unhook left-hand saf etyh ook 1. #
Assemble thep um pleve rfor thej acka nd
slide it int othe slee veon ther ight-ha ndside
of spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise spar ewheel car rier 4 withthe pump
le ve ra nd unhook right-han dsafet yh ook 1. #
Slowl ylow er spar ewhee lcarrier 4 tothe
ground. #
Lift spar ewheel car rier 4 slightl yand pull
th ep um pleve rout of thes lee ve. #
Use thep um pleve rtol iftt he spar ewheel
be yond ther ear edg eofthe spar ewheel car‐
ri er. #
Carefully remo vethes par ew heel from the
spar ewheel car rier .T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When thes par ew heel is remo ved, thec enter
of gr avity changes due totheh eavy weight of
th ew heel. The spar ewheel ma yslip down or
tip ove r.
Ve hicles with rear wheel drive: installin gthe
spar ewheel (chassis) #
Carefully place thes par ew heel ont ospare
wheel car rier 4.T he spar ewheel is heavy.
When youp lacethe spar ewheel ont othe
spar ewheel car rier ,t he center of gr avity
ch anges due tothew eight of thew heel. The
spar ewheel ma yslip down or tip over. #
Slide thep um pleve rfor thej acki ntot he
slee veon spar ewheel car rier 4. #
Raise spar ewheel car rier 4 withthe pump
le ve ra nd attac hright-ha ndsafetyh ook 1. #
Slight lyraise thes par ew heel car rier and
attac hleft-hand saf etyh ook 1. #
Pull thep um pleve rout of thes lee ve. #
Tighten nuts 2. #
Put wing nuts 3in place and tighten them. Wheels and tires
243