My 240d came with four different tires on it. While it is in the plans to get a whole new set eventually, at the moment, it is not the top priority.

One major problem was that the PO had two different sized tires on the front. One 175/SR/14 which is old but in ok condition, and one 195/75(I think)/14 which is shredded to the cords. The mismatch was causing the car to pull to one side a lot and had shredded out the DS front tire.

So I found a used replacement for the DS tire on craigslist that matched the size of the PS one, as a temporary measure until I fix the UCA bushings and then get an alignment and a new set of tires.

I went to goodyear to have the used 175/SR/14 mounted and the guy told me he would mount the 175, but not to drive on the freeway (which I haven't yet anyway due to the condition of the tire that was on there). He said not to because the tires are not the stock size and being too small, they might not handle the load of the car correctly.

I know the stock is 195 70 14, but is it really that dangerous to temporarily drive on 175's on the freeway?

Thanks

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There's a low probability of a catastrophic loss. Is it worth the risk?

Sixto
87 300D

I mean, people's tires pop or go flat often for varying reasons...

I guess I am wondering if the difference in size is really significant enough to make that big of a difference in the driving safety of the car or the likelihood of it popping.

The goodyear guy is in the business of selling tires, so obviously I take his advice with a grain of salt. I don't plan on keeping these tires on longer than a couple months.

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I've still got a 175 SR 14 studded snow on my 240D from last winter. I was running a set of two until the other one found a nail. I've driven thousands of miles at all speeds, including flat out for 12 miles at a stretch and have not found a problem with the tire.

If you're concerned about the load on the tire being too much, check the rating on the sidewall, maintain your tire pressures, and take a trip over the scales at your local truck stop. I weighed my 240D and it was something like 3400 lbs, so there's really not a lot of weight on any tire.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.