Turning worn shoulders in - Luke?

A few tire and MBZ-techs have told me that on W201 and late 80s/early 90s E-class models the front tires wear fairly heavily on the outside edges and owners should expect this, especially with sporty driving. I corner hard and drive aggressively and would think that the weight and load would scrub them faster than the rest of the tread as well. Rotation is something I do every 5-6k miles, but I'm wondering if it makes sense to eventually re-mount the tires with the more-worn edge on the inside. Will this work and add a few extra thou miles to a set? FYI - I'm using Mich XGT's, which to my knowledge are bi-directional.

[Luke@tirerack]

as far as remounting the tires to lengthen the life expectancy there is absolutely no problem with doing that but, there are a couple of things you may want to consider in addition. first of all if you really enjoy a spirited drive you can have the alignment angles set to enhance cornering and reduce shoulder wear by increasing the negative camber in the front suspension (make the tire lean in at the top, like race car set-ups). This will not radically increase tire wear. While most MBZ Tech's will say that this is not a good idea all specs do have a window or range of acceptability and most techs try to hit the center of the spec window. If you ask them to lean toward the negative side of the specs they will be happy to do that. The trade of when you do this is sometimes cars will follow road imperfections a little more. Secondly, seeing that you live in California you may want to get rid of those all-season tires and move into a performance tire like the Pilot Sport from michelin.
Thanks, Luke

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Luke Pavlick
Performance Specialist (ASE Certified Master Tech)
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As always, thanks for excellent advice!

[Lee Scheeler]

makakio,
Have your tech re-align your car to factory "Sportline" specs. (max neg camber and min toe-in) that he is willing to do within acceptable tolerances.

Luke does make a VERY good point about the type of tire you run for the conditions you run them in. If you dont' have to deal with snow stick to the performance tires. You'll get better wet and dry traction. Also, the tires will hold up better to aggressive use. You can kill a long treadlife tire's shoulders pretty easily. The touring tires last best when used for touring...

BTW, "flipping" shoulder worn tires is no problem. Just had the front tires (of the staggered OEM setup) flipped on my C36 to help promote tire longevity. Unfortuantely this required dismounting/remounting but its worth it for the way it handles...

Hope this helps...Lee

[This message has been edited by Lee Scheeler (edited 07-28-2000).]

[DSinger]

Do NOT realign to Sportline spec. That special type of alignment (with more negative rear camber) is used because of the lower ride height the Sportline offers. Do NOT do this on a non-Sportline car.

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1988 Mercedes-Benz 260E
Euro Headlights
94/95 Turn Signals and Taillights
16" x 7J 8-hole Euro-only (Authentic MB)
Michelin Pilot HX MXM 205/55VR16
Sportline Suspension
Debadged

[Lee Scheeler]

Depends on your priorities... If you are running thin spring pads, slightly shorter RR tires, or just want a bit better turn in (though your overall grip may not increase much) then the sportline alignment is actually a better fit than normal. If you are wearing out the outer shoulders of your tires in front re-aligning to max neg camber and min toe in should help. (even to the edge of the factory spec range) As I said, you don't have to go much outside factory specs but a little change (or just keeping it towards the ends of the adjustment spec range) will help.

Hope this helps...Lee