Tires - General information - AH40.10-P-1020-01D

The trend in recent years towards wider and flatter tire section widths and run-flat tires has made the fitting and removal of tires more and more complicated.

The main requirements for trouble-free use and perfect concentricity of the tire are properly performed fitting and correct seating of the tire on the rim.

To ensure that these requirements are met, the upper sidewalls and the upper raised beads in particular must have an inner temperature of at least 15°C  .

Rubber is a poor thermal conductor which means that a cold tire must be located in a temperature-controlled environment for an adequately long period of time for the inner linings to heat up to at least 15 °C  .

The room temperature must be measured and read off at eye level. This means that a temperature of 19 °C at eye level corresponds to a temperature at floor level of approx. 16 °C. Assuming a room temperature of at least 19 °C:

• Store tires with an initial temperature of 0 °C  or higher for at least 2 h  before fitting.
• Store tires with an initial temperature of below 0 °C  for at least 2.5 h  before fitting.

When warming up cold tires, do not lay them directly on the cold floor, but instead place them on an insulated mat, a pallet or even higher.

To allow cold tires to absorb heat from the ambient air as quickly as possible, they should not be stacked but rather laid down separately. Other than using warm circulating air (max. 50 °C), there is no other way of warming up tires without the tires being damaged.

Tires should never be placed in front of a radiant heater or a hot-air fan to heat them up as damaging surface temperatures can be reached very quickly using such methods.

Structure of tire systems 

• MO  stands for M  ercedes O  riginal tires.
• MOE  stands for M  ercedes O  riginal E  xtended tires with emergency running characteristics. These tires have a strengthened sidewall which supports the weight resting on the wheel if pressure loss occurs and enables the vehicle to drive on to a limited extent.
• PAX system  is a complete wheel/tire system consisting of tire, rim and an internal support ring. A self-clamping anchoring secures the tire to the rim. In the event of pressure loss, a support ring made of rubber carries the weight of the vehicle.
• CSR system  stands for C  onti S  upport R  ing. A support ring (stainless steel ring) with flexible padding is fitted together with a standard tire on a standard rim. The support ring prevents the tire from becoming detached from the rim in the event of pressure loss.