QuestionQUESTION: Hi,
I recently changed my Merc A200 stock tires to Conti Premium Contact2, 205/55 R16 but my friend who specializes in selling used tires and rims told me that is a bad move because the original factory fitted size is 195/55 R16 and I should have stick with the manufacturer recommended tire size. Can you advise me if I should now switch back to the recommended size or I should be perfectly fine with the new size? Many Thanks in advance.
ANSWER: David,
There just isn't enough information for me to give you an answer. What was the speed rating of the original tire? What are the speed rating of the larger tires?
Plus, does your vehicle have any sort of electronic stability control? Is the ABS sense the vehicle speed through the wheels or through some sort of ground motion.
Without knowing those things, it has generally been consider a bad idea to put a different tire size - and whatever else is different - on a vehicle.
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QUESTION: Hi Barry,
The speed rating of the original tire should be H. I have checked my manual and it said Electronic Stability Program (ESP) detects when a wheel spins or the vehicle enters a skid. ESP stabilises the vehicle by braking individual wheels, and by limiting the engine power output. Does that mean the different tire size will likely mess up the ESP function?
AnswerDavid,
We do not get these vehicles in the US, so I do not have any listings I can look up. It's nice to know that the original tire was an H speed, but what about the new tires? I looked them up on Tire Rack and it David like what we get in the US is a V rated tires designed for Mercedes. I don't think the speed rating would present a problem.
But the ESP might, particularly if it reads the ground speed off the wheels and not off the ground. To get a better answer, you need to find someone who is familiar with how the ESP functions.
