Mercedes-Benz 2008 SLK-Class, Owner'S Manual

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Tyres and wheels
157
cate that the wheels or tyres are damaged.
If you suspect that a tyre is defective,
reduce your speed and stop the vehicle as
soon as possible to check the wheels and
tyres for damage. Hidden tyre damage
could also be causing the unusual handling
characteristics. If you find no signs of dam-
age, have the wheels and tyres inspected
at a specialist workshop, for example at a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre.
R
When parking your vehicle, make sure that
the tyres do not get deformed by the kerb
or other obstacles. If it is necessary to drive
over kerbs, speed humps or similar, try to
do so slowly and at an obtuse angle. Oth-
erwise, the tyres, particularly the sidewalls,
could get damaged.
Direction of rotation
Direction of rotation
Tyres with a specified direction of rotation
have additional benefits, e.g. if there is a risk
of aquaplaning. You will only gain these ben-
efits if the correct direction of rotation is
observed.
An arrow on the sidewall of the tyre indicates
its correct direction of rotation.
i
You may fit a spare tyre* against the
direction of rotation.
Tyre tread
G Risk of accident
Bear in mind that:
R
tyre grip decreases rapidly on wet roads
when the tread depth is less than 3 mm.
You should thus replace tyres that have
insufficient tread.
R
winter tyres should be replaced when the
tread depth is 4 mm or less because oth-
erwise they no longer provide adequate
grip.
R
the tread on a tyre may not wear evenly.
You should thus regularly check the tread
depth and the condition of the tread
across the entire width of all tyres. If nec-
essary, turn the steering wheel so that
you can see the tyre tread more easily.
You could otherwise lose control of the
vehicle and cause an accident due to the
reduced grip of the tyres on the road.
Tyre pressures
G Risk of accident
Tyre pressure that is either too high or too
low has a negative effect on the vehicle’s
active safety, which could lead you to cause
an accident. You should therefore regularly
check the pressure of all your tyres (includ-
ing the spare tyre*), particularly prior to
long trips, and correct the pressure as nec-
essary.
To test tyre pressure, use a suitable pressure
gauge. The outer appearance of a tyre does
not permit any reliable conclusion about the
tyre pressure.
Operation
* optional
171_AKB; 3; 4, en-GB
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