Boring old tyre questions again W211

[pomm001]

Have read most of the tyre threads
I tend to agree that you dont always get what you pay for ie £150 a corner or £75.
My old 04 E class needs some new boots,currently running michelin i am an old fart ,dont do anything quickly so was thinkg either Kuhmo or Flaken , i know they are budget but W rated instead of V so thats OK then at £70 each
Goodyear NCT5 £95 each !
any advice welcome

 

[len_merclover]

Hi try http://www.blackcircles.com - I use them very competitive prices. You put all your tyre details in then it will ask you whether you want them fitted or delivered. I always selected to be fitted as its free! There are local garages linked to this website that will fit them - you'll get a confirmation after payment then just follow the instructions - simple!

 

[jberks]

A friend has khumos on his E320cdi. Reckons they may be fractionally noisier than the previous MO continentals (factory fit) but he's not even sure about that and in terms of ride and handling, he says he can't tell the difference. His wallet can though.

I run mine on Federals - also very good. I got 16.5k out of the last set and would have got considerably more if I'd mucked about with the pressures and rotation early enough. My car seems to wear out the inner edges for some reason. The rest of the tyre had plenty left. But then at only £60 per corner for 245/45/17s it wasn't too tragic.

As Len says, try black circles.

I got mine from www.mytyres.co.uk - also worth checking out and considerably cheaper than I could get locally. They will deliver the tyres to anywhere you want so I called a local fitting station, checked that they'd fit the tyres even though they hadn't supplied them (some can be funny about this so best check first) and had them delivered direct. They also have a list of registered fitters on the site so you can pick one off the list if you want. All very easy.

I believe the tyres are generally grey imports but so what?. It simply means that the manufacturers are ripping off the UK consumer. They're the same physical tyre at the end of the day so I object to paying more just because I live in the UK. My mate had his delivered to a local Khumo dealer who was quite miffed that he couldn't match the price (still happy to fit them). He agreed they were identical to what he would have supplied but they were costing less than Khumo were charging him!

 

[s999sws]

Don't forget, if you change the tyre rating from what is in your car handbook, and what is fitted as standard, then you may have problems with your insurers, (if you are unfortunate), trying to wriggle out of paying up.

 

[pomm001]

Don't forget, if you change the tyre rating from what is in your car handbook, and what is fitted as standard, then you may have problems with your insurers, (if you are unfortunate), trying to wriggle out of paying up.

The OE fit is V rated, some of the tyres offered are W rate ie higher spec, which my understanding is OK as long as it exceeds the OE spec.
Agree if you were to go lower than the OE spec then you would be asking for problems in the event of a claim

 

[jazzenator]

Sorry to slightly hijack your thread.
I have been qouted £92-93 incl fitting and balance per tyre for some Barum Barvuris tyres.
Apparently they are part of the continental group.
I am showing my ignorance or do all tyres these days last well. Any particular recommended ones?
My E320 CDI currently has Michelins fitted. Which ones come as standard

Thanks

 

[PaulMdx]

http://www.etyres.co.uk/ are good too. Ignore the cheesy video.

 

[jberks]

Sorry to slightly hijack your thread.
I have been qouted £92-93 incl fitting and balance per tyre for some Barum Barvuris tyres.
Apparently they are part of the continental group.
I am showing my ignorance or do all tyres these days last well. Any particular recommended ones?
My E320 CDI currently has Michelins fitted. Which ones come as standard

Thanks

Barums are good - I thought they were made by Michelin but it could be conti. Standard fit can be ignored really. If you want absolute standard, buy Continentals with MO (Mercedes Original) stamped on them but in my opinion you should also bend over whilst writing the cheque. The whole original fit thing has vastly more to do with marketing than it does to do with quality of handling. Allegedly the MO tyres are a bit softer than standard to make the test drive ride a bit nicer and the grip better but they don't last as long as a result and cost a fortune. nice if money is no object though.

Barums are not as good as Khumo by all accounts though as they tend to come out worse in the auto express reviews, and are a chunk more expensive to boot.

If it were me, I'd buy the khumos. i think they look nicer too. barums have some nasty looking writing down the side. Just my view.

On the longevity front - Michelin are king, but they do charge for it and physics decrees that grip must suffer. (harder compound - less grip and better wear).

 

[pomm001]

Sorry to slightly hijack your thread.
I have been qouted £92-93 incl fitting and balance per tyre for some Barum Barvuris tyres.
Apparently they are part of the continental group.
I am showing my ignorance or do all tyres these days last well. Any particular recommended ones?
My E320 CDI currently has Michelins fitted. Which ones come as standard

Thanks

Its not a brand i have heard of,but that doesnt mean anything.
at the mid 90's your getting very close to well known brands ,this is my dilema too.

 

[The German Flower Pot]

www.mytyres.co.uk

i got my 18 x 235 x 40 ( i think) FALKEN 452's for £71 each deliverd then slipped the blokes at the tyre place £40 to ballance, valve, inflate & fit them

my friend swears by them for his 500bhp 200+mph skyline

 

[pomm001]

i seem to have come unstuck with my tyre situation.
Kuhmo were the prefered choice, but as everything in life its not that easy.
There is a tyre fitter close to my work, so one lunchtime i went to see him and he had Kuhmo, he also had Falken, which was a W rate tyre, slightly more expensive and madr in Japan,
I had a couple of these fitted and had them on the front, the car felt absolutley ****** awful ! i went back a couple of times to have them rebalanced but still the same i could feel vibration being transmitted ito the body even though the wheel didnt shake.
Long story short my tyre man swapped the tyres onto different rims to see if its the wheel or the tyres that are the problem , still no better, the conclussion is that the Falken sidewall is too stiff putting back all the vibration the Michelin just soaks up.Top marks to my tyre man though to say he would have the Falkens back .
Considering all the agro i have had i decieded to play safe and have the Michelins back, maybe i should have tried the Kuhmo, the side wall does seem a lot softer

 

[Dr No]

I had the Barum Bravuris fitted on my W211 E500 on Friday - rear set cost me £142 fitted from tyre shopper.co.uk. Excellent service. I had Pirelli P Zero Rosso's on the car prior to the Bravuris. I notice no difference in the handling of the car in the dry or wet. They are as quiet or even quieter. I would go for them again:smile: If they are Continental's second cheapo brand, then I like them better than the Sport Contact 2.

 

[britnordic]

Had Khumos fitted about 4k ago. Quieter than the Dunlops that were there before. Ride and handling seem ok, but the benefit so far is in my pocket.
You pays your money etc etc.