Tyres

[television]

I normally fit as needed tyres with the same that was on the car.
I do read all of the test done in a correct way, handling in the wet and dry,braking wet and dry and noise as this is coupled to wear.
I only use the top makes, only once have I used a cheaper tyre, that was an Avon, turned out to be a bad choice and they became noisy to the point that the car would viabrate at 60 mph.
My reason to post was that my SL has had Michelin from new. I haved just changed the wheels and tyres over to Dunlop 9000 (same size) the car is totally different in all ways, its much sharper on handling, holds a better straight line. Its hard to believe that its the same car.
Has any one else found this big difference.

Malcolm

 

[davidsl500]

Hi Malcolm

A few of us have converted to Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's - outstanding performance and very good in the wet ( I know you dont use yours in the wet though!). I found them much better than the Michelin Pilot Sports I was running - and the tread pattern is superb. Very quiet on good tarmac but a bit noisy on concrete - due to the aggressive tread pattern. I would seriously give them a go next time you change tyres - which on an SL wont be that long !!

 

[SLinKyjoe]

whatever you do...dont buy continentals....they are on mine. with 2300 miles and the grip in anything other than perfect conditions is attrocious.

at its first service it will be getting new tyres....if i havent sold it by then that is....

 

[television]

Thank you very much for those answer's, its interesting that MB can fit anything when new. the wheels I am using are from a new SL and had not been used. They are offered for sale with either Continental, Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear and Dunlop.... I was disapointed in the first place that I had the Dunlop tyres on the ones I bought.
I do not normally use the car in the rain, mainly as the little roads down here are so muddy in winter, compared with the roads around larger towns, and its easier to use the other car.
Over the Xmas period I will be using it on some long runs, and rain is forecast
Once again, thank you for your answer's.

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

One thing that confuses me about Mercedes and tyres is that you can get tyres from several manufacturers that are 'Mercedes fitment' and they are apparently marked 'MO'. Same is possible for BMW and apparently (although I've never seen it) for Jaguar too.
I emailed a tyre supplier and they said MO tyres are designed to be softer than the standard version, so will be better riding and grippier.

One of the manufacturers that does this is Bridgestone which my car was supplied new with. They don't appear to be marked MO and the car is very harsh riding (worse than a friends BMW, and that's got sports suspension) - Bridgestones are noted for firm sidewalls apparently. The TWR is only 140 - the lowest I've ever had, and the tyres wear out almost by looking at them!

I wonder how widely used MO tyres are, and if tyre suppliers are generally aware of this. Or do people just fit the standard tyre?

 

[93eng]

Fulda Tyres

Hi
I am new to this forum but wanted advice on tyres. I have seen Fulda Exelero tyres being sold on Ebay for about 2/3 the prices of Michelin Primacys. Anyone has good or bad experiences of these?
I have a W211 E320 CDi.
Thanks

 

[Myros]

Barum Bravuris

are Ok. Made by Continental, but outperform sport contact, and cost less. Have them on our SL.

 

[philharve]

Toyo Proxes T1R

Hi All

I replaced all 4 Continentals (205/55 R16 91W) on my Merc' a couple of days ago because they had worn down to the tyre bars and were becoming noisey. They were probably illegal and potentially dangerous in poor weather like the recent cold spell. I also have an MOT in January so they had to be replaced sooner or later.

Once again I took the advice of my friendly tyre specialist who I've known for almost 30 years. His advice has always proved sound so I decided to let him choose my next set of tyres. He chose Toyo Proxes T1R over the standard fitment Continentals. Why? Because, he said, they had better grip, were harder wearing and were quieter. They are also cheaper. I paid GBP302.68, including VAT for 4 tyres. A set of 4 Continentals would cost me around GBP400.00.

I have driven over 50 miles on the new tyres and I can confirm they are much quieter than the Continentals. They have also altered the handling & steering. During a fast overtaking manoeuvre today I found the Merc's steering more precise which almost caught me unawares. However, I had expected this kind of change and was prepared for it. I've long since held the suspicion that the Continentals, especially at the rear, tend to lose grip when powering on and there is a tendancy for them to wander creating a kind of oversteer effect when approaching and exceeding 3 figure speeds.

The Toyos use a new V tread which gives superior drainage and greater stability in the wet. I've only found one drawback with these tyres but I'm assured it will be short lived ... they use a new silica-based material which makes them slippery for the first 50 miles, or so, even in the dry. I found this out whilst returning home after the tyres had been fitted, the little yellow warning triangle in the console flashed at me indicating the tyres were loosing grip. I backed off. The car needs to be driven carefully until the coating on the tread wears off then everything will be fine.

The spare is a Continental. It's almost new but I'll keep it as the spare because I don't know what effect mixing tyres of different makes, treads and compounds would have if travelling at speed in anything other than excellent weather.

The tyre specialist recommended I also employ tyre swapping to preserve longevity and to maintain performance. There is a slight positive camber on the front wheels so the outer edges of the tyres will tend to wear more than the inners. There rears will wear evenly so swapping will correct for the wear on both axles. The Proxes T1Rs are directional tyres so you can only swap front & back. No crossing over permitted and this could have dire consequences.

I'll plan to give periodic progress reports to keep members updated. So far, so good.

REGARDS Phil

 

[television]

Thank you again for the replies, I do not know why I always end up with cars that have this huge appetite for rubber. I learnt something from Rory about MO tyres and went down to the garage and sure enough there it was MO.
This would mean that being a softer rubber, they are going to have a short life. As David says "on an SL they wont last long" too true, I have only driven it 3500 miles and it had two new Michelin's on the back when I bought it. looking at them hanging on the garage wall today there is not much left on them ,or one could say that the best half has gone.

Weighing in at 2150kg with the glass roof, mix that with soft rubber MO tyres,a nice scrubbing action from the wide wheels, it will be interesting to see if I can get to Watford and Back,and I could hit snow.

Regarding cheaper tyres, there are a lot of people in the states, running around on Kumho and Toyo. Fulda I am sure, used to be a Swedish company,ok now Continental. I have 6 months Before a complete change on the summer wheels, that will give me some time to read the latest test from the Swedish press. Their test are conducted on the same car and driver, on the same roads and skid pans. Fuel meters and noise meters are used. The tyre test from "which" use diffentent tyres on different cars and drivers, and cant see much sense in that.

Thany you all again for your replies.

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

Thank you again for the replies, I do not know why I always end up with cars that have this huge appetite for rubber. I learnt something from Rory about MO tyres and went down to the garage and sure enough there it was MO.

Malcolm - how is the MO marked on the tyre? My (factory fitted) Bridgestone's don't appear to be marked in any way differently to normal, although Bridgestone do offer an MO tyre.

 

[television]

The tyre has the Dunlop sport 9000 MO on the sidewall, all in the same size letters

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

Thanks for that - seems very odd to me that although Bridgestone do an MO version of the tyres that are on my car, the ones fitted (from new) are (apparently) not the MO version.

 

[television]

I am going to take a peep in showrooms, interesting,though these MO tyres are softer, My Volvo V70R from new managed 16k on the front and 25k rear: Its more like 12k max front on the last few sets

Malcolm

 

[philharve]

Directional tyres

Hi All

Are there special markings on directional tyres that indicate the direction of rotation when the vehicle to which they belong is moving forward?

On the same theme, if such tyres were incorrectly fitted, assuming there were no markings, would an experienced driver be able to detect from behind the wheel that something was wrong?

REGARDS Phil

 

[Silver Arrow]

If the tyres are rotational, they should have a distinct indication, such as an arrow. All of my rotational ones have them. I suppose you would only find out in the wet if you got it wrong. I have been most careful to avoid such experiments!

 

[Rory]

I am going to take a peep in showrooms, interesting,though these MO tyres are softer, My Volvo V70R from new managed 16k on the front and 25k rear: Its more like 12k max front on the last few sets

Malcolm

This was the comment that Blackcircles.com made to me in an email:

"With regards to fitments, basically the tyre will have been designed differently, be it a softer compound or the inside of the tyre designed differently to provide a smoother ride. Michelin do this with BMW and Mercedes. And Bridgestone do it for virtually every vehicle they supply."

I don't know how much of an expert the writer is, and frankly I can't imagine there's any significant difference in what are basically the same tyres. Having said that, the TWR on mine is 140 - quite the softest I've ever had. But maybe all Bridgestone Turanza ER30's are TWR=140?

 

[dolmen]

Hi All

I replaced all 4 Continentals (205/55 R16 91W) on my Merc' a couple of days ago because they had worn down to the tyre bars and were becoming noisey. They were probably illegal and potentially dangerous in poor weather like the recent cold spell. I also have an MOT in January so they had to be replaced sooner or later.

Once again I took the advice of my friendly tyre specialist who I've known for almost 30 years. His advice has always proved sound so I decided to let him choose my next set of tyres. He chose Toyo Proxes T1R over the standard fitment Continentals. Why? Because, he said, they had better grip, were harder wearing and were quieter. They are also cheaper. I paid GBP302.68, including VAT for 4 tyres. A set of 4 Continentals would cost me around GBP400.00.

I have driven over 50 miles on the new tyres and I can confirm they are much quieter than the Continentals. They have also altered the handling & steering. During a fast overtaking manoeuvre today I found the Merc's steering more precise which almost caught me unawares. However, I had expected this kind of change and was prepared for it. I've long since held the suspicion that the Continentals, especially at the rear, tend to lose grip when powering on and there is a tendancy for them to wander creating a kind of oversteer effect when approaching and exceeding 3 figure speeds.

The Toyos use a new V tread which gives superior drainage and greater stability in the wet. I've only found one drawback with these tyres but I'm assured it will be short lived ... they use a new silica-based material which makes them slippery for the first 50 miles, or so, even in the dry. I found this out whilst returning home after the tyres had been fitted, the little yellow warning triangle in the console flashed at me indicating the tyres were loosing grip. I backed off. The car needs to be driven carefully until the coating on the tread wears off then everything will be fine.

The spare is a Continental. It's almost new but I'll keep it as the spare because I don't know what effect mixing tyres of different makes, treads and compounds would have if travelling at speed in anything other than excellent weather.

The tyre specialist recommended I also employ tyre swapping to preserve longevity and to maintain performance. There is a slight positive camber on the front wheels so the outer edges of the tyres will tend to wear more than the inners. There rears will wear evenly so swapping will correct for the wear on both axles. The Proxes T1Rs are directional tyres so you can only swap front & back. No crossing over permitted and this could have dire consequences.

I'll plan to give periodic progress reports to keep members updated. So far, so good.

REGARDS Phil

Hi Phil,

I'm looking at putting on new tyres for the summer, I'm hard to sway away from Michelin, but my tyre man says I should be looking at the Toyo T1R's how did you get on with these please?

Cheers

 

[hawk20]

My tyres say MO on the sidewall as do all tyres I have previously had.

Each MB model is developed, especially the suspension, with tyres of a particular grip level, sidewall rigidity and so on. MO gives the spec that the car was designed to have.

Micheldever who are huge tyre suppliers told me that they have had cases where fitting a different make on the front from those on the rear can seriously affect handling -and fitting non MO tyres can do the same. Wall rigidity is just one factor that varies a lot from make to make.

When people report that the new tyres they have recently bought are so much better than the other make they previously had we should remember that almost any new tyres are always vastly better than old worn ones. Tyres with 6mm of tread have 60% greater stopping power in the wet than tyres with the legal minimum 3mm. Bound to feel the difference.
Difficult for mere mortals to tell how much is due to the new tyres and how much to a change of make. It is hard to remember exactly what the existing tyres felt like when they were new.

 

[JEZ.S320L]

18 months ago, I fitted NEXEN ROADIAN HP on the ML. Having now covered just over 12k miles, I am pleased to say that there is very little wear on them. I checked the tread depth which showed only 1.5mm used from new .

I'd never heard of the brand before, and was somewhat cautious about them - but at £60 a corner, I felt they were worth a try! Quiet at motorway speeds and with a wet grip that out-performs my confidence levels I have no complaints whatsoever.

 

[television]

With the Toyo Proxes CT01 that came bottom on the biggest tyre test ever done, just on the wet road test it took 90 meters from 62 mph to stop. it did the worst on every other part of the test as well