What tyres?

[KLOKK66]

Im presently running Pirellis front and rear on my 220 CDI estate. The fronts are fine but I'm having to replace the rears (245/40/17's) again after only 11 - 12000 miles. I'm looking to replace these tyres with something harder wearing.

A friend has strongly advocated Michelins, and suggests that Pirellis are renowned for their quick wear. I'm of the opinion that the torque from the CDI 220 might be responsible for the rapid wear and tear.

I'd be grateful for the experience of others before spending my cash. Are Michelins hard wearing? If they are hardwearing does that mean increased tyre noise and a harder ride. Or, is this type of tyre wear typical of a torquey rear wheel drive unit. Alternative tyre suggestions/recomendations welcome.

Undecided, KLOKK66

 

[daveenty]

Michelin are hard wearing, but you pay for that with less grip in my opinion.

MB recommend Contis or Dunlop (at least for my model)

Got Contis on the rear coming up to 9,000 now, and still 5 - 6mm on them.

And mine has some of those torque things. Quite a few actually.

 

[whitenemesis]

Michelin Pilot Primacy are OE on mine. Grip very good (tramline a bit though careful attention to pressures helps)and they lasted to ~25K

 

[television]

Many tyre firms have a chart showing the ratings, one point to remember is that it takes energy to make noise, therefore the quieter the tyre, the more economical it will be, usually coupled with tyre life

 

[KLOKK66]

Thanks to all for the feedback. Lots more to think about!

Regards,

Klokk66

 

[hmang]

been using michelin pilot primacy on

w202 c 220 cdi est, w210 e220 cdi est, and w210 e220 cdi saloon all average about 40k per set (mainly motorway use)

althuogh still available, the std primacy has been superceeded by the primacy HP which seems to wear much the same.

the tramlining comment is valid.

attention to the tracking will help minimise these tyres tendency to scrub on the outer edge on all my E's

a friend had a new shape E estate 2005 which he fitted with continentals and was very pleased.

i have not found that i have compromised grip for longevity (although that is a natural trade off)
my cars used ALL weathers but admittedly i drive them quite gently

 

[jberks]

It does depend on where and how you drive.
Round town I've never had a merc that didn't need new tyres around 10-12k. Motorways do vary a lot more. I had vredesteins on the E240 (not enough torque to pull the skin of a rice pudding) and they were doing well 30k miles of motorway work later. I then bought an E270cdi, doing the exact same work, it chewed through a set of rear bridgestones in under 17k.
I bought Federals as an experiment (yes budget tyres!). They are equal to the bridgestones in grip (IMO) as well as quieter and after 5k of motorways and 4k of town work, there's still a good 5mm left. I bought them figuring that at 1/2 the price of bridgestones, they probably wouldn't last as well, but I could have 2 sets for the same money, or else if I didn't like them, I'd switch back, but 10k down the track and I'm struggling to fault them! They do tramline in badly rutted roads but 245/45s tend to.

 

[television]

I too have budget tires on my V70R they are Nankang Ultra sports very quiet and good grip, the mileage is proving to be good as this car has a huge appetite
for rubber. 2 cost the same as 1 premium brand if there is such a thing these days

 

[grpar]

So Pirellis wear quickly as well

I have a C180 Kompressor which has chewed its way through the Conti Sport Contact2 tyres consistently every 12,000 miles. I'm no boy racer, and for a 143bhp car (auto as well), it's not just the tyres that are wearing thin.

Sounds like Pirellis do the same for KLOKK66. Michelins appear to last longer but appear to suffer the same tyre pressure sensitivity that the Contis do (i.e. if not spot on, the car tramlines its way around the road).

Is there a good, long-lasting, decent all-round tyre that works (!) and that anyone can recommend for the C-class ... ?? (Remember it has to fit modest proportions of 205/55/R16).