brettmf

'06 E55 AMG in Atlanta

Stock rims with some bare Conti Sports

I've done the searches on here, the Car and Driver road tests, and the Tire Rack reviews.

What I really want is fellow E55er opinions. I can care less what some guy driving a Toyota or Lexus think are good tires :-).

So, let's hear your experiences.

Being in Atlanta, I'm mainly looking for summer at wet grip performance. Tread longevity is high on my list rather than super duper performance but only getting 3K miles out of them.

Thanks as usuall!

chiromikey

toyo t1r has been the best all around tire i've tried...and i've tried a few!

brettmf

I compiled a list of tires I have researched and jotted down as possibilities.

Feel free to comment on these or add your own suggestion...

Sumitomo HTR Z III
Toyo T1R
Hankock Ventus V12 EVO
Goodyear F1 Asymetric
Michelin PS2

citylightva

If you want them to last, the T1R's are probably the way to go. I've heard the ContiExtremeContact DW (not DWS) are actually pretty good, with a pretty high treadwear rating. I just pulled a set of Yokohama S.Drives off my car a month ago. They were pretty good tires too. I got over 8,000 miles on the rears. COmparing them to the NT05's I have on now, outright grip on them wasn't too bad at all. Just a couple cents worth.

The Sumi and Hankook keep getting great ratings, but I know they wear pretty quick.

Shadow5501

What do you consider long life on the E55 - 10K miles? 20K? 50K?

I have the Conti ExtremeContact DWS on my '06. Chose that tire mostly because the car is a daily driver and didn't want to get caught out on the occasional snow/sleet/ice day in Dallas.

The DWS is fine for street driving. Acceleration is hopeless in 1st gear, nothing but traction control... It has a looong treadlife warranty.

brettmf

The Contis I have on there now are the same way...better go 5 mph on your turns from a stop otherwise traction control all the way

citylightva

Snow, Sleet, and ice..?? Here in Dallas..?? Traffic stopping because they said it might be icy..?? That's insane talk...hahahaha...I don't blame you man, my car doesn't leave the garage if even they even hint at winter weather here.

Luke_M

Take a look at this.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

I may get the Hankooks after seeing this. Great selection on tire size to for aftermarket guys. The dunlops have nothing in 19" according to tirerack at least. Treadwear is 280 which isn't bad. I have general UHP Exclaims now. 380 tread wear means it lasts longer then most and it grips good but not as good as it could from a tirerack test I saw.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

Here's another one. I like these side by side comparison. It's purely subjective otherwise.

X2Board

Thanks Luke. I'm due for some rubber soon and will flip a coin between the Hankooks and the Dunlops, we do get a lot of rain here in the southeast and I like quiet tires, so I'm leaning a bit more to the Hankook side.

Luke_M

No problem. I'm leaning towards the Hankooks too. They are a bit cheaper then the Dunlop's, Approx $167 vs $236 plus the treadwear is higher, 280 vs 200. It performed better then the PS2's too. You'd be getting 98% of the performance of the dunlops for 70% of the cash plus it would last longer.

I'm not against going all out for grip (short of R-Compounds) though. Tires are the quickest way to improve the handling and on this car, it's about the only way. Would help with straight line grip too I assume.

The only downside of the hankooks is that they said it felt somewhat "soft" and "impercise" which isn't what the E55 needs but if it grips, it grips.

I'm real interested in the Nitto NT05's. It looks almost like a drag radial and should grip like crazy. I haven't found anything but ancedotal stuff though. It's treadwear is 200 so that means you'd be lucky to get more then 7,000 miles out of them especially if you push it from slow speed. Found them for $190 a tire though.

Shadow5501

Yeah, I try to have those days be work from home, but sometimes you get caught out. I'm trying not to own too many cars, it's too much time to look after them all. So the E55 it is. My other set of wheels is a motorcycle, so that ain't gonna work on bad weather days...

citylightva

Oh dude I hear you, my other car is an 05 Dodge Ram. It's a hemi and it's fun, but I certainly don't baby it like the benz Of course it too is god awful in winter weather, so no matter what it's a great adventure every time

citylightva

The Nitto NT05's are amazing. They totally changed my handling. I'm running 19's but that's not a huge difference. I got my whole set for a bit over $800 plus shipping. I can tell you this, there is no way you will get over 5,000 miles on them in these W211's. They come with 7/32's tread and these heavy piggy cars just eat them alive. They are pretty decent every day tires for noise though. On the other hand they ride a lot stiffer than anything. I'm lovin em so far though, and taking them to the track in a couple months (road race not drag). I'm not sure how well they'd hook at a strip with the super stiff sidewalls, but the tread definitely hooks better on the street...

Sorry for the quick thread hijack....

efivefiveamg

here in Socal the best tires for me have been ps2's hands-down. good tread wear, good ride, sticky, and i love the look of the smooth sidewall.

Lopes80

+1 on the PS2's, love them!

E55AMGGG04

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport All season Plus all around. 275/rears. So far they are great.

Luke_M

5,000 miles sounds about right from the NT05. I might get 10k out of my generals with a 380 rating.

I got curious and spent some time looking at other reviews and some Z06 guys really loved them. I figure they would hook up better then the generals which would be nice. I'd like to get in the 7's at the local 1/8mile on my daily setup. Last time it was all spin/ESP through first.

Thanks for the info!

citylightva

No problem, as long as they are warm or on a warm day, I can almost guarantee they will hook better than a normal "street" tire. They toe a very fine line between street and track...

brettmf

Anyone have any experience with the Sumitomos?
HTR ZIII

Good review on tirerack

RACE_MX

I just put these on my car based on feedback I found on this forum in another thread. So far the ride is great and the cost will be hard to beat.

brettmf

I think I'm deciding between the Hankook Ventus v12 EVO and the Sumi HTR Z III at this point

brettmf

Anyone have a reputable tire source besides tirerack.com or are they best bet?

madgoat

I like my Nitto Invo's a lot. Good traction and great in the rain.

citylightva

Dunno if they carry either of the one's you're looking for, but I get my NT05's from http://www.discounttires.com
They're out in Anaheim.