MB-BOB

My Dunlop SP Sport A2s are worn out after just 21,000 miles, and I'm tired of tires without a treadwear warranty.

Thinking about the Pirelli P3000, or Kuhmo 716 Solus, or Kuhmo Ecsta SPT. The Pirelli has an 85,000 mile warranty, and the Solus has 50,000 miles. Don't know about the Ecsta SPTs. I've had some good luck with Pirellis, and I like the Kuhmos my wife has on her car.

Does anyone have experience with either of these tires?

Might consider Yokohama AVID V4S, too (60,000 mi). Other choices welcome.

My goal this time around is to find a 205/55-R16 or 225/50-R16 tire with at least 50,000 mile tread warranty (Actually I don't care about the warranty as much as a design capable of it.) Quiet tire is a need too, along with good wet weather traction.

I'm not buying new wheels so spare me the advice on 18s and 19s, please.

Kar don

Bob, why are you getting V rated tires? If you drive on the highway and want a quiet ride you should be looking at H-rated... thats what came on my C-class. the Avid H4S is an alright tire... I would stay far far away from pirelli if u want a quiet tire. Michelin has the quietest tires that I have found.

Berger Stahl

pirelli has a great compound (they do stick to the ground) excellent handling but TOO soft ...

if money is no objection, go for the Yokohama ones

DiceCedes

Kumos will not get you 85K miles that is for sure. I have them on my 19s and they have a treadwear rating of 320 which I think I would be lucky to get a third of the way to 85K.

Alba

I have a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position's going on the C230 this weekend. I have worn the Conti Extreme Contacts out

I'll let you know how they do. Check out the TireRack ratings in the mean time.

MB-BOB

So, I think it's down to two choices...

Yokohama YK520 (92H) or the Kuhmo 716 Solus (92H).

The Kuhmos are $60-$70 cheaper than the Yokos, and the salesman at Discount tire says they are basically equivalent in ride, noise and treadwear.

the Pirelli 3000s are T speed rated, so they are out, and you're right Kar don, I don't need V speed rated tires...

Opinions?

BlackLiquorish8

Go w/ Pirellis great quality and great ride

vdubpower

what do u guys think of kumho ecsta asx all season z rated for c320 sport sedean rears in staggerered set up , 245 40 17.

Cappa26

I have Kuhmo Ecsta SPT, compared with my last set of tires that were Pirelli Pzero Nero, Kuhmos were more quiet and they did overall pretty well in wet road conditions.

BabyBenz6spd

Just put on PZero Nero M+S 2 weeks ago, It's a little handling trade off compared to my previous Pilot Sports. The car rides more smoothly now, and it has treadwear rating of 400. Maybe something you want to consider. Pirelli's are great tires. If I were you I go with Yokohama AVID

dnlow

I have these exact tires on a 2005 C230. I think for the money they are a very good tire. The handling is not as good as the original Michelin Pilot Primacys that came originally on the car. They like to slide more than the Michelins, but do not feel like they will lose control. They are also farely smooth and quiet. I have about 22k miles on them now and they seem like they will last to about 40K. Since they were less than half the price of the Michelins I will probably buy them again.

I recommend these tires for the original poster that stated this thread.

b3d_sage

General Exclaim UHP from discount tire for $83. Seriously, they're awesome tires- just look them up on tire rack. At $83, you can afford to try them out. If you still don't believe, you can try mine out

Buellwinkle

I got the best tires I've had in a long time on both our SLK230 and C230, Riken Raptors, under $400 installed out the door for all four on the SLK (17" C7 wheels) and slightly higher on the C230 (staggered 17" wheels). They are much quieter than any tire I've tried so far including the factory michelin, factory conti's, bridgestone pontenza re750 and pirelli pzero nero. Also, they have a rim protector bead, looks decent and doesn't have the stigma of korean kuhmo tires. Don't know how long they last but they have a decent wear rating.

yeuchau

Riken Raptors, never heard that before
but it sure is a good price

Moviela

I too was tired of rapid wear of performance tires on my daily driver Porsche. The motorsport shop I use suggested Yoko's. In my charge up the 5 past downtown LA at an average 40 mph, 70 tops, I cannot tell the difference. They were not the cheapest tire on the rack, but I think they are much more economical than the V rated tires because of the triple or quadruple treadwear. The motorsport shop insists that the tires are filled with nitrogen for longer life, and has given me a small steel cylinder for the house to top off. I find that I don't need to add nitrogen as often as I did with air. The rims also stay clean inside as corrosion is almost eliminated.

Try the Yoko's MB-Bob, and get some green valve stems, you'll do fine.

slammedcclass

I got the Kuhmo Ecsta SPT and i think they are good tires

czachari

Best mod I can think of. Ride got quieter, better grip in winter conditions. Of course, being H-rated they get squirmy at the limit but they are the best highway tires I've ever had.

Bing

suem

I have Kumho ECSTA ASX on my 2004, and it's the first tires I've had that keep my car on the road in the snow.

BabyBenz6spd

Bing, do you have any Consumer Report for all-season "ZR" rated tires?

Bing

this?

czachari

No 245/40-17 or 255/40-17 for the rears.....


CZ

MB-BOB

Bing, how old are those Consumer Reports ratings? I've not been able to find pricing anywhere close to the prices in the table, leading me to think the table is pretty old.

Well, the Yohohama YK520s are on the car. They look nice and ride nice and quiet. $107 a tire plus $11 mounting, with all the add-ons that Discount Tire demands.

Bing

this one is


November 2006







Tires Seasoned Performers

LIFE ON THE ROAD Our demanding tread-wear tests again demonstrate that a manufacturer’s warranty doesn’t always reflect how a tire will wear. Until recently, performance tires were fitted mostly on sporty or luxury vehicles. Now they come standard on many everyday sedans, such as the Toyota Camry, and on some trim lines of economy cars, such as the Kia Rio.


Indeed, performance tires currently account for 21 percent of the replacement tire market and are often the best choice for more performance-oriented late-model cars.


The trade-off for higher levels of handling and grip achieved by performance tires, however, has often been tread life.


We reintroduced tread wear to our tire-testing program last year. This year, we made our test more demanding by extending it from 7,200 miles to 16,000 miles, including more driving on city-type roads. We found that wear varied from model to model and did not necessarily follow tread-wear warranties.


This year’s tread-wear testing took place over more miles than the testing that manufacturers use to assign their tread-wear grades. As a result, we believe our Ratings show better differentiation than the tread-wear rating you’ll find on a tire’s sidewall or the manufacturers’ warranties.


We tested 35 performance all-season tires, which provide balanced handling and braking in dry and wet conditions and provide nominal performance in snow and ice conditions. We also tested 20 performance winter tires, which are good in regions where drivers must drive over snow and ice in colder months.



Performance All-season


Performance all-season tires have a higher speed rating than standard all-season tires (see Types, available to subscribers). They generally provide better handling and braking, and usually have a lower profile (shorter sidewall height) and a wider footprint.


Performance all-season tires, as we define them, come in two speed ratings:


H-rated (130 mph). The most common performance all-season tires on the market are designed to handle and grip better on wet and dry roads than conventional tires, without giving up much in ride comfort.


We found some substantial differences among the H-rated all-season tires we tested. Most were very good or excellent in our tests of braking and handling on both dry and wet pavement. And most were good to excellent at resisting the tendency to hydroplane, or lose grip, when they hit standing water. Almost half of them were competent at coping with snow and ice, comparable to good conventional all-season tires.


We tested 22 sets in a common 15-inch size, P195/65R15. For any given tire in our Ratings, we expect performance to be comparable in a range of sizes.


V-rated (149 mph). Generally, these tires are more tuned to performance than H-rated all-season tires. Here, too, we found some significant differences between the V-rated tire models in our tests. Some V-rated tires sacrificed winter grip for superior cleared-road handling and grip. Other V-rated tires behaved more like H-rated tires, with good all-season qualities but less ultimate grip than the more performance-oriented models.


The 13 V-rated tires we tested were wider and had a lower profile than the H size. We tested them in a common P205/55R16 size.

BabyBenz6spd

Thanks Bing!