View Poll Results: What Tires are the best?
Goodyear
21
5.92%
Toyo
28
7.89%
Michelin
140
39.44%
Continental
43
12.11%
Falken
25
7.04%
Pirelli
43
12.11%
Other
55
15.49%
Voters: 355. You may not vote on this poll
W203/CL203/S203 TIRE Discussion Thread - Every question on TIRES
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From: Los Angeles, CA
05.C230K.SS
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
yeah i'm looking to get some t1r's too. Seems like the favorite choice for a lot of the corvette guys. The general understanding is that almost as good as ps2's but cheaper.
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05.C230K.SS
sorry for askin, but are there other leading brands, other than michelins and toyos? (just so i could have choices to choose from and compare prices)
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a g
Continental's New Extreme Contact DW (and DWS) are stellar offerings that are on par with and Michelin, Goodyear, or Toyo. It should also be noted that the Continental SportContact VMAX is the highest speed capable tire on the market period.
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From: So Cal... In between LA and OC
2005 CLK320 Vert & 2005 CLK55 AMG
Ive heard really good things about the t1r's. i ordered a set today, so hopefully they are as good as everyone says..
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Only problem with the Conti's are that they are noisy & get noisier with wear - Sounds like a wheel bearing failing. The W203 suspension is sensitive to this. Depends on how sensitive you are. Your car has the softer bushings which improve this a little but they are still going to make a noise.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
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a g
Only problem with the Conti's are that they are noisy & get noisier with wear - Sounds like a wheel bearing failing. The W203 suspension is sensitive to this. Depends on how sensitive you are. Your car has the softer bushings which improve this a little but they are still going to make a noise.
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From: So Cal... In between LA and OC
2005 CLK320 Vert & 2005 CLK55 AMG
will do, but i wont have them til next weekend..
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Michelin's Pilot Exalto PE2 is the perfect tyre for silence on the W203 (the new PS2 has stolen the same tread pattern minus a few sipes & is no longer directional) - Starts dead silent & stays that way. Radial tread bands with sipes & no blocks. One should not fit directional tyres on the W203 if noise worries you so you can change the direction of rotation every 10,000 Km's i.e. do a corner to corner rotate or across the same axle with staggered set up. The Yokohama AVS db2 is another proven quiet tyre with the 203 suspension.
Conti's make air pumping noise from new - they don't need wear to induce this.
Conti's make air pumping noise from new - they don't need wear to induce this.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Apr 18, 2009 at 07:42 PM.
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a g
All brands can (and do) produce tires that fit each category. What is your PRIMARY desire with your tire? What is your secondary desire with your tire? You have a choice of performance, ride, quietness. Remember in all reality you can only effectively get two of the three.
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05.C230K.SS
oh i do have a limited budget.
Last edited by rocafel1a; Apr 18, 2009 at 09:17 PM.
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2006 C350 Sport 6MT
will do, but i wont have them til next weekend..
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
When I heard this it sounded very odd to me. A square patch of tire missing?
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Joined: Jun 2008
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Roc - I suggest you phone the Tirerack & discuss your requirements & budget with them - they always give sound advice. I've just had an argument with RedG on the 204 forum and I'm not about to start another one.
I know the W203 suspension backwards & it is known to transmit tyre noise - at the facelift in 2004 they softened up the front & rear suspension bushings & mounts by between 12 & 22% to combat this but it was only semi effective. You can take a noisy wheelset off of a W203 & transfer it to other Merc models & they will seem quiet. It is just a characteristic of the suspension. If the front castor bushes soften or crack which they are prone to it causes cupping on the front tyres which exaccerbates this. The rear toe also causes feathering that leads to air pump noise. The Tirerack is well aware of all of this. Speak to Luke if he is still there.
Did your car come with PS1s or PS2s or heaven forbid Pilot Primacy's? If it came with PS2s with the Exalto PE2 tread pattern you are going to battle to match the performance & quietness at a reasonable price - You guys pay terrible prices for Michelin Tyres.
It sounds like the Toyos might be OK but they won't stick like PS2s
Phone the Tirerack.
I know the W203 suspension backwards & it is known to transmit tyre noise - at the facelift in 2004 they softened up the front & rear suspension bushings & mounts by between 12 & 22% to combat this but it was only semi effective. You can take a noisy wheelset off of a W203 & transfer it to other Merc models & they will seem quiet. It is just a characteristic of the suspension. If the front castor bushes soften or crack which they are prone to it causes cupping on the front tyres which exaccerbates this. The rear toe also causes feathering that leads to air pump noise. The Tirerack is well aware of all of this. Speak to Luke if he is still there.
Did your car come with PS1s or PS2s or heaven forbid Pilot Primacy's? If it came with PS2s with the Exalto PE2 tread pattern you are going to battle to match the performance & quietness at a reasonable price - You guys pay terrible prices for Michelin Tyres.
It sounds like the Toyos might be OK but they won't stick like PS2s
Phone the Tirerack.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 544
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From: Los Angeles, CA
05.C230K.SS
Roc - I suggest you phone the Tirerack & discuss your requirements & budget with them - they always give sound advice. I've just had an argument with RedG on the 204 forum and I'm not about to start another one.
I know the W203 suspension backwards & it is known to transmit tyre noise - at the facelift in 2004 they softened up the front & rear suspension bushings & mounts by between 12 & 22% to combat this but it was only semi effective. You can take a noisy wheelset off of a W203 & transfer it to other Merc models & they will seem quiet. It is just a characteristic of the suspension. If the front castor bushes soften or crack which they are prone to it causes cupping on the front tyres which exaccerbates this. The rear toe also causes feathering that leads to air pump noise. The Tirerack is well aware of all of this. Speak to Luke if he is still there.
Did your car come with PS1s or PS2s or heaven forbid Pilot Primacy's? If it came with PS2s with the Exalto PE2 tread pattern you are going to battle to match the performance & quietness at a reasonable price - You guys pay terrible prices for Michelin Tyres.
It sounds like the Toyos might be OK but they won't stick like PS2s
Phone the Tirerack.
I know the W203 suspension backwards & it is known to transmit tyre noise - at the facelift in 2004 they softened up the front & rear suspension bushings & mounts by between 12 & 22% to combat this but it was only semi effective. You can take a noisy wheelset off of a W203 & transfer it to other Merc models & they will seem quiet. It is just a characteristic of the suspension. If the front castor bushes soften or crack which they are prone to it causes cupping on the front tyres which exaccerbates this. The rear toe also causes feathering that leads to air pump noise. The Tirerack is well aware of all of this. Speak to Luke if he is still there.
Did your car come with PS1s or PS2s or heaven forbid Pilot Primacy's? If it came with PS2s with the Exalto PE2 tread pattern you are going to battle to match the performance & quietness at a reasonable price - You guys pay terrible prices for Michelin Tyres.
It sounds like the Toyos might be OK but they won't stick like PS2s
Phone the Tirerack.
sorry to hear the argument you guys are having...over tires. it's all good though. no tough blood.
lol i think my stockies are pilot primacys...are they, bad?
goal is to just to have a set of tires i could rely on...i mean safety comes first, so when im driving aggressively, i do want to depend on tires that stick on the floor as much as possible...but as long as they aren't too expensive for just pure everyday freeway, street driving.
thans for the 2 cents glyn!
Member
Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Sacramento/Orange County/Inland Empire
2006 Mercedes-Benz C230
Riken Raptor ZR... The worst tire... They don't grip AT ALL, and they make your wheels look smaller. My 6mt C230 can chirp when shifting to 2nd gear... (Not possible w/ ContiSport 3)
They do have a nice tread pattern.
They do have a nice tread pattern.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 19,942
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
sorry to hear the argument you guys are having...over tires. it's all good though. no tough blood.
lol i think my stockies are pilot primacys...are they, bad?
goal is to just to have a set of tires i could rely on...i mean safety comes first, so when im driving aggressively, i do want to depend on tires that stick on the floor as much as possible...but as long as they aren't too expensive for just pure everyday freeway, street driving.
thans for the 2 cents glyn!
lol i think my stockies are pilot primacys...are they, bad?
goal is to just to have a set of tires i could rely on...i mean safety comes first, so when im driving aggressively, i do want to depend on tires that stick on the floor as much as possible...but as long as they aren't too expensive for just pure everyday freeway, street driving.
thans for the 2 cents glyn!
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
Just doing the research on other forums, it looks like the ps2's and t1r's are the preferred two tires for the corvette and porsche guys. On the drag and track.
Road noise isn't a primary concern for me.
I had some good things about Goodyear F1's though.
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From: Los Angeles, CA
05.C230K.SS
yeah i know that the 330i's have contisport stockies...yeah their tread pattern looks goood...
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From: Los Angeles, CA
05.C230K.SS
well i'm looking for mainly traction...i jsut dyno'ed my car today and hit around 326whp and 321wtq and i'm planning on getting the LET 185 crank to try to hit closer to 380whp in the future.
Just doing the research on other forums, it looks like the ps2's and t1r's are the preferred two tires for the corvette and porsche guys. On the drag and track.
Road noise isn't a primary concern for me.
I had some good things about Goodyear F1's though.
Just doing the research on other forums, it looks like the ps2's and t1r's are the preferred two tires for the corvette and porsche guys. On the drag and track.
Road noise isn't a primary concern for me.
I had some good things about Goodyear F1's though.
damn man your whip is fast as hell!
probably the tires you recommend are mainly for tracking and dragging
i'm lookin more for aggressive street drving tires
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,034
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
If you mainly looking just for street tires, i dont think you really have to drop the cash of a ps2 or t1r's.
you will do fine with some bf goodrich kdw's or goodyear F1's.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,597
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From: So Cal... In between LA and OC
2005 CLK320 Vert & 2005 CLK55 AMG
will do, but i wont have them til next weekend..
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
when i had my brakes done today, there was a huge bubble in the front tire... i had falken 452's, the guy who was working on my car, said he sees that a lot with the falkens... wish i knew that before i purchased them, i still had about 70% tread left. anyways i took that one off and they gave me a used bf goodrich tire they had sitting around...
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,034
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
Thats why i'm had half bf goodrich tires.
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From: Los Angeles, CA
05.C230K.SS
thanks..i'm kinda dynoing kinda low for a modded c32...so a larger crank pulley is in the future.
If you mainly looking just for street tires, i dont think you really have to drop the cash of a ps2 or t1r's.
you will do fine with some bf goodrich kdw's or goodyear F1's.
If you mainly looking just for street tires, i dont think you really have to drop the cash of a ps2 or t1r's.
you will do fine with some bf goodrich kdw's or goodyear F1's.
thanks for the advice/recommendations...
ima also give tirerack a call too....
thanks bro!
