Yes the RE730 is supposed to have this 5° NR (Noise reduction), but it to me the noisiest tire I've ever had, goodyear, nitto and kumho are quieter in that other, goodyear being quiet kumho being the quietest.

Just wanted to get your opinion on winter tires. I have the C7 package on my car and live in NJ. Sometimes we get some rough snowstorms here. I was looking at Tire Rack for winter tire packages. I’m debating if I should get steel or alloy rims. What winter tires are you using? I think MB recommends Dunlop Winter Sport M2. Did anybody buy a winter package from the dealer? How much did they charge for it? Any good place to buy some used MB alloys?

I got a set of steelies with Vredestein (sp?) tires for the winter.

Of course, then we had the mildest winter in history. $800 roughly.

Chicks dig the 16" steelies! :p

please, do not dig up what the steelies look like... unless you subscribe to the "so ugly, they're good looking" aesthetic (like i do )

i was going to get the dunlops but tirerack recommended the blizzaks so i got those instead. the blizzaks seem to have better user ratings (although i think some of those are popularity contests...)

I got the Dunlop package from Tirerack.

I think it was around $700 with take-off alloys (which were only about $50ea more than the steelies).

I hate the look of my E-Class alloys. I hate the steelies even more!
Pictures here

I'm willing to sell my 16" rims from my coupe, dealer chromed.

Sorry I can't stand chrome or gold.

Your dealer chromed the wheels?? I've never seen a dealership with an in-house chrome shop.

(Your wheels were most likely chromed by a chrome shop in Santa Ana somewhere - dealer sends them out, gets them done then makes a 200% profit markup on you).

Good luck selling them - can't imagine many people would want them.

I am in Chicago proper so when it snows it SNOWS. But then it gets cleared pretty quickly and you end up driving on salty crusty roads with no snow.

With that thought - I didn't go for the Happaukalita (however that's spelled) or Nokian or eve Blizzak. I went with a M&S tire from Bridgestone. That worked pretty well. Subsequently I used the Michelin Arctic Alpin - and that tire rocked! Quiet on dry pavement, comfy with decent dry grip and really good in snow.

So unless you live in the arctic circle - think twice about exactly how many days out of the 4 months of winter your car will drive on snow! Also keep in mind snow/ice tires are softer compounds so they wear quickly.

P

That's like calling a CLK a Mercedes even though it's not made by Mercedes employees in a Mercedes factory. It's like calling Renntech parts Renntech even though they were not likely made in my Renntech employees in a Rentech factory. Well most people call a CLK a Mercedes, they refer to parts that Renntech sells as Renntech and options installed by the dealer as dealer items even though they physically don't make it. And just because you never seen something it doesn't mean it doesn't exists!

Totita, that's OK because I can't stand the light battleship grey used on many MB wheels they try to pass off as silver but to each his own. If the C7 wheels were available at the time I would not have chromed them although they look great chromed.

last winter, it was 3 days...

I am removing my C7 wheels and I am going with Nokian Hakka 1 on 16 inch steel wheels.... These are the by far best snow tires available.... anything else is not worthy. These tires come from Finland and this place has real winters. My winter driving security goes to them.

Thats it! I'm leaving this country!

They don't even allow winter tires in California. You need chains to drive on the white stuff.

Last year, I bought Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 tires and Mille Miglia MM11-2 wheels. Of course, this guaranteed that there were no snow or ice storms in St. Louis, except when when I was away for the holidays. The wheels and tires sit unused in my garage awaiting their opprotunity this winter.

Take a look at the Nokian web site for more than you ever wanted to know about smow tires. In Finland, they sure know snow!

I put Nokian tires on in Jan, and also had the real mild winter weather in CT. I run blizzaks and michelins on other vehicles. the Nokians have the nicest highway ride and others have reported great performance in snow. My local, family owned, down the street tire shop got me the tires for within $5 of mail order, and mounted them. I got steel wheels, much to wifes dismay.

You are right. You can't go wrong with Nokian winter tires.

I recently purchased a set of C240 wheels with Eagle RSA tires (only 120 miles) for winter use on my coupe. We have had light winters in my area. If I need snow tires later I can always mount them on these rims.

for those of you who got the continental all season tires, do they squeal even at slow speed turns? i have about 11000 miles on them...

I have the contisports as fitted with the car and I am suprised that they seem to amplify the road noise a lot depending on the road surface. I was expecting a quieter ride and will probably consider a different tyre when required, to reduce the noise.

Our '02 C240 came with the CH95 all-seasons, and I'll admit to some trepidation about this - given a choice, I would much rather have Michelins, primarily because the nylon belt in the Contis makes them more prone to flat-spotting.

However, on a pure question of road-behavior [noise, handling, absolute cornering limits], I don't see many big disadvantages here vs the other OEM all-season alternatives, and in fact would prefer these tires to the Goodyears and Pirellis that are also occasionally fitted to the sedans.

For me, long life and a smooth ride are paramount, and for these reasons and their flexibility, I would always take Michelins if given a choice - but so far, the Contis haven't been a negative.

Don't confuse the ContiSports with the original question in this thread - the all-season CH95s are completely different tires, and I assume this is the tire you were asking about. I'm running about 31 psi both front and rear, and so far have no complaints of any substance [and I have had nothing but problems with Conti tires on German cars in the past, going all the way back to our '84 190E, where they flat-spotted so badly in the first week that I could never get the ride to smooth out, even in a 25 mile commute - Mich MXVs took care of that instantly; same problems with a '72 914, etc ad nauseum]. So far, so good...

Does anyone else have any views on the Continentals, I have Continentals Contisport Contact 205/55 R16 V tyres and they seem to amplify the road noise considerably on uneven surfaces to the point at one stage I thought there was something wrong with the car.

My local tyre place recommended the Michelin Primacy as a good tyre for reduced noise, apparently they came out pretty recently, they are about 25% more expensive than the continentals.

my previous car (for those who don't know it's a 328Ci sport) have ContiSport AllSeason from the factory. The traction in dry is great/surperb, but the traction in the wet is horrible (can you say hydroplaning).

The tire size was 225/45R17 front and 245/40R17 rear. Road noise was okay. However they do worn out quite fast.

just blew out my rear right tire today.

good new is, it means i have an excuse to get new tires.

I'm thinking kumho ECSTA Supra 712's

235/45/17 up front
245/45/17 rear


Question: Will 235 rub in the front? (i have C7 wheels on my c coupe)
Also, these will fit on my rims right?

7.5 inch wheels are the minimum for both these tires. 8.0 inch wheels are recommended. The section width of the 235's is only .5 inch larger than the 225's.

Kumho Ecsta Super 712 Specs