benzlvr

Dis anyone have the All season low profile z rated 17's as oe on thier car? Are they going to put that on these cars that are going to be sold here soon or if we have this car do we need to get different tires for the winter?

wingless

When ordering my vehicle I was told that I could not specify the tire. When my car arrived I would be permitted to swap with another vehicle on the lot.

My requirement was for a summer-only tire, which I received with the Continental Sport Contact 2 tires, so I was satisfied.

benzlvr

Has anyone seen a c230 ss come from the factory with the all season performance tires? I am about to purchase one but I live up north and I am not too crazy about purchasing all season or winter tires at the same time. Did MB think about selling ss's up north in the winter?
If this is not the case has anyone been able to have a dealer swap the oem tires for a/s? Thanks?

PS the all season tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (Ultra High Performance All-Season) but they are only Y rated for speed.

wingless

The current summer-only MB tire selection is appropriate for the market segment that wants maximum summer and maximum winter performance. That segment uses a second set of rubber, with winter-only tires.

The all-season tires provide "acceptable", not maximum, performance, year-round. That compromise is clearly acceptable to some consumers.

benzlvr

That may be, but how does MB expect to have people test-driving and buying cars in the winter? I noticed you were in Rhode Island so you have both sets of tires. I had a c class before my current BMW and once I switched to winter tires my dealer was never able to get the tires back balanced properly ... they even replaced the tires under Michelins warranty. My winter tires were also useless after one winter due to the fact that we dont have enough winter weather to typically justify blizacks.

wingless

Two sets of wheels, each balanced, swap on, swap off. Easy.

My experience has been two to three seasons from a set of Blizzaks, then burn 'em up in the spring, prior to putting the summer tires back on.

The Hunter GSP9700 is the best tool for resolving balance problems. It requires an operator with sufficient knowledge and experience to use this properly.

The test driving during snow storms is likely very limited. After that the roads get cleared.

SteveS

I put a set of Continental Extreme Sports on last year before making several trips into snow country. I have had no problems with the tires, and they took me through many snow storms. They are W rated, but that shouldn't be an issue unless you have an Autobon that you drive routinely.
As for the Z rating vs. Y or W, this is direct from Tire Rack.

When Z-speed rated tires were first introduced, they were thought to reflect the highest tire speed rating that would ever be required, in excess of 240 km/h or 149 mph. While Z-speed rated tires are capable of speeds in excess of 149 mph, how far above 149 mph was not identified. That ultimately caused the automotive industry to add W- and Y-speed ratings to identify the tires that meet the needs of new vehicles that have extremely high top-speed capabilities.

W 168 mph 270 km/h Exotic Sports Cars
Y 186 mph 300 km/h Exotic Sports Cars

samnor

Hi,
My rear wheel conti's (C230 C7 package 17" rims) are worn out. I have a couple of questions, given that I drive in NJ with occassionally heavy snow:

a. Is it ok to replace the rear wheel tires alone for this winter. Front tires are not anywhere near wearing out.

b. Does anyone have experience with the following tires. I got this list from tirerack after selecting the all season ultra high performance category

1. Yokohama AVS dB S2
2. Continental ContiExtremeContact
3. Kumho Ecsta ASX
4. Pirelli PZero Nero
5. Sumitomo HTR+

Thanks,
Sam

respdoc

Here you go:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php



Or..but its a long shot, you could try our forum....


"The Tire Rack's Wheels, Tires, Suspension & Brakes Forum"

rockintunes23

Until you start replacing tires every 11,000 miles on average, like me because the tires wear down... I would just go with all seasons that mercedes-benz recommends. The search thing in this forum helps also.

nlpamg

Every 11k? Sheeeit!

I thought that they were supposed to last somewhat longer than that--like 20k!!

Samnor, how many miles were put on your tires? Thanks!

Guest0001

Its all about max performance summer tires.

samnor

20k miles....

BabyBenz6spd

If it was me......right now I'm using Michilin Pilot Sport that came with the C230K sedan. They are awsome. But after they wear out I'm going to get Michilin Pilot A/S (All Season)

Its just as good as Pilot Sport, except they are built for All Season. My friend has them on a 2004 BMW M3. They are however most pricey in the class, but it will be worth it after it save your life just one time, or prevent you from a accident.

Just my contribution to this thread.

SteveS

I have the Continental ContiExtremeContact on my c230SS. I replaced the Michelin Summer tires last year when I new I had some up north winter trips planned. They more than paid for themselves numerous times. I have about 18,000 miles on them and had them checked yesterday. Based on the tread depth left, I have about another 5,000 on them before replacements are needed. A key to tire wear is rotating them every 5,000 miles, something you cannot do on the 2004.5 and newer C's thanks to the staggered sizes.

mctwin2kman

I have ContiExtreme's and they are great. Dry traction is a hair less than the Pirrelli's that were stock, but wet and snow traction is much much better. The trade off was minimal and they work great. Although I failed to rotate them quick enough and may now need two new tires for this winter!

tuscanraider

take off the Summer tires, and just get dedicated snows....ON ALL FOUR CORNERS! I'm in Jersey too, it the best way to go.

wingless

There are those who do not want the deminished performance compromise associated with all-season tires. The extra cost of an additional set of rims, which is partly recouped when the vehicle is replaced, is offset by the improved safety and performance year-round. The extra cost of rubber is a wash, as miles on winter-only tires would need to be put onto some tire anyway.

Texas_Benz

OK - I searched past posts and could not find any help.

I purchased my 05 C230 in May of this year. The Sport sedan has staggered tires that cannot be rotated. The front tires seem to wear pretty fast - I drive fairly normally.

HOWEVER, when I am slowing down to come to a complete stop - the car pulls and the wheel does a full quarter turn before coming to a dead stop. Nothing is wrong with the alignment.

I have heard that the 05 C230's bought before July 2004 have bad Mich Pilot Sport tires on the car - and MB will do nothing about it. Heard that cars bought after July 2004 do not have this problem.

Anyone else have alignment problems due to the front Pilot Sport tires?

NEED HELP!

- Trace

MBc230

I just bought mine last week and it comes with the Michelon Pilots as well, but I noticed the steering column is off centered a little and the car leans slightly to the right when its centered. Another friend of mine got his car in July but his SS has the Continental tires on it. His car also leans slightly to the right.

I might have them take a look at my alignment next week to check on that if any problems. But if your wheel turns a quarter of a way, that sounds like a big problem then, were you able to take it to MB service to look at it? Have you "lowered" your car recently? May be the case your camber (if inside/or outside edge of tire is wearing out quickly) needs to be adjusted. Also might wanna check your tires are balanced properly (can notice this if steering shakes at high speeds).

I think I read another post on here about someone's '05 leaning slightly to the right as well. Anyone else having this issue on their 05 c230 SS? Would be good to know if we need to take them in.

Outland

Sounds stupid....but check the air pressure in the tires. The pilots behave funny if the pressure is different even a little from side to side. If not, well, something else is messed up. Hit a big pothole? That can break belts in the tire, as well as mess up the control arms.

W0n6_3d4n

Could be just a simple tram lining, my car does that a lot especially with the road that truck use often, and i use Yokohama with aggresive V shape pattern.

mick1

under normal condition, how many miles can you put on the tires that came the 17-inch wheels before you have to replace them ? just a rough estimate will do.

thanks.

W0n6_3d4n

Hmm, my brother lexus with 17 inch last for 71.000k or 5 years of normal driving, still wearing factory tyre when we sold it, we rotate them regulary though, and make sure tyre pressure are correct.

viper

You might get 15,000 or you may get 25,000 miles. Depends on how well you keep them inflated and how hard you push them. If you like cornering at high speed at or near the limits of adhesion you will wear them out pretty fast.