My 2008 C350 recently started displaying the "Correct tire pressure" message on the dash -- I would top up the air, but then 3 weeks later the alert would appear again. Yesterday the second level alert (where the dash goes red) came on, ironically as I was heading to an oil change. My mechanic ended up filling up my tires, but didn't remember which tire/s were 'low'. In his assessment, my tires, especially the front pair, were getting 'old'.

I thus made an appointment with my local tire chain store the next day. Based on his initial visual inspection, the tire tech opined that the front pair were just about hitting point where they needed to be replaced (based on thread wear). The rear pair were still fine.

However, after taking the wheels off and performing a more detailed inspection, the tire tech said that the inner tubes of the front pair were pretty messed up (I forget the exact term he used), and that was probably causing the air/pressure loss. He suggested replacing the tires with new ones ASAP, and in the meantime driving the car gently.

All 4 tires are currently Hankook V12s:

Front: 235/35/19 (load rating 91)
Rear: 265/30/19 (load rating 93)

When the tire tech was looking up tire options in his system, he mentioned that the 2008 C350 required a load rating of 92 so technically my fronts weren't sufficient.

Three questions:
1) I can't be 100% sure so I figured I would get your opinion/s -- is he blowing smoke up my *** about either the inner tubes being messed up or the impact of using tires 1 load rating (91) below the recommendation (92)?
2) Any suggestions on what are a good pair of tires to replace the fronts with? The tire tech suggested Nitto Motivo, but I also see options such as the Michelin Pilot, Pirelli P Zero, Bridgestone Potenza, Goodyear Eagle F1, Falken Azenis, Continental ExtremeContact. Interestingly enough, ALL of these tires appear to have a load rating of 91 or lower.
3) Anyone here heard of Nokian tires? Someone on another forum for our other car recommended them but on here I've only seen a couple of limited discussions on their winter tires for C-class.

 

So I've made an appointment to get all 4 wheels (re)aligned this Thursday. It's been a few years since I last did it so regardless of my tire situation it needs to be done I suppose.

Regardless, any insights on my questions above would still be greatly appreciated.

 

I'm running 19s (staggered) with Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 2's all around. Load rating meets requirements. Keep all 4 tires inflated to 42psi minimum. I choose the Eagle's for the best blend of performance and water traction. I highly recommend them.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, Bunkx9!

 

Getting close to picking a tire, but another question just came to mind -- my front pair are ready to be changed asap, but rears still have maybe a year or so left. Should I purchase a pair of fronts and rears now to take advantage of the rebate ($70-80, depending on the brand) for getting an entire set? The rear pair would just have to sit in my garage until I need to put them into service, I suppose.

 

Man, remind me to think twice when buying a car with staggered wheels. What a pain!

So I went into the store to see how much they'd buy back my rear tires for, if I decided to just get a whole set. They basically offered me $15 each for my Hankook V12s (purchased in Aug '13, about 7/32 left).

I had actually come in with 3 choices, the RE760, S-04, and Eagle F1, but the store told me the first two are 'soft', almost like my Hankooks, and thus wouldn't last very long. They recommended the Eagle F1 of those 3 choices, but unfortunately they didn't have the rears available.

We explored going narrower on my fronts, to 225/35/19, and that's where they strongly recommended me going with the Continental DWS. They admitted that these tires have gotten mixed reviews, but said at the end of the day they are long lasting and come with a decent mileage warranty (50k, but since I run staggered it would go down to 25k). No rebate at the moment, though.

I was about to pull the trigger on those when they decided to check for used tires in the back. Ended up finding a pair of BF Goodrichs with 8/32 left (for my fronts - 235/35/19), offered them to me for $210 out the door, and I pulled the trigger on them.

I figure this will buy me maybe another 6 months and come the end of the year all 4 tires will be worn enough to need replacing.