blando

The rears (original Pirellis) just went after 22k. I ordered Goodyear GS-D3s from tirerack. Based on an earlier thread about the Goodyears running narrower, I upped the size a bit:

Rear: 255/40YR-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
Front: 235/45YR-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

Anybody have experience with the Goodyears? Upping the size?

I'll let you all know how it goes when I get them...

MK899

I'll be looking for a new set of tires soon. Your package sounds very appealing. How much did you pay for your set?

blando

$700 from tirerack including 2-day Fedex shipping.

FrankW

what's the treadwear on the eagle F1? let us know how they fit.

the tire I got was Bstone RE750 couple months ago when I hit 22k miles on the original PilotSport when it's running basically slick on the rear.

the RE750 came out to be $600 set include shipping which's somewhat expensive, but it has 380 treadwear rating, the main thing I'm looking for in tires.

Zeppelin

The only problem with going with the 235 in the front is that the sidewall height increases as well. This is a trade off with the increase in width. It may or may not handle any better. Let us know how it performs.

MK899

Frank,

Did you upgrade your tire sizes, too?

FrankW

nah...it's the stock size. Didn't go 235 and 255 because they are a little more expensive.

jon91581

Do the 235/45-17 and 255/40-17 Goodyear's fit on stock rims?

Jon L.

N.M.M.

Jon , Yes those sizes will fit on the stock rims.

blando

From smgc32:

The GSD3's I am running on now appear to be quite a bit better in the handling department than the Rosso's, although the car is now running 235 40 18 / 265 35 18 which does have something to do with it.

The GSD3's section width is a fraction narrower than the S03's by about .1-.3" in the 225, 235, 245, 255 sizes, but about the same size or larger at .0-.2 than the PZero Rosso's in the same sizes. The Pilot Sports are about the same size as the GSD3's in all appropriate 17" sizes.

A 225 Rosso has a section width of 8.9", while the GSD3 in a 235 is 9.3", a difference of .4" in the front. A 245 Rosso has a section width of 9.5", while the GSD3 in a 255 is 10.2", a difference of .7" in the rear.

Remember you will be splitting the difference in increased width on both sides of the rim and the the net increase for clearance issues is half of the above stated numbers. You should be fine, but the only problem you may possibly run into is in the front with the inside tire hitting the strut tube. I haven't measured the backspace dimension of the stock tire/wheel combination to confirm the clearance, but this is the route I would go with if I was upgrading tires on stock rims and it should work fine. It would definately be the route to take when upgrading wheels to 17"x 8's and 9's with a different offset.

Good luck. I think you will like the tire. Most people do.

blando

I'm scheduled to get my new tires installed on Monday. The range of prices I'm getting is pretty broad.

A local Saab performance shop recommended by tirerack wants $100 to mount, install stems, balance, and dispose of the old tires.

The MB dealer wants $170 to do the same and recommends an alignment for $185.

Another performance shop also recommended by tirerack wants $150 for installation and $275 for the alignment.

What kind of numbers have you guys seen for tire installation? Do you generally do an alignment as well if the current alignment seems fine and there were no issues with the old tires?

MK899

The alignment for $185 seems a bit high. I did a full four wheel alignment at a local M-B dealer for around $110 out the door, including the front chamber bolts. I personnaly would do an alignment when ever I change tires or do mods to the suspention.

Zeppelin

Don't waste your money on an alignment if your tires wore evenly and the car is not pulling to one side or the other. If you did suspension work then that is another story. If your tires don't wear un-evenly then you could go the life of the car without an alignment. Tire shops just want to sell you services.

Instuh

How are the RE750s compared to stock? How is the dry and wet handling? Cornering? Is a dramatic improvement over the Pzero Rossos. I have them in my garage and am installing them on 18inch dualspokes when spring rolls around... I need to hear comments!

blando

Thanks for the feedback. Unless MB drops the price, I may try and forgo the alignment since the car runs straight and the original tires wore evenly. I'll keep an eye on the new ones for uneven wear.

I'll let you know how it goes...

FrankW

RE750 because of the treadwear rating is 380 it is a little stiffer compare to the PilotSport. The dry traction is not as good as the PilotSport, a trade off if you want something that last longer. The wet traction is about on par w/ the PilotSport perhaps a little better than the Pilot.

If you only look at the performance of the tires and not worrying about the treadwear, the RE750 is a downgrade. On the other hand if longer lasting tires are the ones you want, the RE750 is probably the best out there in this size. In the corner the RE750 doesn't grip quite as well as the PilotSport because of the harder compound.

Overall I'm very happy w/ the tire choice since longer lasting tires are what I was looking for.

blando

I got the GSD3s mounted and balanced. MB said the alignment was fine, so I saved those $. The tires fit, look and feel great! I would recommend to anyone who is considering them and thinking about going to a 235/255 setup.

FrankW

forgot to ask what's the treadwear on those?

blando

I don't know offhand. It is better than the OEM tires I had. I'm sure you can find the exact number on tirerack.

FrankW

lol...i'm just too lazy to search

430

I may take the time to look up the treadware. But define better than OEM. For me the 280 on the Conti's are just too hard so 220 would be better. But someone else might feel that the OEM tires wear out too quickly so $380 would be better for them.

AWDman

Blando or anyone- can the 235/40-18 fit in the space for the spare?

Thanks, I'm buying 5 new wheels and tires soon and would need a 235 to fit in the alloted space.

blando

I have 17s so I couldn't tell you for sure. I have the MB spare and it is already very tight in the well, height-wise.

AWDman

my bad. i meant the 235/45-17. it's very close to the 235/40-18.

i'm not so concerned about height but more over the OD. (unless this is what you meant by height) I'm thinking it's not gonna fit.

Thanks anyway.

blando

I think the mb spare is the same size as the front wheel. Not sure. I can check later. By height I meant depth. with the spare in place, the carpet/cover is raised and is difficult to secure. Note that I have a 2002 model that did not originally come with a spare. In terms of diameter, there was some room to play with.