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I live in Houston, TX, does anybody have and ideal rear tire replacements for my Mercedes, Im thinking of sizing up the rear from the original specs, from 245 to 255
Ive read about:
Bridgestone RE960AS
Hankook Evo V12
Falken FK452
Yokohama S Drive
Michelin Pilot Sport
Having just researched about tires for my new to me C55 i'd strongly recommend going with the Firestone Indy 500's in the stock size (245/35/18) if your running the OEM size rear wheels.
These are hands down the best deal in performance tires right now and wayyy less expensive than any other tire in the category.
But yeah, they are Firestones right? They cant be all that great of a tire if they are soo cheap? Well, the fact of the matter is they are not really Firestones.
These tires are actually Bridgestone.
Bridgestone RE003 to be exact and just labled as Firestones in the good ol' USA ....at a deep discount.
255/30/18 rears are a nice step up. Most can run 265s with no issues, but I had minor rubbing at full compression. OEM wheels and suspension.
The new Michelin Super Sports are supposed to be the greatest thing ever, but I'm getting tired of forking out $1,300.00 every two years or so. Maybe those Firestones are the way to go?
Yes, i think the Fire-bridgestones are really the way to go.
They are a step below the track focused RE-11, but i think a really good choice for a nice DD performance tire and really cant be touched for the price.
Get the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 in 255/35-18. They are going for $117 each on Tire Rack's website; you will not find a better and cheaper tire. I have them on my '06 C55 and they are awesome. I run the stock 225/40-18 up front with the wider rear tire in the back; the car has even more grip this way. I used to buy the Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-04, but they are double the price of the Firestones. My car has the stock 18" rims with stock suspension, and I have no issues running the 255/35-18 tire at the back.
On my c55 I have the firestone Indy 500 size 255/35/18. I honestly think I could've easily fit a 265 from firestone since these tires are comp leteley even with the rim. I had Pirellis previously in the same 255 size and it stuck out a bit over the rim. Definitely worth it for the firestones
Michelin tires are the best, but they are too expensive for my blood. I have been running the Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-04s since I have this car and although they are very good tires, they don't last long. The front tires last about 20,000miles and the rear tires last even less. The 245/35-18s lasted only 7,800miles and the same compound tire in 255/35-18 lasted 12,000miles. The good thing about the Tire Rack website is that you can compare different tires and see their scores, you can also look up the dimension of each tire because a Pirelli tire is not going to sit on the rim the same way as a Bridgestone tire. If I had the money I would run 265/35-18 tires in the rear, but they get pricey at that point.
Here are the prices for the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 from Tire Rack:
245/35-18: $165 per tire
255/35-18: $117 per tire
265/35-18: $172 per tire
This picture shows my tires at the end of this summer, the fronts are Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 225/40-18 and have 6,500miles. The rear tires were Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-04 255/35-18 and had 12,000miles on them. I also rotate my rear tires only, for some reason my right tire wears a bit more than my left, so I change them half way. These are not directional tires, although the pattern looks that way when you look at the tire itself. As long as the outside is on the outer side of the rim, that's all that matters. I also do a wheel alignment on my car every 2 years to make sure I don't use up my tires faster than normal.
New Bridgestone tires 255/35-18 versus used 245/35-18 with 7,800 miles on them.
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