Strafe1

A lot of you guys are wearing the M/T's on your rears, 100% of the time. I'm thinking about getting them but I have a few questions.
The M/T site lists drag radials and street radials. You guys talk only about dr's. The site doesn't list 18" sizes, except in the street radials. Which are you getting?
How do they perform in the rain?
Where do you recommend I order them from?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Glock Guru

+1

jmf003

Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials are what you want.

Summit Racing and Jegs carry some of the more common sizes.

When you order, be sure to pay attention to the overall diameter of the tire...if the diameter is too large, you can wind up with the tire hitting your fender.

Glock Guru

Thanks

jmf003

Always glad to help.

I probably should have added, Hoosier Drag Radials are another option. Some guys find the Hoosiers have a bit more grip...others think it's a toss-up. Cost is about the same. The Hoosiers tend to be quite a bit lighter, 5-7 lbs. The MTs look better and there's probably a bigger market for them if you ever want to resell them.

Also, if you want to be a bit more hard core you could use a 17" or 16" rear wheel. The smaller wheel diameter enables you to run a taller sidewall, which improves the launch "wrinkle."

CCW apparently has a 16" rear wheel that just barely clears the rear AMG caliper. Related thread here: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...g-radials.html.

There are more options with 17" wheels, e.g. https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...-mb-wheel.html

Of course the most direct solution is just to buy tires that fit your current wheels.

Good luck! Have fun with it!!

bazi 007

what are the best sizes for 18 " wheels? are the fronts mt as well?

Strafe1

How about the wet weather handling? Thanks for the info on the ET's. I'm concerned about the weight. Are Nitto's any better?

MB_Forever

Mickey Thomson now has 265/40/18 tires, which I was told fits the 18" stock Mercedes rims pretty good. However, I'm not sure the extra "height" in the tire profile affects the drive.

over the edge

A 265/40 is only 12.5mm taller than a stock 285/35 by my calculations:
2 * (265 * .4 - 285 * .35) = 12.5

That will only make the car sit 6mm higher, which is probably the amount of variance you get with varying tire brands in the 285 size.

By the specs they will be a bit taller than that. According to MT website the overall diameter is 26.5" vs 25.7" for a stock pirelli pzero per tirerack.com specs.

In my experience MT run wider than other brands while Nittos run narrower.
The mickeys have a much softer sidewall and you'll notice it in the handling more than the .5-1" in height difference. Its designed for drag racing, not canyon carving. If anything you may notice a smoother ride over rough surfaces due to the forgivingness of the sidewall.

SLK55R

They feel like they have grease thrown over them when its raining.

blackbenzz

Such an informative post. I wish someone posted something like this before all the $$$ I spent. I think I'm going to try the Hoosiers drag radial or Et Streets next. The ET Street Radial sticks very well, is on the heavier side and tends to snap my axles like twigs on a hard launch lol

bluejae

are there many people running MT ET street radial II for daily driving? from a post above, they don't do well at all in the rain... i guess i'm a little worried about that...

kent426

you'll be in the ditch and they are meant for a 1/4 mile at a time, not road life or manners. They are made for bracket race street radial classes.