Interwebz

Hey guys - I know there are always tons of threads about what tires to put on our beasts.

I'm adding this thread so that it will show up in the search results for tires / recommended tires / new tires / which tires to put on.

I just put on a full set of Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport tires:

235 / 40 / 18 F
275 / 35 / 18 R

I am in love with this setup. When I took my Pirelli's out of the garage to put them on in the spring they were completely bald ( I didn't see them when they were taken off and my winters put on). I personally feel the C63 is hobbled by the 255 Pirelli's on the rear and they are a totally impractical and uneconomical tire choice.. the tread rating is simply too low and they are WAY too expensive to replace for what I would say is LESSER performance compared to this setup. The extra rubber on the rear contact patch is worth way more than the stickier Pirelli compound in terms of performance.. more rubber = better. Yes, we all have a few extra bucks.. but it is not rational to completely waste it on Pirelli Rubber.

It just so happens that I also had a big Goose Egg on my Front Right tire that needed changing.. so it worked out that I put on all 4 tires. The total cost for me for all 4 tires was $1100 Canadian (including installation and tax).

I might as well chime in with a winter tire recommendation as well. I ran this winter with a set of 225 / 40 / 18 Semperit winters on Elbers AMG replica rims. My tire guy had a great point - most winter traction in snow is derived from the thickness of the sidewall of the tire and the narrowness of the tire, but due to the size of the brakes on these cars, no matter what tire compound you have, the sidewall will always be tiny.. expensive rubber compounds with skinny sidewalls wont help you in deep snow. So, unless you plan to drive on A LOT of ice, do not waste your money on expensive winter rubber. Most people will drive in light snow a few days a year, but mostly drive on cold / slushy / salty roads. The operating temperature of the tire is most important, and all winter tire compounds are designed to run cold. Also - make sure to put on 225s all around, this way you can rotate your tires and get the maximum benefit from having skinny tires in the snow.

sflgator

Great tires; had them on the rears but they only lasted 8k mi. on my C63 despite the 340 tread wear rating.

Interwebz

It's all relative I suppose.. there are lots of guys who get only 4k - 5k miles out of their Pirelli's. I managed to get 9k miles from the Pzero's, I'm hoping to get 12k -15k miles from the Bridgestone's.. but we'll see.

At least if you do burn through a set of these, they cost only about 60% of the Pzero, and as I said.. with the upsized setup, the car simply performs better IMHO.

blindfold

Can the fronts possiblely fit a larger tire? To counter the induced understeer tendency with wider rears. I assume no rubbing issues even with passengers or over speed bumps? Thnanks for the info.

gsrjc

wow 9k from the pirellis. that is impressive. i got 6.5k miles and i thought that was good.

Interwebz

Nope, 235 is the widest you can go on the fronts on the OEM rims.

Interwebz

The last 1000 miles I was running on basically no tread :S I safely got about 8k miles.. still not too bad

baabootoo

Tire Rack shows an 8" wheel ok for a 245/40; 8"-9.5".

Even Money

I run 245/40 on the fronts, have for the last 10K miles. No problems whatsoever...they're hankook v12. Many other folks run 245 as well...

Peanuthead

Where did you get this information from?
I just put a new set of Sumitomo HTR Z III 245/40/18 and 275/35/18 on my stock rims, and have no problems what so ever.

patspm66

I am running 245s in front and 275s in rear of the potenza RE760 sport on 19' DPEs and they fit perfectly and I feel are definitely superior and cheaper than the Pirelli's. No rubbing and noticeable grip improvements.

ZephyrAMG

+1 I have the same tires on the rear and love the nice quiet ride, great grip and good appearance! I have 265/35/18

I am still a bit hesitant about 275 for rear though...

When the dealer changed the tire they had a note at the bottom that states "Customer aware that this tire size is not recommended..."

Interwebz

...from not a great source obviously :p

I asked about 245s when i had the tires installed and was told they would rub. But - real-world application trumps all else!

NORTH 44 C63

I Ran 245.40.18 P-Zeros on my front OEM wheels without any problem last summer for track use. (265.35.18 rears)

Now I am running 245.35.19 F / 275.30.19 R for RE-11's for both street and track. Again no issue

stirlingkool

please PM me. any issues with TPMS? is the grip much better off the line? i agree with you wholeheartedly regarding the winter performance of this car.

Dios

I wore throught my pzeros in 8000kms(did some donuts and burn outs) got some kumo ecstas they lasted me 14000kms(no burnouts or donuts) now i ordered bfgoodrich gforce 2, going on tomorrow.

c63_rhs

Just put on a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 3's. Nice sharp turn in, super quiet.

Tire dealer put his money where his mouth is and guaranteed them to run better grip and last longer than the OEM Pirelli's - which I liked although not the 10K KM life of the rears.


24 hours on - very happy - give it a month and we'll see.

R.

gravedgr

It was. I got 3500.

1st amg

I just checked out the tread wear rating on the RE760 and noticed that they are 340, quite high, those of you who are using these or have(sflgator), are they a hard tire? Do they really have better traction than the pirelli, I am worried that they may be hockey puck hard and traction may be affected, all and any comments/opinions are greatly appreciated.

Interwebz

Here's the thing.. If you get both sets of tires hot and go to a track - the Pirellis will be stickier, period.

Does anyone pull .9x G's in their cars? if you do.. there are so many tires that are better than Pzeros.. PS2s, Nitto drag radials.. but it really depends on how you drive. But, if you're doing it on a track you're better off to get a lightweight set of wheels + track tires.

The reason for my reco was for real world application, the RE760s last longer and provide better all around value and don't give up much to the pirelli's because of the extra rubber out back.

Personally, I don't like flushing money down the toilet which is how the Pirelli's make me feel

Ultimately it's a very personal thing... based on the way you drive and how the tires 'feel' when the wheel is in your hands.

sflgator

Traction with the Bridgestone RE760's seemed as good as the oem Pirelli's and lasted a bit longer for me (8k mi. vs. 5k mi.), but again, I'm getting similar traction on my ultra high perf all-season, Michelin Pilot A/S Plus tires as well (with a tread wear rating of 500); got 10k mi. on the rears now with another 1-2k left...but they carry a 45k mi. tread wear warranty, so a new set of rear tires should only cost me ~ $130 or so.

exdes

Let us know how that goes..

974AGK

Guys , currently on my 3rd set of rear tires and must admit that I am more than happy with my last choice, I opted for Toyo's and have so far done 8,256 uk miles [current odometer is 16287mls]
There is about 2 to 2.5ml left and will be putting these back on again, quick question have any of you went for winter tyres and if so does it play havoc with the traction control system?

Cheers
Eck

Even Money

I had the Vredestein wintrac extremes and never had a traction control issue. I didn't get to test them in the snow, but enough below freezing temps to indicate they were a great tire. You'll usually forget these are winter tires...

black-clk500

aaahhhh another tire thread!!!