unlukky

I am wondering what everyone believes to be the Best Bang for Your Buck as far as tires go.

I am lowered on 18's with no camber correction equipment as of yet. I plan on getting it done now that I see how fast I'm burning through tires (about 8 thousand miles ). My front tires are ready to come off for sure and the rears are soon to follow.

Anyway, for the average driver. No track time. No severe winters. Just a general all season, relatively, quiet, longer lasting tire that doesn't hurt the checkbook too bad. Since I'll be changing them soon anyway due to the camber issue that I'll be correcting.

Fronts: 225/40R-18
Rears: 255/35R-18

Any input and opinions welcome.

sfclk

check out falken 615s

chem1441

Kuhmo Ecsta's ASX are the best "deal" I ever found. I put about 32,000 miles on them (420 treadwear rating) before they needed replaced.

Cheap, but not poor quality... never had a blow out or bubble, no wierd vibrations or anything... check out reviews on tire rack. I hope they keep making these!!

rocko

If you don't do any tracking...the best deal that I got was the Nexen N3000's...I was able to put 38,000mi on them before I really had to change them out. Grip is great when it's dry but when it gets wet it becomes a little slippery. But most of the tires are like that. AA traction, A temperature and 340THREADWEAR Good luck..

P.S. Mine were 235/40/18 ; 265/35/18 for $400 mounting and balancing included too

150shot

I have used each of these and were fine. It wasnt on a CLK and every car reacts diff, but good for the money..

Hankook K104 Nitto NT555
Kumho Ecsta SPT ( they also make all season in diff. models possibly in this size that will last longer)
Yoko S Drive ( new model)
Nexen 3000- (last choice from all these- diff. opinions from everyone on this one)
Sumitomo HTR ZIII
Vredestein
Falken FK Series

Stay away from- Nankang, Margoni, and anything else you havent heard of

sfclk

i have the n3000s myself. if i can go back, i would have paid a couple hundred more for better tires.

AMS Performance

Most of the tires mentioned are junk. they are low to mid range tires at best.

You have a CLK55, you should only put the highest level performance tires on there. The most cost/effective max performance tires are:

Kuhmo MX
Dunlap Direzza Z1 star spec

Those are the only two choices you need to consider, Kuhmo MX is the cheaper of the two but both are worlds better than anything out there including pilot sports & etc for the money (or even not including money).

The Z1s have firmer sidewalls for even crisper handling but they have a rougher ride than the kuhmos. Of the two I actually prefer the kuhmos for a daily driver since they are softer & more forgiving. Hope that helps.

run 235 fronts, 265/275 rears. 225/255 is not nearly aggressive enough for the CLK55 which has serious traction issues.

hope that helps

myNAMESterry

GENERALS.. HANDS DOWN, SON

i've had a bunch of tires for my car which included the following:

- s03
- eagle f1
- es100
- exclaim UHP

the General exclaims are the best bang for your buck. they perform surprisingly well for dirt cheap tires. out perform the es100's and are more quiet than the eagle f1's.

hollllllllaaaaaa

unlukky

I appreciate the responses. I do and WILL have excellent tires soon. However, need tires that will get me through until I get the camber kits installed. I don't plan on throwing away $1100 like I did this time due to wearing out the inside corners in 8,000 miles. Not sure if I made myself clear in my first post.

unlukky

Went with Kumho Ecsta SPT. Seemed like a good tire, with good reviews.
I just need something to put on NOW.
Then in the future when I get the camber issue corrected I'll step back in to some more sticky, classy shoes.
Thanks for everyones replies.

gn3

You may want to consider used tires. I scored a pair of Generals (rear) for $50 on ebay with 6-7/32 left on them.

150shot

Have you also tried flipping your tires? I do and get ALOT more life out of them, left to right and vice versa where the inside goes to the outside..if you do it before the inside gets too bad you will be fine. Not bad for $25-30 to get 5k or more miles.

just curious, your CLK doesnt look too low in your avatar if that is an updated pic, wondering how bad you camber issue is or if the car is lower...?

AMS Performance

Very good point, at 50% swap over and you get an extra 30-50% more tire life using this technique.

unlukky

I have Toyo Proxes TR1's now. They are directional, so I cant swap. I agree that I should not have this much of a camber issue. It is worth investigation thats for sure. I was professionally lowered with a 4 wheel alignment too. It just seems that 8k miles is a little ridiculous. I guess my car is just asking for me to put the front and rear camber kits in. The car is lowered on H&R's with #1 pads on all for corners. I admit that I did not change my shocks when I lowered. So, I am thinking that I'll put these Kumhos on and start collecting my parts. I'll install the camber kits, new shocks, ANOTHER 4 wheel alignment and then go with the Eagle F1 All Seasons. If that doesnt fix it and I burn through em in a year again.... then I guess its just how it is. Thanks for all the help, guys.

150shot- what tires do you run that you can go side to side?

sfclk

You have the tires flipped on the wheel and then the wheels with flipped tires are switced left to right.

unlukky

I should be smacked for never thinking of that...

150shot

no problem unlukky, got your PM-your correct I wasnt referring to traditional type rotation.
Just take the left tire, dismount and remount it on the right rim, and vice versa. The tire will stay directional and rotate the exact same way. Just think of it as moved to the other side.

I dont really wait until the inside is really worn down, but more along the lines as once I can tell there is some visual camber wear. I have been religious about this on all my previous cars ( which are always lowered) and have gotten over 30k on a set on a 5 series, and around 18k Birdgestones on my NSX which is unheard of.

Again all tires wear differently, but this can probably give you 5k or more miles per set.
Find a good reputable tire shop or installer that will dismount and remount for like $10-$15 each tire and your set.