Big Terry

I would like to know what tires seem to last the longest, performance is #2 to me , I just looked at my back tires and I will be needing to replace soon, Im running Potenza S-03 245/40 zr17.

Chappy

Realistically, what type of mileage are you hoping to get out of a set?

Big Terry

Is 25,000 unrealistic ?

Chappy

It's been done before, but not by me (the drag racing and mountain runs prevent this)

Best advice I can give is to check out the tirerack website and look for the highest wear rating you can find. Just keep in mind your car will handle totally differently...definitely a trade-off.

Also, keep your tires inflated to 35-38 psi.

SoCalCLK

I just changed my tires yesterday. I had the OEM Michelin Pilot Sports that came with the car, monitored tire pressure to keep it around 36psi all the way around and they lasted until 20,060 miles.

Towards the last 2,000 miles they were kind of squeaking and stuff.

Big Terry

SoCalCLK, is that what you put back on ? The Michelins ?

jddumas

Big T,
I put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S' on mine and have put nearly 10k mi's on them and you can't even hardly tell they have been driven on. They may have their weaknesses, as judged by some, but I can't see any and I love them. Although I drive pretty normal, most of the time, just fast. They handle great in the rain, which is important on the gulf coast, and I've had no problems with handling curves either. If I had it to do over, I'd get the same one's again! Good luck.
Hope that helps bro!

Big Terry

What about Kumho Ecsta ASX, anybody running those, they have a tread were rating of 420 ? all 4 tires for the CLK 430 is 500.00

SoCalCLK

Big Terry, Don't get the Kumhos. Check your PM!

midget fidger

send me a PM about it too! the rims i bought came with Kumho Ecsta tired but they're rated at 220

J Lucas

Whats the problem with kumho's? From what ive read, its split 50/50 with some people having horrendous problems with them and others having none...

SoCalCLK

I've heard that although they are sticky and have a great tread design, the ecsta is not as reliable or well built down the line as a Michelin or Yokohama, and that after 8,000 miles, problems arise.

brianw430

I don't have any long mileage comments to add, but I just removed Pirelli P6000's (too much noise...ouch) and replaced with Sumitomo HTR+'s and these are great tires. They do not handle like the high performance tire, but I don't drive aggressively and the ride is oh so smooth and quiet! I highly recommend these and all four for only $408!

J Lucas

I think the pirelli's are worse than the kumho's.

varainstructor

I have 112K miles on my CLK and believe me, I've gone through some tires. The set I have settled on are the Continental Contact Sport 2s and I will replace with the same. The tread design is very similar to the Yokohama A008 spec race tire used in SCCA for the sport racer classes. So performance is good even on the relatively heavy CLK.

I consistantly get about 5K more out of the tire than the Michelin Pilot series which are awesome tires themselves. I don't personally know about the Bridgestones but a friend runs them on his BMW and goes through them much faster than I wear mine out. The Continentals are about 70% the cost of the Michelin's but you'll have to check on availability in your area. In any case, for X or Z rated tires on the CLK, you should maintain a minimum 34 psi front and 36 psi rear for the best possible wear.

SoCalCLK

Great tips on tire wear and optimal PSI range. Keeping tire pressure at these ranges is a must for max performance and life.

Big Terry

I may still go look at the Kumo Ecsta ASX ( all season ) these have a wear rating of 420, has anyone tried the ASX.

nickv

Nothing about the ASX, but I have had the Ecsta 712 and they are a cheap, but good tire. I like the Michelin Pilot Sports better, the the Kumhos are less than half the price. My only complaint about the Kumho is they are a bit louder than the Michelins. Stay away from the Dunlop SP9000, that tire sucks!

FrankW

Bridgestone RE750: tread wear 340, the performance is very good for it's tread rating. It rides a little firm and noisy. Used on my stock rims for 3k miles before I sold'em. They cost me around $600 from tirerack.com.

Yokohama AVS ES-100: tread wear 280, the performance is good. Very good traction in wet as well. I have about 2k miles so far on these tires. It rides similar to the re750 on my new 18s, but not as noisey. These cost me around $600 as well but for 18s. The 17s would cost less.

Big Terry

Well this is what I bought , Kumho Asx W rated (All Season Xtreme) from Discount Tire 531.00 for all 4 including tax ,mounted ,balanced,life time free rotate, free balance, so far I am impressed with the tires, Look good,and they have a good feel ,420 tread wear, hey we will see how they hold up in the long run.

varainstructor

I took the time to check the Continental Sport Contact 2 mileage. I am running a half degree more camber in front so I do wear the inside tread at a faster rate than most (and drive the car extremely hard). In spite of this I am getting about 25K out of the fronts and 30K+ out of the rears. As a point of reference, any low profile tire (45 series or less) that gets over 20K is considered to have tremendous tire longevity. The usual range for 18's in a low profile series is between 15K and 18K.

The down side perhaps is the $200 a piece price tag (M&B included). Not a cheap tire but I after checking, I am getting nearly twice the tread life as the Michelin Pilots I used to run. Also, living in So. Cal, I don't have much need for an all weather tire. I don't know how well the Continetals work in foul weather. FYI, my CLK came with Continetals from the factory. They are a german made tire: a big market player in Europe.