ctrujillo

I have a 2006 MB CLK-350 with staggered sizes. 225/45R17 91W front and 245/40R17 91W rear. I had tried to get some Michelin tires on sale at Costco and they told me that the only tire combination they could get from their manufacturer had different load index/ratings for front and rear tires and they couldn't put those on. (XL on front, not XL on rear,, and different load indexes). It looks like the Tire Rack packaged offerings have XL on the front and a different load index on the rear that's not XL. Nobody answered my question there. I looked at tires on Les Schwab website and the tire package had different load indexes on front and rear.

I'm hoping someone can provide some clarification on whether the tires have to be the same front and rear, policy, legal, safety, because I haven't found any matches yet?

Rudeney

"XL" is not the load index - it's part of the size and I think it just means "it's big". The "91" is the load index. The Pilot A/S 3+ tires that Costco carries have a 94 on the rear and 91 on the front and that is fine for your car. I'm not sure why the tech didn't understand that. Those are the exact same tires I had Costco put on my CLK550.

ctrujillo

Thanks, Rudney, maybe I can have another talk with them. I'm thinking they may honor the original sale terms if they double check and learn something.

ctrujillo

So, I went in and explained to a different tech, and he double checked, and said ok, and honored the original sales price. Thank you.

Would you happen to have a suggestion for tires for a C350 4matic for my wife's?

Rudeney

I've always been partial to Michelin tires. However, I have had a few sets of Bridgestones that I was very happy with. I had some Bridgestone Serenity tires on the C240 that handled well and lasted a long time - like 80K miles.

ctrujillo

Thanks for the suggestions. The Defender and the Premier are looking like good choices.

TechSuperstar

If you live up north (like I do) I find its better to get a tire that has a higher load rating than 91 for the front. They seem to do a little better against the potholes in the winter.

ctrujillo

Thanks for the tip. I live in western Washington state. The fact of the matter is the new front's for the CLK are actually 94 and the rears are 91.