Unlike many on this board, I don't drive 150 mph or put my vehicle through it's paces too often. I simply drive my 97 E420 to and from work and around on the weekends. I love the car but just don't drive at those speeds.

This brings me to the question of tires. I need new tires and I am wondering if I must buy H rated tires or can I step down and level or two to a lower priced tire that would serve me just as well?

This has the feel of a dumb question, but I just can't seem to get a straight answer from store personnel trying to sell me $180 tires. Thoughts?

 

I would keep the original minimal specs set by the manufacturer for your car.

reason being is that although you might not go the speed limited by the tires, I believe that everything else is affected by it, as well, i.e. braking effectiveness, handling, etc.

I hear this from the tire rack....

 

I'd stick with whatever that comes with your car, which in my case is Michelin Energy MXV4 HR. The reason is that the four tires are the only parts of your car that touch the ground and therefore everything that your car does, be it accelerating, braking, cornering, etc., depend on those 4 pieces of rubber. And MB put those 4 specific tires because MB believes that's the CHEAPEST tires that will make the car safe.

You sound like a conservative person like me. And I will therefore infer that you are also a safety-oriented driver. Switching to a tire that is lesser than what MB has originally put on your car in theory might make your ride not as safe, even if the reduction in the margin of safety is minimal. But you just might need that last ounce of safety margin one of these days.

The cost saving of lower-than-H-rated tire is probably at most $40 per tire and about $160 per car which averages out over 80,000 miles of the life of a tire to be $0.002 per mile. And if you are like me who drives over 80 miles per day, that's about 16 cents per day for a peace of mind. IMHO, well worth it.

My $0.02

 

Go to Costco. They have my tire 215/55/HR16 of Michelin Energy MXV4 type for $156.99 each.

 

thanks guys.....

 

You should post this question to Luke from TireRack in the Wheels and Suspension forum. He should be able to give you specifics to your question. I also agree with everyone else, stick with the factory recommendations at the minimum.

 

Ok, ok.. found Michelin MXV4's for $121 installed at SAM's. Got 'em done in 55 minutes and left there with a nice tire install, 11 pounds of potatoe chips, case of toilet paper, and 12 sticks of deoderant. All is good now.

 

Too much information, but glad you got the tire situation worked out, lol...