I still have the stock Continentals. I find their performance (grip and handling) to be somewhat sub-par but still adequate for a sedan, their comfort to be acceptable (not great), and their road noise to be very unacceptable. Wear is only of minor concern (except that for such a generally unimpressive tire, the Continentals seem to have a rather brief lifespan). From what I've read here, I understand they're a somewhat older design compared to the competition.

I'm preparing to replace the tires, and for the E500 noise is my priority. If I was able to achieve no reduction in performance and comfort, and a major reduction in noise, I would be pleased. I would not accept any reduction in performance or comfort, and of course I'd like to see improvements there, particularly in performance -- but again, with noise-level being the primary consideration. The E500 is a wonderfully insulated car, and the wail of those crappy Continentals ruins it for me every time (Florida in particular has quite a lot of concrete highways).

I am very familiar with the Michelin Pilot Sport series (I have owned many, MANY of these tires in various sizes on various vehicles -- heck I have a stack of 14 Viper spares in storage right now, in fact) and while their performance is undoubtedly far superior, I'm concerned that they'll be noisy. I haven't ever used them on anything but sports cars, and in that respect noise-level was never considered at all. They make a lot of noise on my Viper and my wife's Camaro, but they're quite a bit larger than the E500's, too.

I am unfamiliar with the Dunlops but from what I've read here in previous tire threads, the 9000 series (I think) is also something I plan to consider. I haven't owned a Dunlop tire since about 1990, so I have absolutely no basis for comparison.

I would like to hear your opinions on the subject with a particular focus on reducing road noise without especially worsening performance and comfort. The threads I've seen here tend to focus on performance. I don't recall seeing any focused on noise.

 

McGuireV10, I did a lot of research and ended up getting the Continental ContiTouring tires for my E 320; price was a factor for me and they had a version of that tire for $76 when I bought. On my car it is a 225/55-16 tire; in that size they are comfortable and quiet. I got 35 k miles out of them and they were still at 3 mm tread depth. I replaced because one of the tires got chewed up before the car was properly aligned.

But from what I read on tire rack and from perusing this and other boards, I would not go with the ContiTouring tire for the 245/45-17 size just as you have pretty much also concluded.

Here are two tires on tirerack that you may have already looked at that seemed promising to me:

The Continental ContiProContact Grand Touring All Season
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

and the Yokohama AVS dB S2 Ultra High Performance All Season
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Would love to hear some real world experience. Hope this helps you. I would also love to hear if anyone has had tire rim damage from hitting potholes with their cars fitted with the 245/45-17 inch tires and rims with the stock Continental ContiTouring tires, and if changing tires helped this issue.

William
2003 E 320

 

I have the Continentals on my new E and also on my 02 ML 500. I am pleased with them on both vehicles. The ML has about 30000 miles and I recently measured the tread and have almost 50 percent remaining. Noise on both vehicles is almost non existant and they are certainly quieter than the Michelins on my last E and the Dunlops on my last ML.

 

As far as comfort goes McGuireV10, I think that the most comfortable versions of the E class come fitted with the standard steel springs and the 225/55-16 tire.
William
2003 E 320

 

I went through this a month ago. After research and talking to Luke at Tirerack I got Avon tech 550's. #1 priority was noise. So far so good. Way better than my Continentals.

 

I'd recommend the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. Had a set on our previous BMW 5er. Huge grip, phenomenal stick in the rain, silent, decent ride, reasonable tread life. The only drawback was a somewhat soft steering reponsiveness. I liked them a lot.

I'm trying to find a set of wheels now to put a set of these in 245/40x18s on our CDI.

 

I put the Yokohama AVS dB S2's on my E500 wagon about a month ago.....these are mounted on E55 wheels, 245/40/18, and 275/35/18's. Quiet/comfort was my main priority........it is like riding on a magic carpet! See my previous post on this subject.

 

My car arrived with Pirellis as stock. I am very happy with them for noise and performance. I am not sure about wear yet, but we will see how long they last.

 

Thanks, everyone.

johna1, what size & model Pirelli are you running?
I've always been partial to Pirelli tires -- on trucks and cars; their motorcycle tires are hideous.

 

They are Pirelli P7 225/55 R 16.