Not true. I have had no problems running 275s (rear) on a CDI. Ride is not bad at all, even with H&R springs. It looks great.

 

Michelins. But consider 17" F and 18" rear, wouldn't this cause issues with the active handleing? Doesn't the computer expect all 4 to be the same diameter?

 

I'm not sure, but it shouldn't matter as long as the diameter of the tire (outside diameter) is the same. Usually when you go up in wheel size you go down in the aspect ratio, which makes that outside diameter closer to stock diameter.

 

Why would you consider 17" front and 18" rear?

 

Anyone ever run on the Conti CONTIEXTREMECONTACT All Season's?

 

That is a horrible idea.

 

All seasons are garbage, period. Get real summer and winter tires.

 

It would heavily depend on which tires you are talking about. My Assurance Tripletreds are fantastic all season tires. The Michelin Hydroedge is a great all season also. There are PLENTY more great all season tires too. I would agree though, if dollars and space permit nothing is better than a stellar summer tire, and a stellar winter tire.

I run BFG KDW2s in the summer on my 19s. The goodyears on my stock simply because when I bought the car I NEEDED tires BAD, and they were the best choice at the time, and are GREAT through snow too.

Yes, I've had many customers and driven on many cars with them. They are great all seasons, and for what they are they have good performance in snow and wet weather also. If you want a tire you can push, and still use in all season conditions the Extreme Contact is a great choice.

 

Red,

I've always been partial to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S .. but after reading reviews of the Conti's I'm thinking of giving them a try. Any idea how they compare?

As for two sets .. winter and summer, the problem is that though that is the ideal I'd only really need snow tires maybe 14 days out of the season. I'd hate to have to put up with the increased road noise and diminished performance on those cold but snow free days! I generally push the car into turns and I don't think a snow tire would really hold well ...

 

+1, I agree. I would never do that, what's the point. Actually, I wouldn't even want staggered setup as I cannot rotate. I go through tires fast cause of where I live so thread life is the most important.

 

Conti CONTIEXTREMECONTACT came on my E500 new. They were ok and so are the Michelin Pilot Sport that I currently use.

 

I wish I could rotate my tires!

 

I have had a set of the PZero Nero M/S and the Rosso's. The Rosso's are awesome summer tires, they grip like glue. The M/S's are great in the winter for my area (Mid-Atlantic).

The Pilot Sport A/S is also a great tire, but you pay for it. I've had both.

 

The Conti ProContact are surely nice tires, so are the ExtremeContacts. Whichever one of those you are looking at will perform nicely for the short amount of time you experience snow, and perform well in dry conditions for the rest of the year. Continental has the fastest capable tires Conti Sport Contact 2 VMAX (253mph), and that trickles through their other lines.

Curiously which Conti's were you looking at?

 

Well the car came with the Conti CH95's which are decent grand touring but not anything like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S I run on the Volvo ..

I'm currently looking at the CONTIEXTREMECONTACT which have a thread design similar to the Michelin's and are A/S ultra high performance rated ..

 

Everything you have said makes an argument for having two sets. Since you like to push the car in to corners and appreciate performance, you should run summer tires as much as possible, and you can get a good set of all seasons to use in the freezing temperatures. It does not cost more except for the initial investment, operating costs very well may be lower.

 

Best tires bar none are VREDESTEIN Tires from holland..

http://www.vredestein.com/Banden_Ban...1&BandtypeID=3

designed on a supercomputer, with a continuous tread, and huge solid patches they have been tested by many euro magazines like German CAR mag, and race teams and they come in #1 everytime, in wet and dry..

they also make racing tires for $10,000 bikes, used in tour de france etc..




after putting them on my SL,, I can tell you they outhandle in dry
or track, any Bridgestone, Conti, Pirreli or any other summer tire,
perhaps with the exception of the YOKOHAMA, ADVAN racing tires

these tires do not chirp or skreech like the harder compounds of Continental, Goodyear, and Pirelli.. or bridgestone, they just dig in and go

best part is they are $175-$199 ea, lol

 

It doesn't sound like he wants the hassle of changing to snow tires and back to summers with only 2 weeks of wintery weather. Personally I'd stay with a nice all season (like the Conti ExtremeContact) and call it a day. They perform very well for an all season and if you ran on them you'd be surprised how good some high performance all season tires actually are.

P.S. I've driven on BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Michelins, Hankooks, Continentals, Pirelli, etc etc... And well having a straight summer and straight winter tire is the best thing to do for some, doesn't mean it is for all.

You say that like 1) other brands aren't designed using a Supercomputer (hint: they are) or 2) that Vredesteins actually have decent availability (which they don't). I'll put up any Pirelli, Michelin, Goodyear, BFG, or even Hankook against any Vredestein product, and we will see who gets better lap times. Not to mention Goodyear (Dunlop), Michelin, Pirelli all make racing car and motorcycle tires too. I've not see many (if any) AMA Superbikes running Vredestein's either.

 

I actually don't mind having a lot of sets of tires. I've got free storage at the dealer. I have winter and summer tires now. I am inclined to get a couple of sets to play with (I know expensive hobby). I have an S-class that I will drive more in the summer, but it makes me feel like an old man. I am looking forward to the Michelins since a lot of people love the brand.

 

Then don't bother with the tires I mentioned. Just spring for the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3s, Pirelli Winter SottoZeros, or Conti WinterContacts, for winter. And then Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, Goodyear F1 GS D3, or Conti SportContact 2 VMAX for summer. Or heck even some Pirelli Pzero Corsa Systems, or Michelin Pilot Sport Cups.

 

You say that like 1) other brands aren't designed using a Supercomputer (hint: they are) or 2) that Vredesteins actually have decent availability (which they don't). I'll put up any Pirelli, Michelin, Goodyear, BFG, or even Hankook against any Vredestein product, and we will see who gets better lap times. Not to mention Goodyear (Dunlop), Michelin, Pirelli all make racing car and motorcycle tires too. I've not see many (if any) AMA Superbikes running Vredestein's either.[/quote]


you must be high,,

1 Vredestein are totally available,, not sure if you in some foriegn country or just bumfuk country, but in cali there are everywhere, and something called ebay.


2 so many magazine have tested the Vredestein tires and they were way faster than your crap goodyear or dunlops, or Pirellis,

you must have missed that..
and also when the SPEED channel showed the Pirelli;s comming apart on a C63 AMG on 2 different shows,, TOP GEAR and another show.
after like 5 hot laps..

anyone who knows tires including most europeans or even race teams here in the US will tell you Pirelli is crap,have one of the higher
defect rates as far as compund coming apart..

I can tell you never had or driven on Vredestein or YOKOHAMA
tires, cause if you had you would not say that goodyear or Pirelli are as good,.

serious no one who knows about cars or racing, would say that..
and if you look at ANY project car that is build for track, serious professional performance driving,, ( not the country club)
you will see they have YOKOHAMA, or VREDSTEIN..

put it this way,, go to germany sometime,, and get a car will Pirellis, and one with Vredestein.
go on the autobahn with Vredestein first and do 185 mph + for like
10 min.. and then look at the tires,, you will still be alive and they will not be hot or comming apart

then try your Pirelli's and do 185+ for 10 min, and if you are still alive,, and dont blow a tire,, lol, look at the tire and get back to me..they will likely show
extreme wear and cracking..

if you know anything about rubber compounds, you will know the Yokohama and
Vredesteins are way softer and stickier.. and better, the rubber on the Good year and Pirelli, and DUnlops are mass production crap

your listed tires like GOODYEAR DUNLOP, HANGOOK, and PIRELLI use mostly SYTHETIC RUBBER< which is more brittle and not as sticky
cause its CHEAP, and for mass production

comparing Korean tires like hangook to Vredenstein is just ignorant and retarded


Vredestein has its OWN natural rubber plant in MALAYSIA, since 1946, and does not use cheap waxes and preservatives to increase rubber shelf live

just because pirelli is on expensive cars like Ferrari, and Lambo,, its cause they PAY to play and have them as OEM, does not mean they are good, and the germans will usually change them out soon after getting the cars cause they actually do more than 100 mph on them


I have raced and been a test driver,, both for Porsche and GM.
you probably have not, and you are talking about goodyears and Dunlops and Pirelli;s on race cars that are special one offs
that cost thousands and are custom for that car,, made by the factory,, NOT THE **** STREET Tires you get you think are the same


why dont you watch these videos and see how vredenstein does their manufacturing and state of the art testing.

check out their videos for more info

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWMTiXPbLQ

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfiszqMc7mc&feature=related


do yourself a favor and go 180 mph on some tires and actually race around a track and try the Vredestein's or YOKOHAMA and then you can comment..
but you will likely see they are way better tires
lol

 

Oh, great Ebay. That doesn't mean they any actual tire retailer or even wholesaler wants to touch the brand at all. That should tell you enough about them.

You must not have ever driven on Goodyear or Pirelli tires, and only seen video of a race team testing Pirelli's that happened to fail.

Actually, you are quite wrong. I've driven on nearly every tire brand (and all their associate brands) produced, you?

Yea, ok...I've seen plenty of track cars (not straight drag cars either) running Michelin, Goodyear, and yes, Pirelli. I know plenty of autocrossers that don't run anything but.

Quote:

put it this way,, go to germany sometime,, and get a car will Pirellis, and one with Vredestein.

Ok.

That doesn't equate the tire to being total garbage. And if you want to play the history game Goodyear/Dunlop was the first company to develop Pneumatic tires, 40 years before Vredestein existed.

It doesn't mean that because YOU don't like them, or that some have had poor experiences that they are garbage. Personally I really don't care what YOU think about the brands I mentioned. I won't touch a Vredestein tire for anything. You have your opinions, and I have mine. Which happen to include dealing with tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of tires on a yearly basis...you?/

Quote:

I have raced and been a test driver,, both for Porsche and GM.

Where did I say they were the same? I never did. Maybe if you slowed down and actually read what I wrote you'd have seen that. Even still, they aren't special 'one-offs' as you think. Doesn't really matter if you don't believe that, I know the CEO of Goodyear personally. I also happen to know Chip Foose, and Bill Elliot (the Nascar driver). I've talked personally to CEOs of wheel companies, and tire companies. I've seen tires (all brands tested) for impact resistance and how they protect the wheels, you? And every time Michelins and Goodyears outlasted ALL OTHER BRANDS, have you seen these impact tests? I'd guess not.

I know people personally at suspension companies like Eibach, RRM, RPW (Racing Performance Works Australia), AMS, Detroit Speed Shops, Livernois Motorsports. I've seen the technology and inner workings of Goodyear and Michelin products at the green mold level, you? I have friends and customers that run nothing but Pirellis on their Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradales. In point of fact I've seen the used tires after he races and they don't look any different than any other race tire I've seen, or expected them to look like after running them HARD.

Sales information videos, nothing more than what other companies provide about their products. Not to mention they are about 10 years behind the times.


Ok, I will. And I won't need Vredesteins to do it either.

Do yourself a favor and don't speak out of line when you obviously don't know anything more than hearsay.

 

Just back into the MB fold with a 2006 E320CDI - new to me.

26k miles.

Relaced the tires as there was a "rum, rum, rum, rum..." at constant cruising (no brakes) and some cracking between the treads.
Was an Arizona car

Put new OEM spec Michelin MXV4 Plus M+S on. ( I liked the old "non-plus" non M+S better!)

Still...........

rum, rum, rum, rum.....especially noticeable on quiet roads at speed.

What to check first?

Tire runout?
rims?
any bearings / carriers or come to mind?

Had the car looked over by a "reputable shop" right after we got it - they replace the rear brake pads. Said to wait on rotors. They shyed away from a brake fluid flush (2+ years so I thought was neeeded) and quoted about $350 to do it!

The rotors have a little "wiggle" to them - steering wheel dances a bit a low speed during brake application. But the "rum, rum, rum" is not brake application related.

The wife is not happy........

Any ideas?

 

It could be anything from a tire issues, to a mechanical issue. You should flush the brake fluid on a regular basis simply because the fluid becomes acidic over time and also produces corrosion (read: Oxidation) internal to ABS brake components (i.e. the abs controller, and abs pump, and master cylinder).

The wheel bearings could definitely be an issue also. Especially if the noise is no different from when you had a completely different set of tires on the car. Have them checked for looseness and noise. It is really easy actually. When the tire is lifted in the air, you can spin the wheel and hold your hand on the spring, or knuckle, and if you feel a vibration than the bearing is worn.

It could also simply be the brake rotors making the noise also. Could be anything from rust behind the rotor hat, or the facing itself, or even just a uneven brake rotor allowing for the noise.

 

Wheel bearing noise can be similar to the noise of worn or "cupped" tires.