DrDrilZ

looking at some new 09 e350 sport pkg cars and noticed they come with different OEM tires. the dealer said if i dont like whats on the car, he would switch them out with another car in inventory. is there a consensus here on the OEM michelin vs conti vs pirelli ? can someone indicate the exact models of each brand that comes on the 18's for 09 models so i can research on tirerack at least? tia

chokaay

That's a very interesting question, and I'm interested in the answer too! One of my E350's has Continentals, and the other one has Michelin's. The dealer said that Michelin's were "softer" so they grip the road better, but can get a little less miles from them (maybe 2,000 less). They are also the more expensive brand, and generally accepted as the best brand of tire. This is coming from the dealer though, so I'm not exactly sure if it's 100% true or not.

In my personal experience though, with both vehicles at the same settings ("C" mode), the Michelin's "feel" the road more (as in every little bump in the road), and the ride seems a little harsher. However, this MAY be because of unequal tire pressure in each car (I don't know if it is or not... I didn't measure the tire pressure of each car). I really can't think of anything else it could be... both cars are 2009 E350's w/ AMG Sport Packages, so they shouldn't be THAT different.

07321AMGpkg

I have an 07 which came with staggard amg wheels and they came with the conti's, a terrible tire in my opnion, espcially if you live in a state with where you get winters, and the roads end up littered with potholes. 1st the sidewall bubbles very easily, the grip from these tires also do not inspire confidence when it comes to handling, dry or wet. wet is the worst, constantly hydro-planing and just feel all around squirmy in wet weather at any speed. they also loose thier balance quickly therefore it feels like your car constantly has a shake in the steering. get the tires balanced the shake goes away, and last they wear horrible. mine needed replacing after about 20k and thats with my wife driving mainly.

klister

I had the Michelin's Pilot HX MXM4 on my 08 e350 Sport and did not care for them. The wet weather traction was not good and they tended to hydroplane in standing water. They are, for some reason, very expensive. I changed to Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS tires and they dramatically improved the handling and wet weather traction of the car.

Michelin makes some other great tires but this is not one of them. Check out www.tirerack.com using your new car and look for the original equipment tires. You will find this is not a popular tire. Unfortunately, some of the other choices don't get great reviews either.

Barry45RPM

I'd only want the Michelins on my car. They have a harder (not softer) rubber compound which makes them a tiny bit less effective in rain than some other tire compounds, but they last much longer and handle very well.

I'm so convinced that they are better that Michelins are the only brand I consider for any of my cars (Olds, Suzuki, Nissan, Honda, MB, Caddy) no matter the cost of the vehicle, as long as Michelin makes a tire for the vehicle.

Rubber hardness affects road noise, but as my windows are always closed, and the sound deadening in these cars is so superior, that is of little concern to me. (There are warnings in the car's brochures about increased tire noise with staggered wheels set-up due to the tire widths over the non sport set up. I've had both set ups with Michelin's. my Non sport '04 had 17 inch non staggered wheels and my 07 has 18 staggered. The Staggered IS noticibly noisier, and slaps pavement seams pretty loudly on interstates with seams every 200 ft or so.)

Over the years I've been posting here, since 12/03, most of the "wear, not price" complaints have been with the Conti's, Most of the "price, not wear" complaints have been on the Michelin's.

vettdvr

Michelin Pilot Sport. I have tried Conti, Bridgstone, Master Craft and the only one that works for me is the MPS.

chokaay

I went to the dealership this morning, and while chatting with my SA, I asked for his opinion on what brand of tire is the best for this car. He said Michelins, with Continentals as a close second. I also asked the Drive Tech his opinion, and he said Michelins too.

Scraz51

What about Pirellis? or is this just a brand that is very well recognized and hyped?

chokaay

I know Pirellis are a brand name, but I haven't heard many people mention them. None of the SA or dealership people I spoke with mentioned them. Dunno why...

Scraz51

That is weird.

Our MB service department generally recommends them, they are not really getting that much more money out of us either as they cost the same as the Michelins.

Its always nice though to have Pirellis, everybody knows them as some sort of Ferrari tyre, though they are probably no different. I'm not very knowledgeable in the world of tyres but if anyone recommends some different brands I will give them a go.

mcolozzi

Here's what I did. My 09 E350 came with the Mich MXM4 Grand Touring tire stock. I drove this and all the other stock tires before buying. None were particularly good... noisy and not well thought of on Tirerack (in fact the MXM4 were rated 18 out of 19 tires!). So, I bought the car with the Michelins, called Michelin directly and asked them to replace them with PS2s. My argument was that a car equipped with Sport Package AMG wheels shouldn't have touring tires. They agreed! I now have brand new PS2s on my car for no $$$ out of pocket. By the way, I live in AZ where it doesn't snow so I got the summer tires. Another option is the new Mich Pilot A/S Plus. Hear it's much improved over the Pilot A/S. Only negative I've heard is that it has high rolling resistance and will debit your gas mileage 2 mpg. Food for thought.