jures

I have a 2011 e luxury 4 matic. came with conti pro contacts, now have 25k miles and ready for new tires. looking at michelin sport pilot plus, all season, before i make an $1100 investment, what are your thoughts on this tire and is there any other i should consider? want all seasons since i live in pa and do half my milage on the turnpike.

thank you

roger

ddeliber

I personally like the conti pros, best all around comfort and still handle pretty well - mated with my 2010 e350 lux. However, if you want to go up to a UHP all season the competitors (at least according to the tire rack) are the Conti extreme contact, the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position and the Pirelli PZeros. The pilot sport A/s plus came in 3rd of the 4. On dry surfaces the Michelins were the best, but they were pretty much the worst across the board in wet/snow and weaker in comfort/noise. MB uses the Pzeros on the sport e350s.

Take a look for yourself:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...147&viewPage=y

Just so you know, the UHP A/S models are going to be noticeably firmer - more responsive but less comfort all around than a grand touring A/S. I mention this because you also have a lux model. You will feel a LOT more of the road - rougher ride to go with that increased responsiveness.

1985mb

Have heard good things about Continental DWS

MinnBobber

Hi,
I recently took delivery on a 2013 E 350 and did a lot of research on tires.
I found that the stock Conti Pro Contacts were rated ok, not top rated.

The TireRack tire surveys were of greatest value to me, and their reviews. These ratings were from customers who had millions of cumulative miles and rated several tire attributes and the reviews had narrative comments. I feel like I read a million reviews LOL.

I'd suggest you go to TireRack and look at the data as your wants/needs might be different. My top 4 were "ride comfort "(18" wheels which ride firmer and sport suspension which rides firmer), "noise" as I felt the interior noise could stand improvement, "treadwear" as I wanted a long wearing tire, and "traction" as that was important for safety.

As first the Mich Pilot Sport A/S Plus was in my top group but several owners commented that they were quiet at first but got noisy with some miles on them.

My top choices were:
Mich Primacy MXM4 , rated #3 in it's category.
Mich Primacy MXV4, rated #1 in GT all season
Conti Extreme Contact DWS, rated #2 in Ultra Hi Perf All Season
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, ...BS Turanza Serenity (no Plus), previous version was rated #5 but areas important to me were strengthened in the new Plus model but not enough miles to have survey numbers.

FYI, Conti Pro Contacts came in #13, IMO many better tires for same or less $

Note that you can get slightly different sizes from stockers but be careful. 4Matic needs all four the same size. My dealer confirmed that a different Mich Primacy size would work as stock size wasn't produced. On delivery day my salesman brings vehicle around and guess what---new Michs are rubbing the front struts.....

Back to the drawing board and I got the BS Turanza Serenity Plus. Very very happy with ride comfort and noise level (very quiet) and traction and they are rated to be very long lasting.

Also got winter rims/tires with Conti Extreme Contact DWS and they were rated very high AND had the highest rating for snow/ice of any all season tire.
I didn't want true snow tire as they are noisy etc.

That's a summary of what I found. Hope it helps.
Bob

ddeliber

I agree WRT TireRack tests results, that is how I chose my previous tires.

Where on TireRack.com did you find that the Conti Pros were ranked #13? I only see 7 different GT tires in 245 45 17s and those include the GoodYears which didn't do very well at all and economy brands like General. The main test that I used (while also looking at a few others) was:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=138

I don't believe you should compare GT A/S with a HP or UHP A/S tires if this is where the #13 came from. Plus you need to compare the same speed rated tires together. An H rated tire is going to be softer than a V, not to mention a W or a Y. Different compounds in the sidewall affect how hard/responsive/comfortable they are. That is why TireRack only compares a few at a time in a test and always the same speed rating.

The test numbers are relative scores to the other tires that are being tested at that time. You shouldn't take a 7.2 score in a test for an H rated ContiPro and compare it to a Y rated Conti Extreme that may have gotten a 7.6 or whatever.

Now I personally like an H or V rated tire, a little softer at the expense of responsiveness that you would find in a UHP higher speed rated A/S tire. The ContiPros were pretty sticky when it comes to the track part of the test, but the Michelin Primacy MXM4 rated the best in the latest test.

One note, but this was a few years back, I had a set of MXM4s or MXV4s and they were great for about a year. After a little tread wear they changed dramatically. Now all tires wear and their performance degrades as they do, but not this bad. I had to take them off and I replaced them. I am sure the latest models are much better. In fact, when it is time to replace my ContiPros (that came with the e350 I bought a couple months ago) I think I'll give them a try based on how well they did in the test mentioned above.

BTW, W and Y rated tires (like the Conti Extreme DWS) are going to be harder tires that don't do as well in the cold, plus they have a shorter tread (not as deep) to give them the extra responsiveness for a UHP A/S tire. This means that they will be worse in the snow than pretty much any (within reason of course) H or V rated tire. None of which will be as good as a real winter tire. They are very soft so when it gets cold they stiffen up to about the same feel as you would see in a non-winter tire in warm weather.

This is why you can't just keep your winter tires on all year round, they'll wear so quickly in the summer that they'll be worn out in a couple months. Probably too much rambling here on stuff that you already know, but I am trying to be helpful.

OP, if you feel like you would like to feel the road a bit more and want a really responsive sticky tire, try a UHP A/S like the conti extreme or a Bridgestone Potenza RE970A - the Bridgestone beat out the Conti in the latest test:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=165

RSIKR

My W212 2010 E350 4Matic Sport Sedan came with Pirelli PZero Nero all season 245/40 R18 97V tires. They are extremely loud when driven on a grooved or imperfect road surface. They are the loudest tires I have ever had on an auto in decades of motoring. Plus they are only a tread wear 400 as compared to the Conti DWS which is a 540. A tire to avoid in my experience.

alanme123

I have the standard conti pro contacts and I swear every time I go on the highway above 65mph, the noise from the road just kills my ears. It is so loud that I need to turn up my volume quite a bit to hear my music. I'm only 16k km into the car (around 10k miles) and the tires should still be good. I am wondering how the noise from other brands compare to the conti pros.. Really considered in changing them. My ears can't handle much of the noise.

BetterTomorrow

Just got a set of dws and put bout 1000 miles. At 65mph, my conti pro was not that loud but I couldn't hear engine, just tires. Now I hear engine noise instead of tires at that speed.

ddeliber

Ok, I found a report where the Conti pro was #13, probably the one that MinnBobb was referring to:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=GTAS
This is the survey summary page, or the people's comments when filling out a survey after buying the tires. Not the most scientific of analysis, plus it factors in price and in all available tire sizes. Grandma's Ford Focus reviews are included here. However, it shouldn't be completely ignored. Have to run now, more later.

El Cid

Might want to try Consumer Reports as well. You can go to local library and they should have back issues on file. Latest issue will have an index showing when they did reports on various items over past few years.
They usually do an evalution of different types of tires at different times.
A few years back I switched out the Michellins on my Toyota SUV to Dunlops per CR's evaluations. Big improvement in lowering noise and improving ride, which is what I was looking for. Also saved money.
I have found Michellins to be noisier, less comfortable and more expensive than competitors. They may last longer though.
One advantage to CR is that they do test for noise and ride comfort, as well as other factors.

jures

I think i am going with the mich primacy mxm4's and stay away from the sport pilot a/s. don't think i need the ultra high performance tires and luxury ride should remain. The biggest incentive is costco has a $70 coupon on mich tires.

again thank you

roger

ddeliber

Good call, please let me know how they ride. A real person recommendation/comparison with the Conti's, and someone with E as well would mean a lot as the mxm4's are on the top of the list for my next set.

hyperion667

I'd say go for the Ps3's or 2's.....
I thought the Primacy was for sport ute?
anyways.....
I really like the Michelins for grip and for smooth sound, not loud....

my 550 is a 4M too.......

good luck

ImInPA

I put Cooper Zeon RS3-A tires on my E350 Bluetec Luxury. I have been very pleased with them. They are quiet and have the best wet traction I have ever experienced with an all season tire. They also make another summer only version called the Cooper Zeon RS3-S. In reviews, they compare favorably to the Michelins. You will have to pay considerably less for them thna some of the others, but, they are certainly worth a look.

GoBlando

I am impressed with the contintals so far, but my last car had summer/winter tires. If you have the cash and the space to store, now is a great time to put winter tires on your stock rims and then buy 19" summer wheel/tires. I had Michelin Pilot Super Sports and they simply were amazing. No other word for it. You obviously can't use them in winter, but they will simply grip hard in dry and unbelievably hard in the rain. You can build the package at TireRack pretty easily.

greasykid

When I took delivery of my 2012 E350 Sport I had the dealer swap out (no charge) oem Conti's for Conti DWS's. Now have 8,000 mi on them and they have been great so far. Just took a 3,000 mi trip & no complaints.

golfster

Agreed. These are the noisiest tires I've had, especially after 15,000-20,000 miles. I think the winter Blizzaks I had on one of my Audi's were quieter.

Pntblnk

Same issues with mine. I have 21k on the odometer and these damn things are driving me crazy. The road I travel to work on has one 5 mile section of grooved concrete and the balance has probably another 3/4 mile of bridges with similar surfaces. They drive me absolutely nuts! Embarrassing when on the phone and come across one.

Enjoying this thread and taking notes for my next set.

ddeliber

Since some people appear to be interested, I just noticed that Continental has a new tire, the Conti Pure contact. Apparently they are targeted to be between the ContiPro and the ContiExtreme DWS tires. To tell you the truth, this is pretty much exactly what I am looking for, a little less firm than a UHP A/S but better traction/performance than the contipros and better warranty than both (coming in at a whopping 6yr 70,000 miles).

They are brand new so there is only one test on TireRack and they haven't done the winter performance part, and no survey results yet.
Test results: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=166
They are priced right between the contipros and the DWSs.

I am very interested in these tires, the test shows comparable numbers (slightly lower) as the Bridgestone and Michelin except with wet traction where is the best by far. The question is that they provide a firmer (less comfortable) and are apparently louder then the other two above.

I am really curious how they compare to the DWS or other UHP A/S tires. Personally I prefer overall performance than just dry traction in a tire so I'd rate them higher then the tires tested. I am just not sure how much louder/less comfortable they are. I'd also like to see how they do after some people get some miles on them (survey results).

jures

wow, where did this tire come from, calling luke at tire rack to pick his brain on this before i make a final decision, specs look great, warranty and mileage.

ddeliber

I thought they might look appealing. If you get a set, let us know what you think.

threeMBs

Still a (grand) touring (like ContiPro that it will eventually completely replace) and not at all close to a UHP A/S tire like DWS. Any tire with that warranty is biased toward comfort and away from performance.

ddeliber

Agreed. The appeal, at least to me, is that it is an improvement in performance from the ContiPros and it won't be as firm as the DWS or other UHP A/S tires. "not at all close" is debatable, but I understand that it won't be as responsive and I would be going in knowing the compromises.

I value the smoothness above responsiveness, I just don't know how much of each they provide.

Mbenz260e

This tire looks like exactly what i would want. I've had the Conti Pros and the DWS on prior vehicles, been impressed with both but preferred the DWS somehow. Right in the middle sounds perfect though.

Trying to hold off on replacing my RFLs are only 18k right now but this is tempting.

Ajax Lesser

Have the OEM Conti tires on my 2012 E350. When driving on even smooth roads, there is a distinct harmonic humming noise from the tires.... when driving on the highway, as other folks have said earlier in this tread, the noise is really loud.

Compared to my E500 and even my 12 year old Camry's tires / road noise, I'm very not impressed with the OEM Conti tires.

Waiting to swap my Conti's out with Michelin tires one of these days. Looking at PILOT MXM4.