walterk55

I need to buy a new set of tires for a 2010 E350 that I recently purchased as a CPO at MB Manhattan in New York City. It is the flagship dealer of the Mercedes Benz network, and is owned by MB USA.

The E350 is a Luxury model with comfort suspension. It has as the name implies a fairly soft suspension. There is a fair amount of body roll in normal driving conditions. I do not drive it in a 'sporty" manner because I know it will not be a good experience.

So, getting to my question: I need to change the Michelin Primacy tires as they are the original tires. (more on this point in another thread).

Given the type of suspension on the car, what tire make / model
will offer me better roadholding.

I have been considering Cooper Zeon RS3-A's

Thanks for your opinions

PS. I need to decide and act quickly

ph350

michelin defenders seem to be the smooth and quiet choice for your car. Dont you have those now?

homeofstone

Pirelli Cinturato P7 is rated # 1 on tirerack.com surveys. A very quiet and smooth riding tire.

walterk55

Currently the car has the original Michelin Primacy MXM4's

They are going on 6 years old and have some nasty dry rot cracks in the tread area and also on the sidewalls.

My mechanic was adamant that I change them NOW!

ph350

do you have 17 or 18 inch wheels?

walterk55

17" wheels

El Cid

My car also has the Michelin MXM4's. I have found Michellin tires to be rough riding, noisy and over priced in the past. However, they do have long tread lifes.
BTW, does your mechanic sell tires or have an "in" with someone who does?

Mud

I've been quite pleased with the Continental ControlContacts on my car, on the car for about a year now. They may be worth a look as you make comparisons.

Arrie

Primacy MXM4 is a full summer tire, right?


I recommend Nokian zLine. In New York you should even find a Nokian tire dealer as you have winter tires in use in the state. If no dealer go to "tiresbyweb". They sell and deliver in just a couple of days. No charge for shipment.


I have these and they are the absolute quietest tires I ever had and they handle really nicely. They also give kind of soft feel but they are UHP tires. Wet grip is just awesome.


I also have 17" rims.


And they are lower cost than Michelin obviously as "nobody" knows about this awesome summer tire.


If I lived closer I would give you a guarantee to come and buy them from you if you don't like them as I am definitely going to get another set of these after they wear out.

ph350

Just go with the Pirellis in 245/45/17 or 235/50/17 for a little more sidewall, but make sure they are the all season plus version. Report back on how they ride too.

BenzV12

I have Michelin Primacy tires , quite comfy yet less noisy in comparison with stock Continental tires (non DWS model )

hyperion667

wow 17's?
must be a comfy


I recall your other thread: did the dealer that you bought from not replace them for you? I hope you don't buy them there


I always enjoyed Michelin PSS, then again I don't know if they come in 17's

aaacsdai

If you do not need All season or Run flats, go with the summers-they are always softer, lighter, provide cushion and great contact-read Tire Rack comments. Pirelli's and Conti's are mostly A/S RF's which means heavy and hard, loud, and with too much negative steering and braking feedback IMO. Michelin PSS, Pilot Super Sports sized for all MB's, including staggered sport based on user data show lower noise and less negative feedback, pretty darn close to being the quietest, softest most comfortable riding tire out there with a decent 30K warranty. Probably about the same ride as the Nokian mentioned which is growing in use and popularity.

homeofstone

This statement is mixing types of tires. Grand Touring, all season HP, UHP summer, Run flat etc. The smoothest, softest ride is a Grand Touring tire and most will have 60k miles or more tread warranty.

hyperion667

^warranty mileage is silly....Mercs eat tires, they're heavy cars and coupled with 4M its even worse, I am always getting pro rated tires that don't live up to their mileage

homeofstone

Re: warranty mileage, It really depends on the tire quality, driving style, road composition and condition, and city vs. highway driving. Over the last 40 years of driving my wife always gets more miles than the tire warranty and I get a little less.

homeofstone

I had one set of cooper rs3 As (never again) and had to get them off of my E500 at only 10,000 miles because they sounded like a tractor tires going down the road.

ph350

summer tires emphasize ultimate dry grip and handling. Comfort and noise are not priorities.

Arrie

I have to disagree with your statement. Comfort is one important priority and noise level (low) is even higher priority. Noise level is also part of comfort.

aaacsdai

Agree Arrie, less noise is more comfort. I like to listen to music while driving more than I like listening to my tires. As mentioned, you can have both, comfort and excellent handling if you spend the time to read some of the thousands of reviews made by all types of drivers in all types of vehicles, on different road surfaces, weather and seasons, and countries. Sidewall configuration is very important, ph350 eluded to that with the Pirelli P7, they are a mix of both Touring-Tall-Thin and Sport-Short-Wide, the amount of rubber you have between road and rim-sidewall and surface contact-width is different for Touring and Sport by design, so a taller wider tire may offer the best of both worlds which may be what you are looking for. Michelin Primacy is pretty quiet have them on my 02 Acura-TL, the MX series any flavor have always been LOUD-had them on my 78-280Z in 83, they did handle well dry or wet at most speeds though. The first Good Year F1's that came out in 96 were really quiet and handled well but wear was horrible-say 15K max, better handling with less noise equates to lower tread life much like Hyperion667 has experienced.

ph350

I'm referring to the person that recommended a summer tire to a guy that lives in New York. He claimed that a summer tire would be quieter and rider better than a grand touring tire. Summer tires are generally not known as quiet or soft riding. They emphasize a sportier nature.

Arrie

Well,
To my experience the quietest tires are summer tires.

What comes to other comfort factors summer tires CAN BE the "softer feel" tire too but not always.

instantfob

If you want more comfort the Michelin's Premier is the better choice for you.
Even Bridgestone Turanza/Ecopia line will do ok in the comfort department.


Whoever had your car didn't maintain it properly.
I have never seen that much dry rotting. Seems like someone never bother washing the car for ages and baked some salt on them.

homeofstone

I would like to know what brand and model of summer tires you are referring to. Are they Grand Touring or performance tires?

Arrie

Basically all summer tires are quieter than all season or winter tires.


I have Nokian zLine tires currently under my car. This is with 17" rims that I purchased to soften the ride a little bit. I had Nokian zLine staggered setup before this one. Those tires are about half used and can be put under the car at any time.


I don't think people take these tires seriously as obviously they don't know what Nokian is. Good for me as I can buy these absolutely superior summer tires cheap. These are UHP tires and quietest of any tires I have ever had on any car before.


This tire has won all kinds of tire comparison tests in Europe. Tire Rack does not carry them so they do not even mention this brand in any of their writing. Just the big names that cost more and most of them fall on their faces compared to these zLine tires.


But you would need to try them to believe me...