Zavato

I’ve had my E350 for over 4 years now and it’s just about time for new tires. Never bought a set of tires for a Benz before.

Can someone enlighten me on the “MO” tire thing and if there’s any real value to it or if it’s just marketing. FWIW, I’ve been quite satisfied with the Michelin tires I now have on the car. It’s a 2012 E350

thanks

hyperion667

I'd simply replace with more of what you have and drive on

DFWdude

"MO" means Mercedes Original. If you believe in buying OEM tires that Mercedes-Benz buys by train-loads from the lowest cost bidder (like every other car manufacturer), then by all means buy MO tires. (You've probably slurped the Apple i-Phone coolaid for decades, too).

On the other hand, if you realise that tires are tires and there's nothing special in a "Mercedes" tire that can also be mounted on an 1985, eastern european Trabant, then buy what you want, or like.

Lots of people like their Michelins, as you do. But I've had poor luck getting more than 25,000 miles from them. But that was 15 years ago.

I'm a fan of Yokohama the last several years. I have Yokohama AVID ASCEND GTs (245 /40 R18 97V XL) on my E350, and have bought Yokos for my C320 for two tire cycles, now. On the C320, they actually deliver more than half the 65,000mi treadwear warranties, and I cannot tell any performance differences from the OEM Contis. Plus the Yokos are somewhat less expensive.
In short, you're not tied to any tire on a Mercedes, anymore than on a Ford Escort.

pierrejoliat

True enough, we all use what works for us or has in the past. I do read the Consumer Reports and Tire Rack reviews, some I agree with, some not
I have always been happy with Continental Extreme Contacts, but there are certainly good tires made by Michelin, Pirelli and Yokohama. My one friend loves his Sumitomo's He says their half-price and his dry rot before he even gets close to wearing them out on his cars. He owns an HVAC company and puts them on all his 20+ vans/trucks. He believes they work and last as well as anything else.

Zavato

On other cars I’ve owned I’ve been a huge fan of the Conti Extreme Contact. I’ve had Yokohamas decades ago and was not happy with them. But I can’t compare tires I had in the 80’s to what they make now and I have zero experience with Yoko’s since 1984. As far as MO, I know what it stands for - I was just curious if it’s really any different than a non MO labeled tire. So we can ignore any gratuitous koolaid comments. So yes, I do like the Michelin’s, and yes, I do like the Conti tires. I bought a set of Coopers for my son’s car and was pleased with those too-

DFWdude

My wife's Sonata has Korean-made, OEM Kumho tires. They vibrate (noise) and cupped (noise ++) after 10,000 miles. I have finally worn down most of the cupping (by 30K miles), but can't wait to get rid of them. Maybe (Likely) Kumho will become more proficient in making tires 15-20 years from now. Meantime, these are junk, IMHO.

I mention this because (without knowing for sure) Yokohamas made 30-years ago might have been during Yokohama's learning years, just like the Kumho's are today. I bought one of the very first Honda Accords in 1977, and while it was a better quality car than the US FWDs at the time, they were very primitive compared with today's Accord.

Because I own both today, I think today's Yokohama tires are of much better quality than the Kumhos. And coming off the Contis to replace them with the Yokos, I feel they are just as good in performance as the Contis, not to mention noticeably quieter.

Just to disclose, the Yokos are on the rear axle of my E350, and the best of the "MO" Conti Pro Contacts (2 year-old 9/32s) are on the front axle. That's why I write that the Yokos are quieter than the Contis. I can tell over every road imperfection in real time.

Mud

Really good info here. I'll add what tires I'm quite disappointed in - Conti PureContact.
They have a 70k mile warranty, honestly I don't expect that but they are at 5/32 at 32k miles.
My main gripe is they are LOUD. To the point where wheel bearings and driveline have been checked. I suspect that the tread compound is fairly hard and with about 5 yrs on them (very low miles per year) they have really gotten annoying. And I always rotate tires and keep the car aligned.
I was at Discount Tire getting them balanced and commented about them to the tech. We buy all our tires there. I was surprised at a fairly generous pro-rate amount if I chose to replace them.
I've had ExtremeContact on 2 other vehicles and liked them but I'll def check out the other brands mentioned here.

arcnspark

Mud, I am a little surprised at your assessment of the Conti’s. I have them on my new to me 2016 E350 bought with 27k miles.
I do not find them noisy at all. Maybe it is the roads you are driving on.
FYI, when searching for tires on myPorsche, according to a rep at Tire Rack, the Conti’s were the quietest tire I could get for the P-car.

hyperion667

Discount tire, as far as I'm concerned is the freakin' best! I have always gotten some sort of pro rating for many tires there. And as we know, MB cars do not treat tires like other cars do they? They eat them, destroy them; wear them out faster it seems IME.

Bhopkins

I've had very good luck with Michelin, Continental, Pirelli, and Bridgestone tires. As others have mentioned, not all tires from all manufacturers are good. But some manufacturers have a better track record than others. And I would say these are among those.

In my humble opinion, as long as you buy your tires from a store that gives great customer service, such as Discount Tire, don't concern yourself in the least if a tire is known to wear out before the warranty period. Assuming you buy a name brand, you don't have offset tires and rotate so the tires wear out evenly. If a set of tires that are warranted for 65k miles wears out after only 40k miles, just take them in for a warranty claim and enjoy a nice savings on a new set of whatever you want. It can be beneficial if a set of tires wear out prematurely, because it will give you the chance to try something new at a real savings.


Once you decide to buy tires using this way of thinking, it makes it real easy to pick tires based upon things that really matter. Such as handling, traction, braking and noise.

Zavato

a lot to be said for that- I’m not looking to experiment. I like my tires. They give a fine ride, are quiet, and the car’s handling is quite satisfactory for my needs. The slot car in rails feeling i May have sought when I was 25 or 30 is loooong past. These days I want to be comfort and quiet with reasonable handling.

I’ve owned cars from BMW, Audi, Volvo and I’m happy where I am my with an E350.

ChrisB

BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE980AS

Is wahat we bought at Costco when due to sidewalk failure - we had to replace the crap tires that were on the car when we bought used.

We have been happy with the lack of road noice, handling & traction in the wet.

ClasseMiaMadra

MO also means that the tires and work are guaranteed for 1 year, like any other MB parts and work at the dealer.
IMO, DWS06 is the definitive tire, if you are looking for this type.

Oliver Liu

Don't disagree with anything said so far. and 100% agree not to buy from the dealer!

My advice here is to read the comparison tests on, for example, TireRack.com. What I've found is that the popular high performance tires that the OEMs use (Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Pirelli PZeros for example) are very good in every performance category: wet grip, dry grip, braking, cornering, handling. And the cheaper tires (regardless of brand) may be good in one category, but not all of them. So, I drove my previous car (AWD) in the dry, and had a separate winter tire package, so I compromised on wet performance and bought less expensive tires that were equal to top tier tires (only in dry traction). Its just a trade decision you need to make for yourself. None of these are unsafe choices, and in the case of my current car tires, Michelin PSS or P0 are over $100 per tire more expensive than Kumhos, for example. So if I drive 4000 miles a year on sunny days, maybe I don't choose to spend an extra $400-$500 on top tier tires. On the other hand, if I drive in the rain a lot with my kids in the back, maybe that extra 5% of performance is worth it.

I really don't pay too much attention to the Customer Surveys or, really, any single testimonial. My pet theory is that 99.9% of us replace tires that are 3-4 years old, which have lost their tread and maxed out their heat cycles, so ANY new set of tires will perform better than whatever 4 year old balding tire you replaced, so every time I get new tires, they seem great: better in the rain, better in the dry, quieter. Just my 2 cents. If you ahve been lucky enough (or unfortunate enough) to ahve immediately switched from 2 equally new tires, back to back on the smae car, then I will defer to you better informed opinion.....otherwise, I'm just going to read reputable reviews by someone who has swapped only the tires and performed measured tests.

Personally, I've had great luck with TireRack and their warranty. I can't speak of any other sellers, although I have purchased from Discount Tire and their prices are also great.

Mud

Unfortunately that's how it is with the set on mine. All roads and virtually all speeds. No checking or cracking or visible deterioration.
I want to be fair though - in looking at the date code, this set is coming up on 6 yrs. So obviously the compound has seen a lot of heat cycles. I don't remember a noise issue within that first 3 years but still, I'm tired enough of the noise plus looking at the age they will be replaced. Not excluding another version of Conti like ExtremeContact but I'm paying attention to other recommendations too.

LILBENZ230

I second the DWS06 recommendation above - as well as the Discount Tire recommendation, which is where I go and I have ran DWS tires on most of my cars and always had great luck.. also, not sure what was with the attempt to correlate tire purchases at dealers and iPhones, but the forum is weird sometimes.

C280 Sport

Michelin Primacy.

Zavato

Appreciate all the useful suggestions.

I have had DWS06 tires before and thought they were quite good. Maybe time to go down that path again

Arrie

I have Michelin Primacy tires on my E550 and I do not have any positive words to say about them. They were very expensive tires to buy and have absolutely the worst wet grip comparing to any tires I ever had. And they are noisy too.

They may last longer but that’s where you loose the wet grip.

Michelin used to make good low noise with good grip tires but after this experience I’ll never buy Michelin’s again. I can get as good tires for nearly half price.

hyperion667

Thought that was an SUV tire? Guess not I got those for my wife on her Pilot and they're pretty good.