brucew444

My E350 wagon is ready for a new set of sneakers. I am a "spirited" driver, so performance in dry and wet is important. Snow is not a huge issue for me. Any opinions out there?

(Tire Rack recommends the Goodyear Eagle Xilirate and the Michelin Pilot SP AS4 or the Conti DWS 06)

Arrie

Try NT555 G2. I have them under my S550.

Every bit as good as the big name tires for well less $$$.

Very good wet grip compared to the Michelin MXM4 Primacy that I have under my E550 and what I call absolute junk for the money they cost.

cleanerPA

I had Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my old Benz, would recommend the AS4 as that is the next generation of that tire. Great grip and even works in light snow. Reading the reviews, the feedback sounds exactly the same as the A/S 3+, but even better.

I have Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS on my E550 right now- they're not bad but I don't have long term experience with them and they're half worn.

DFWdude

I have Yokohama AVID ASCEND GTs on my E350 and they work great.

Peachy

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Continental ExtremeContact Sport, Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position, Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 are great choices. I personally use the Indy 500s because the other choices are kinda expensive. You can also look at Tirerack's own tire comparison tests, those are pretty good reads if you wanna dive deeper into it.

All of the tires I listed are "Summer" tires and should never be used below 45 degrees and/or in the snow. Also, a common mistake people make is thinking that "All Seasons" have better wet traction than "Summer" tires. In general summer tires have better traction in the wet than all seasons because all seasons have to make compromises in order to have some function in the snow. The best thing you can do is have two sets of wheels to use summer tires when its warm and winter/snow tires in the snow. All-Seasons are just a convenient compromise to using both and are fine if you aren't doing anything crazy.

Mawk1

The "S" in DWS is for snow, so that tire doesn't seem to fit your needs exactly. There is a DW version of the tire that might be what you're looking for.

Some thoughts: You're never going to find a better performing passenger car tire than a Michelin Pilot series, period. End of story.

However, you will find tires that are much less expensive and ride quieter than the Pilots. Therein lies the balance of trade-offs that we all have to find with tires.

Personally, I think the best quality of Michelin tires is their longevity and reliability. When you have to pay $120 and take a couple hours of your time to mount and balance new tires, regardless of how expensive or inexpensive they are, thoughtful people tend to want to do that as little as possible.

You bought a Mercedes E350, not an AMG, or a Porche or a Ferrari. Buy tires that are appropriate for your car's intended purpose (an executive limousine actually, hence the E class badging) and level of performance (read probably not Pilots) and that will keep you and your passengers safe, comfortable and finally, perhaps, save you some time and money. Just my .02 cents.

Here are the most recent tire ratings from the leading consumer magazine, in order:

cetialpha5

I would just get the Michelin AS4. I have the Micheline AS 3+ on my car now and when they wear out, I'll switch to the newer ones. I'd just get them at Costco, best price around and they have come with a 5 year road hazard warranty. Before Costco I had a few flats. Strangely over the last 3 years, haven't had any flats lately but haven't been driving that much in the last year. Once you factor in the cost of the mounting/balancing plus the cost of the road hazard, Costco will be cheaper. Plus with their free lifetime balancing, that's how I find out if I have bent or cracked rims. Still get those, just not flats. They usually run promos where there's some discount on the tires and low cost installation. They seem to alternate between running a promo on Michelin and then switching to Bridgestone and then back again and again. Usually the tire guys will know when the next promo starts.

ygmn

Budget?

BenzV12

Michelin is my favorite brand but I have also heard good things about Continental DWS Series as well

brucew444

Thank you all for these responses.

My budget is very flexible.

claude1225us

I have Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 on my E 350 Coupe'

jcakers

I have always been pleased with the Pirelli P Zero Nero GT or the Cintura P7. They are both comparable to the Michelin tire, but they are both Summer tires whereas the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is an all season tire. They all have a load index of 99 and a speed rating of Y (186 mph). The Pirellis are also a little less expensive than the Michelins, but they are both great tires. I think the Pirellis corner a little better though. Good luck!

ClasseMiaMadra

HI. SAVE YOUR ENERGY AND TIME. I HAVE NOT EVE. READ ANY OF THE MESSAGES AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DWSO6. I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A NEWER VARIANT AS WELL. IN MY OPINION ITS NOT THE LAST WORD, ITS THE ONLY WORD. AND NOT TO MENTIONTHE BUILT IN TREAD DEPTH INDICATOR.

SteveE400

One caution about the DWS06. . . when they reach about 50% tread remaining, they become very NOISY! I had the original Conti tires, then when those wore out, I went to the DWS06's, based upon opinions here. I cannot fault these tires for their performance, and they were quiet when new, but they have become very noisy at about 18K miles and I can't wait to replace them.

They DO drive just fine, but I don't like the noise and low-speed vibration. I'm going to try Michelin next. . .

ClasseMiaMadra

I DO STAND CORRECTED. YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON MY "SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT " WHILE DRIVING THE S550 LAST SAT.
THANK YOU FOR NOT BEING A Δικ LIKE ME.... AND FOR SHARING YOUR OBSERVATION