I do not think this is accurate:

Costco offers free rotation every 5,000 miles. There is no requirement that the rotation be done.

There is nothing in the road hazard warranty that requires rotation.

Dealers are different than Costco or DT.

Hope this clarifies

 

Some really don't like the ride quality of the RF though : (

 

Higher tire pressure will help though in terms of protecting the wheels but just makes the ride not enjoyable.

 

As I have posted, over 90% of those who do not like the ride quality of RF have bigger than the stock 18" wheels. There are of course exceptions - the exceptions to the rule!

 

RF also is loud and you can clearly hear the difference over bumps. Even with 18s in my case. Glad it works for you though : )

 

Unless you have tried both RF and non RF back to back on the same road, in the same car at the same speed, with instruments, a controlled test, you have no basis to measure the difference - if any.

Anything else is anecdotal and subjective.

 

Fair enough, maybe not same road or same speed, but same tire size. I am mostly talking about the clunk cluck sound when it hits a bump though due to how the stiff sidewall works on a RF.

 

Again without a back to back test, you might hear the same or essential similar "clunk sound" with non RF. The sound may be more to do with the suspension rather than the tires. Without back to back controlled tests, there is no way to determine.

 

I guess I meant more like a thunk thunk sound, sound is immediately gone when switching to non run-flats. Same experience with other cars in my family. Hence why I was never a believer for run-flats. your mileage may vary. Thanks for your reply.

 

I can only go by what I have been told for 3 different vehicles in the past 10 plus years. Install new tires, return after 25 miles for lug nuts torque check, documented in their system, rotate every 7,000 miles and documented in their system. I have attached a section of the warranty information provided.

 

Here are the warranty conditions for Costco: You will note that it does not require tire rotation.

It might be different from the warranty issued by Michelin, but we talking about the Costco 5 year road hazard warranty which is in addition to the Michelin warranty.

 

I can tell you that running RF on my car was a pain. They were the stock 19's summer RF and blew out two tire side walls and almost having a heart attack when it happened. I read on many BMW forum sites that everyone changes their tires from RF to non-RF. If you get the same tire you are not giving up much except the RF which in the end, did do what they were supposed to do when they did blow out the side.

When I placed my winter tires, which are 18's, it's like the car was floating on clouds but still very sporty since I was running MICHELIN xICE performance winters.

The next year, I purchase all new Contact Sport Non RF and removed the RF for my stock 19's wheels. I could feel the difference and from that point on, I never looked back. Not only do the bumps on road feel less through the car, the grip was still there, the performance was still there and the look was still there.

I already know that once my E53 tires are all done, I will be installing Non-RF Contact Sport again as I really like these tires. Even on my aftermarket rims, I am running on Contact Sport 5 Non-RF and I have never had to worry about a flat tire. Knock on wood.

 

I so agree with you. I have other vehicles with 20s and Non RF ride quality is much much better than my E53. I also the cost to replace the run flats are way higher. My current tires are brand new however I will be switching to non-RF.

 

The Z in ZR denotes high speed rated tire. A ZR18 100Y is the same as R18 100Y as the load rating and speed rating is same.

My e300 sedan came with 245/30zr20 fronts and 275/35zr20 rear Pirelli Pzero 4 RFTs. They ride like *****. Especially on supermarket speed bumps and the cracked inner city roads. Very jarring ride when not on the highway.

I immediately replaced them with 18” wheels I got from a seller in Sydney and put on Pilot Sport 4 245/45r18s on them all around. After 40k km, I replaced all 4 with Pilot Sport 5 tyres last July.

The Michelins suit the 18” wheels perfectly. Very smooth, very pliant, very grippy. No aquaplaning, amazing wet grip, and so much water evacuation spray at the back.

I’ve driven them through torrential rain uphill in Gundagai and the Blue Mountains and they were solid. I’ve done high speeds downhill on the Hume back to Melbourne a few times in the dry. Driven through Sydney in front of the cops at city speeds.

Did I mention they are smooth? Like classic large Benz quality smooth. The only niggle is that tire noise is noticeable inside the cabin, probably because the cabin is so quiet. Easily corrected with the car audio to take your focus away from the tire noise.

 

My Michelin Pilot Sport 5 245/45zr18 100y on pre-facelift E300. Fresh from A service from the dealer at MB Berwick who put on the tyre shine.

 

How come your wheels still use the old hub cap, I thought all 2018 model year and above vehicles switched to the new logo https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...oTD5_ADQTOnw&s

 

In conclusion...it appears that, once again, we have determined that we agree with most of the past conclusions about ride comfort (and perhaps performance) with regard to larger vs smaller wheels, and run-flat vs non run-flat tires. And that conclusion is that there is no conclusive answer. In my own case, I concluded without a scintilla of empirical analysis that the ride after upsizing and eliminating run-flats was acceptable, not to mention visually more appealing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

I wrote a long post about Michelin Pilot Sport 5, but it had an expletive, so it went to the mods for review. I have the new black hub caps too from the factory supplied Multispoke AMG 20” wheels. These classic blue ones came with this set of basic 18” wheels that I bought from a Sydney wheel and tyre dealer.

 

Oh that is why, I see.

 

the Z in ZR in the wheel size means high speed rated. The Michelin PS5 are also ZR. The 100 is load rating of 800kg per wheel, and the Y is speed rating of 300km/h vs W which is 270km/h. A 245/45(z)r18 is the size - so the exact same size for your current wheels.

My E300 sedan came factory fitted with the 245/35r20 fronts and the 275/30r20 rears with Pirelli P Zero run flats They have a terrible ride quality. You feel it most at slow / city speeds on bad roads, potholes and supermarket bump stops. The wheel takes a hit from the irregularities and the dealership service advisor once also told me they had a large number of cars with bent rims after a weekend rainstorm. It’s a very jarring ride with the slim thought RFT rubber bands wrapped around the car.

i couldn’t wait to downsize to 18” wheels (pic above in previous post). Immediately I put on Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres on all 4 wheels at TyrePlus (Michelin owned franchise here in Oz) who price matched Costco for me. The ride is oh, so good! Buttery smooth, Amazingly grippy in the wet and the dry. I’ve driven through torrential Sydney rain from Gundagai to Sydney and in the Blue Mountains. It has never flinched. No aquaplaning ever, and so much water evacuation spray out the back. They give me immense confidence to be at the freeway speed limit in Melbourne wet weather all the time. These tyres are a joy.

And did I mention buttery smooth? Like classic old large Benz quality of smooth ride. So good at flexing and taking the road surface irregularlies themselves, allowing for less suspension travel. I’ve driven them at pretty high speeds downhill on the Hume back to Melbourne quite a few times. Very quick off the line too, and never ever squealing at high speed cornering.

After 40k kms I swapped to Pilot Sport 5 tyres again from Tyreplus. They would’ve gone to at least 50k kms, but I swapped early. The 5’s are slightly more grippy and supposed to have increased tread life. They have the same buttery smooth ride quality as their predecessor. The only niggle is that their tire rumble is more noticeable inside the cabin on the PS5 than on the PS4. Easily solved by turning up the car audio volume and taking your focus away from the ambient tire noise.

If speed and grip is less of a priority then I would recommend going for the new Michelin Primacy 5 tyres. They are even more silky smooth and long lasting than Pilot Sports.

 

To @paulatsydney :

The Z in ZR just denotes that it is high speed rated. As you'll see in my previous post with my pic, Michelin Pilot Sport 5 in Oz is also a 245/45ZR18 100Y. The 100 is the load rating of 800kg/tyre, and Y is max speed rated at 300km/h vs W which is rated for max 270km/h.

My E300 originally came factory fitted with 275/30r20 rears and 245/35r20 fronts on Pirelli P Zero 4 run flat tyres. As I said in other posts it drove very poorly on potholed roads, cobbled roads, speed humps, road expansion joints and cracks as well. I Always felt the bangs when going over super market speed humps.

The remedy to this problem was to immediately downgrade to 18” non AMG base version alloys and put on non-run flat Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres all around. Since then it rides like the classic smooth buttery BENZ large sedans. Last July I changed the Pilot Sport 4 to Pilot Sport 5 tyres as the last previous two annual car services recommended replacement, with the most recent one stating 10% tread depth remaining (to legal limit). So I swapped them for Pilot Sport 5 tyres. Overall the treadware is very even on both 4's and 5's. I run 38 psi on rears and 35 psi on fronts throughout on mostly highway roads.

From day 1 they are really smooth and round off bumps and edges very smoothly to the cabin. The dry grip is excellent. Taking off at the lights, it gives me immediate response and always performs it like it was a piece of cake. They never have any hesitation or jitteriness when I need sudden bursts of acceleration. I've driven them at high speeds on the M31 back downhill to Melbourne and they handle it like a piece of cake.

Wet grip is even more spectacular; it evacuates with a lot of spray out the back and feels planted on the roads at highway speeds. I never felt any aquaplaning on it. I always had immense confidence on these tyres and in my car to drive at the speed limit in the cold wet roads of Melbourne. I've also driven them in torrential rain from Gundagai to Sydney once, and at the Blue Mountains. They give immense confidence through and through.

If you want even more comfort and longer tread life, you can go with Michelin Primacy 5 as well. But they are not going to be as responsive as Pilot Sport 5 tyres in 245/45r18s. I *highly* recommend the Pilot Sport 5, its a perfect pairing to the E class. The only niggle I have is that the Pilot Sport 4 and 5 tyre rumble is more noticeable in the cabin vs the acoustic foam treated PZ4s I had. This is easily remedied by diverting focus of your auditory senses to something playing on the car audio instead.

nb: parts of my writeup here is from my review on Pilot Sport 4 tires at tyrereviews.com.