Drop-a-Daimler

The rear tires on my '06 C55 are going fast, just about to the wear markers, and I want to replace them but I want to put something on that will give it a bit more bite when launching. The front tires look almost new and what little wear they show is perfectly even so I would rather not take them off just to have matched tires all the way around. I actually like the stock Pirelli PZero Rossos up front too; turn-in is razor sharp and I have not yet had them understeer although I am sure they will. I have a real woody for the new Potenza RE-01R Extreme Performance summer tires from Bridgestone. That's saying a lot because I am a die hard Michelin fan. I can get the two RE-01R's in 255/35ZR18 size from TireRack delivered for a c-hair over $500. So is it a major "no-no" to run different, miss-matched tires like this? I've never done it before and tend to always do all for tires at the same time.

whoover

I wouldn't do it. For one thing you'll never know how good the new tires handle if they're only on two wheels. You might get more bite (although I've never had problems on take off with the C55 -- drive an S65 and you'll see what problems are) but different characteristics at the two axles could make for weird handling and, worse, braking problems. I'd also be concerned about wet handling with that configuration.

Chances are that stickier rears will increase understeer (which is certainly better than worrying about the opposite -- like spinning on hard braking), but I would wait until I need fronts too and change all four. In fact, that's exactly what I'm doing.

But to get a more definitive answer, why don't you post the question of Luke in the Tire thread?

MBE50003

it is perfectly fine to have two different kinds of tires on each axle.

BENZO1

JUST AS LONG AS THE TWO NEW TIRES ARE ON THE SAME AXLE ,YOU WILL BE FINE

vettdvr

After 4 sets of tires in 70k miles I found the car is very sensitive to tires.

I buy only Michelin for the E500. Warning you are on you own if you buy other tires.

BrianKim

ive been burning tires about every 2-3 months... gone through a full set of goodyear gs-d3, yokohama es100s, pirelli pzero neros, and my contis.... hahahah i have about 17k miles now... X_X... The gsd3 is the greatest by far...

Drop-a-Daimler

Interesting point that increasing the rear traction might increase understeer. I haven't had any real understeer problems yet but I don't push it and I have been running the fronts a few pounds under spec too. But I do have major take off problems with my 55 and really need some additional bite. It will seriously vaporize the tires at anything above an off-idle launch, anything above 50% throttle in 1st gear anywhere in the RPM range, and anytime it shifts into 2nd at WOT. About the only time it's safe to go full throttle is half way through 2nd and then only with good, dry pavement. I drove an SL55 and found that it hooked up better than this C class. The thing is a hooligan by comparison.

Drop-a-Daimler

Plus I am running about 20 extra hp/tq and 100 lbs. lighter than stock curb weight which is probably a big part of the traction problem.

MBTECH2003

From my experience Bridgestone tires tend to be the loudest of the sport tires. I recommend nothing but Michelin tires to all my customers... take it for whats its worth. I have driven virtually every Mercedes model with almost every make of tire on it.

Drop-a-Daimler

Hard to argue with this; I tend to put Michelin tires on all my cars as soon as I can. But in this case it seems like these new softer compound RE-01Rs will give me noticeably more off-the-line bite than the Michelin PS2s (which I crave) but will be easier to live with as a daily driver (that will see some light Winter driving) than the Pilot Sport Cup comp tires. At least that's been my line of reasoning. H*ll, these PZero Rossos are basically hockey pucks when it's cold, I can't imagine anything worse when it's cold!

jmf003

+1. Don't mix tires on the same axle but okay to have different tires on different axles.

whoover

That's a reasonable rule for a family sedan, but a bit of wishful thinking for a C55.

Here are some words from another forum on the topic:

Yeah, going with the same tires is probably your best bet. The effect of having different tires front and rear will vary depending on the car, and certainly can affect its handling characteristics. The tread pattern would matter a lot more in the rain than it does in the dry, so the balance between front and rear could change depending on what surface you're driving on. That's probably not a good thing. On dry pavement, the hardness of the tire would probably make more difference. They do vary somewhat.

That the tire sizes are different front and rear on this somewhat high-performance car does tell you that the designers gave it some thought. You shouldn't be changing the balance of the car by running different tires front and rear unless you have some good reason to do so. Anyway, from what I've heard of the G35, I think it's safe to say you are not improving things by putting tires with more grip at the rear.

( http://ask.metafilter.com/47158/Tire...front-and-rear )

These points are all relevant to a C55. I would still advise asking Luke, one thread below.