Tires - my experience
 

I recently decided to change the tires on my S350 Bluetec, with 18" rims.
From almost the beginning of my ownership, the car had brand new: 255/45ZR-18 CONTINENTAL EXTREMECONTACT DWS 06 XL
These tires were, in my opinion "just OK" with the 18 inch rims. They became fairly noisy after 8-10k miles of California freeway driving with tire scrub becoming very evident during turns like freeway on and off ramps. There was also a minor problem with irregular wear that continued, even after alignment and regular rotation. But most noticeably, they never provided the sure-footed feeling that I felt that car should have, even when they were newly installed. Light to moderately twisting roads in the California Bay Area always produced a sense that the car was going to "fall" off the edge of the road. Things were never unsafe, just not as confident as I thought it should feel.

After just over 33k miles of total mileage on those tires, I decided to replace with: 255/45R-18 YOKOHAMA ADVAN SPORT A/S SL
So far, I've put about 5k miles on these, and while I won't comment too much on how much quieter they are (all tires sound very quiet to me when they're new), the car finally feels secure and confident on the highway - and there's no more of that "about to fall" feeling when on the same curving, hilly roads. I do not know much about tire technology, but others on Tirerack have commented that these Yokohama tires have much stiffer sidewalls than others of similar size. It may also be that smaller rim sizes benefit more from stiffer sidewalls. In any event, I'm glad to have finally found tires that makes the car handle consistent with the praises and reviews from other drivers on this board.

I'm extremely happy with my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires purchased last May 2017. I have the 19" staggered fitment on stock wheels and the ride/noise/performance are all first rate. They are expensive at $1,200/set, but 26k miles so far and still plenty of tread left.

I'm looking at new tires for my 2003 E500 soon and am considering the Michelin Pilot Sports. I live in Florida so there's obviously no snow here but we do see lots of rain in the summertime. Would I be better off going with the Pilot Sport Maximum Performace Summer tires? Looking for the best combination of ride quality, tread life and performance. Thanks for the input.

Well after having some BIG issues with tires, could also be me ofcourse, i tried out a set of Falken tires...... surprise surprise haven't been happier with rubber since a long time..

The roads here are all in urgent need of maintenance so we have a bit of everything: potholes, dungeons, flat something that used to be tarmac, highways with lots of new and old mixed together (and expensive tolls) if you can remember something you will find it here where i live. So tires are the ones that suffer the most. Tried Michelin but they were too soft, goodyear and other "top" brands. Had a set of Yokohama tires that were top, vredestijn, very good also.

One thing i have learned with time and experience: the thing that keeps you on the road are the tires so i don't look for anything plastic chinese (toyo for example).

For now and until they last i'm using Falken, can make a good deal on a set of goodyear though...... Might make the deal and keep them in storage.

Beco

Yes these tires are awesome and also destroy the stock conti's all around! I have staggered 20's, and what's funny is, the 20" size on these tires is MUCH LESS than the 19". THose thinking about going to 20" may be worth the savings to go with new wheels, too, etc.

My wife’s 2013 S550 with 26,000 miles encountered it’s second belt separation on the original set of staggered 19” Continentals.

Conti’s came on my old 1983 BMW 320i and I wasn’t impressed then and I’m even less impressed with Continental now.

I purchased one new Continental front tire, but when the second belt let go (right rear this time) I decided to bite the bullet. Just had Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ installed along with a four-wheel alignment.
I purchased them locally. They matched the online pricing and I watched the mounting and alignment process from the shop floor.
The alignment tech knew enough to do the alignment with the engine running due to the air-matic suspension. Caster and camber were fine, but toe was slightly out on all four corners.

Now our S550 drives like a true autobahn rocket sled, smooth as glass and straight as an arrow.

Not that I know anything about tires, but my observation is Michelin makes tires that are actually round. In other words, Michelins appear to me to be some how truer than other brands.

slcbbrown, I can see where my comments regarding Continental tires were quite harsh. I certainly didn't mean to offend you or anyone. I'm sorry if I did.

I was expressing my frustration with two failed original equipment tires with what I consider to be relatively low miles. We also purchased this car used with low (about 15,000 Miles) miles.
The first separated belt was discovered at just under 20,000 miles when I took the car in to attempt to find and fix a slow leak. The owner of the tire store showed me a bulge on the side wall and said it was a separated belt. His opinion was the tires didn't have enough ware to justify replacing both fronts so I purchased only one, a matching Continental of course.

Five thousand miles later our Mercedes was bouncing like a motor boat at low speeds. Turns out one of the rear tires this time had a separated belt.

I'm sure Continental makes some good tires, but the ones I owned were not.

I'm glad you have had a much better experience with Continentals.

Just recently purchased the S550 and was the proud owner of a W211 E320 prior.
My S came with Hankook Ventus in the front and some bad Chinese Walmart Special (WINRUN) in the rear. The rear was still ok treadwise, but made some horrible noise and due to cupping, the car felt like it bounced.
As the front tires were nearly new with LOTS of tread left, I opted to purchase the matching set of Hankook Ventus for the rear. The tires are ok, definitely an improvement compared to what was on the rear prior, BUT IN NO WAY do these Hankooks compare to the MICHELIN PILOT SPORT tires I was running on my W211.
I only bought the Hankooks, as I could not justify throwing a good set of front tires away.
As soon as these wear, I will go back to the MICHELINS, as this is by far the best tire I ever owned.
I do not drive in the snow, but the performance of the Michelins in dry and wet conditions is superb.

IMHO, Michelin is the ONLY way to go, .... you get what you pay for.

Tire Rack gives these an 8.6 for ride and 8.0 for noise, pretty good 'comfort' numbers for a tire you can get in a 275/40. The scores for Bridgestone Quiettrack (9.5 / 9.4) and my favorite, Pirelli Cinturato P7 (9.6 / 9.3), are quite a bit higher, but they don't make them in the size for our rear wheels.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...el=G-MAX+AS-05

I just ordered a pair for the rear of these. I have seen nothing but GREAT reviews on web & YouTube
With free shipping & a guarantee I'll give it a try and let everyone know.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4840638897.jpg
The tread looks almost identical to the Pilot Super Sports and everyone says super quiet. They are not run flat so they should ride better..