LovinMercedes

I will be very surprised if you feel a difference. I did not feel it in the 19's. The 20's, I did. Did not test the 18's.

Jason B

The car looks nice with those wheels.

julienjj

There is definitively a difference you can feel in sidewall stiffness, even on 18's. There was a notable difference between my Re-11 and my pilot super sport. The Re-11 are well known to have one of stiffest sidewalls on the market, but still softer than most RFT.

RTF are quite pointless. Most of the time when I got a flat, the tire wasn't repairable. Plus I'd be damn annoyed to have to limp my way at 80kph MAX to a garage, which wont likely have my tire size. I just pop my replacement full size wheel on and get going Biggest downside is that a RFT can't replace a bent wheel.

LovinMercedes

I had RFT's on my 7 series and really did not like them either. I went through so many tires with bubbles on the sidewalls that the insurance company told me I had hit my limit.

I was disappointed, to say the least, when MB announced it was going to run flats. I am going to try them on my new car, and as soon as I have any issues, I will change to conventional tires.

As a point of reference, both BMW and MB representatives have told me that while there is a very vocal minority, the vast majority of customers never say a word about the run flats.

v8plus4

Wolfman, PM sent

Alishami

What's the best tire company in terms of ride quality and overall?

Streamliner

I am a ride quality & comfort FREAK and I just love my Bridgestone Serenity Plus tires I have on my 2015 S550. Bridgestone does not make this tire in a size to fit my wife's E350 sedan, so after quite a bit of research, I went with Michelin MXM4 tires and those are wonderful as well. I am a big fan of these two brands and have had several sets over the years.

Streamliner

Sadly, I'm sure that info is correct. Most people just don't seem to care about much of anything when it comes to cars, beyond brand, model & color. To them, a tire is a tire, is a tire. Oh well.

emilner

I have Michelin Pilot A/S sports. They are great tires- I highly recommend anything made by M....

clembo

I fully agree.

pdeacon

I agree. I'm running Pilot Sport AS3's on my C and E Class. Great tire in all kinds of weather. The S550 came with 20" Goodyear F1's. Never much of a fan of Goodyear but waiting to see how they perform. Not sure if Michelin is making a 20" runflat for the 550.

emilner

I went with the non runflat.

emnic1

Having read most of this long and informative thread I still have questions regarding switching to non-run flat tires. I am looking to order a 2016 S550 for Euro Delivery. Having test driven the 2014 and 2015 models with standard suspension (Austin dealers have no MBC or 4matic cars on the lot) I have to agree the run flats just suck on multiple levels (awful ride, higher likelihood of cracking the wheels, possibly higher chance of damaging the suspension with the constant exagerated vibration and shock). Looking at the 2016 DOG from another thread I see that the option for standard tires on the 19" and 20" wheels are shown only for the S600.

The dealer tells me the diameter of the wheels and tires is the same no matter what wheel size is selected, ergo the smaller the wheel, the more "cushion" on the run flats (in 2015 DOG, if not earlier, the 18" wheels are available with standard tires). This leaves me with the following questions for which I would appreciate a reply from anyone that may know the answers (forgive me if answers were previously posted):

1. Will MB allow me to order the available S600 wheels with standard tires on an S550?

2. If not, would replacing the run flats with standard tires not specified by MB affect the car's warranty regarding the suspension system (standard or MBC)?

3. I see conflicting reports as to whether the tire pressure monitors would function in Standard tires. Any definitive info?

4. Do standard tires on 20" rims leave enough room in the wheel well for rough road wheel movement?

Thanks for your thoughtful consideration.

LovinMercedes

1. No.

2. No.

3. They work.

4. Yes.

These are the answers I got from my authorized MB dealer. Obviously, other dealers may take a different position so you should check.

emnic1

Thank you for the thoughtful reply!

jrpisha

I feel your pain - I went through all this when I ordered my 2015 S550. In answer to your questions:

1. No.

2. No.

3. The TPMS works fine with normal tires.

4. Yes.

Streamliner

The factory will not supply conventional tires on a new S550. I was, however, able to negotiate up front, to have my dealer swap out the RFT that came on my 2015 S550 and install the conventional tires of my choice, at no additional charge. The swap was done after about 500 miles, giving me the opportunity to do a back to back comparison on the same car. The ride is noticeably better with the conventionals, but the noise factor is DAY AND NIGHT different, with the conventional tires being virtually silent at highway speeds, while in comparison, the run flats howled.

I have the 18" wheels. The TPMS works fine.

Good luck with your new order.

syswei

I also have 18" wheels, but my experience with the RFT Bridgestone Turanza EL400-2 that came with the car is different. I think they are quiet. At least as quiet as the Michelin Pilot AS3 tires that I had most recently on my W221, also 18".

I con't perceive any negatives to ride quality, either. I have only 1000 miles on the car, but when it comes time to replace the tires, I am likely to stick with RFTs.

Streamliner

Of course, I cannot speak to your experience. The conventional tires I had mounted are Bridgestine Serenity Plus tires, one of, if not "the" most quiet tire out there. The noise difference at highway speeds is substantial.

syswei

I guess I wouldn't know unless I tried them, but to me personally the stock RFTs are quiet enough...I am definitely very satisfied with the overall sound levels when driving, more so than my memory of the W221 when it was new...so given that the RFT also provides more peace of mind re flats, I very much doubt I'll end up trying conventionals. To each his own. I see we like the same exterior color and wheels, though.

LovinMercedes

I was all set to change the RFT's on my S550 because I was confident in the other forum members observations that the conventional tires were much better in terms of noise and comfort. I actually negotiated this into the price I paid for my car.

What changed my mind is when I drove the S65 and the S63, both with conventional tires. The S550 was remarkably smoother and more comfortable to drive than both the S65 and S63. I realized the difference in the ride comfort was more likely due to the differences in suspension and other settings.

I decided that if the RFT's on my S550 already provided a more comfortable ride than the S65 and S63, why bother to change them to conventional tires and deal with the issues of a spare, etc., especially given there is no place to store the spare, and I have a refrigerator.

AppleFan1

The RFT Bridgestone Turanzas EL400 are also the tires that came with my S550. I like them. They do seem quiet and overall comfortable on good roads. They do seem a bit rough when there are cracks on the road.

Speaking of the tires on my car, if you recall, I went over what I thought was a large brick on the road at night (didn't see it on time to react) going 70 mph about May 1 or so. As it turns out, it was not a brick since I saw this thing a few days later just on the edge of the grass and the breakdown lane on the left side of the road. It was actually a rectangular piece of wood about 8-9 inches long and about 3 inches high. The damage was done regardless to the passenger side front tire. It has a small bubble on it. Unfortunately, the Turanza EL400 is not available until May 20. So, I have been driving the car with the bubble on this tire since then and I do feel a small vibration that was not there before. By the way, had this been a regular tire, I bet it would have blown up with that type of impact. So, I guess that saved me from a more serious outcome. Well, my wait to get this damaged tire replaced is almost over. The reason I am getting only one is because I was told by the dealer that my tires are in very good shape after 18,700 miles and there is no reason to buy 2 of them.

syswei

Interesting, I hope my RFTs wear as well. The Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 tires I had on my W221 had only 13k miles on them when I shopped the car around to various dealers...most of them said the car needed new tires, and indeed, they did look fairly worn even though they were warranted to I think 45k miles.

DaveVY

Out of curiosity I looked up this tire ... Look at the fine print... If it is a run flat than the warranty mileage is only 30k and if you don't rotate tires (due to tire sizes being different between front and rear) than the warranty is cut in half. So much for a 45k warranty on the S Class, we only get 22.5k for standard tire or 15k on a run flat (zero pressure).

syswei

I guess that's an advantage of 18" wheels...with 18s on the W222 at least, front and rear use the same tires. (BTW my W221's Michelins were conventional not ZP, though not rotated in the time I had them).