Stoofpilot

What a mistake I made. Had the a/sport on my old 96 SL500. Bought a 04 SL500 and put the plus tires on it. They are loud and the car now pulls to the right. Tire store will not replace the tires. My local MB dealer says this is a problem he has seen with this tire. He says it is caused by this being a harder compound than the original Sport tire that car was designed for. He said that they need to change the camber and put a special bolt in front end to correct for the right side drift. Sounded like this could also be a problem with all high mileage tires that fit the 230 body style.

Anyone else have this problem?

Gsqrd

bummer. I have 04 SL too. my tires are the continental contact DW. All OK so far. A softer ride than Bridgestones I had. Am happy but only 6K on them. Wanted longer lasting tires and had read good reviews.

Stoofpilot

I wish that I had bought the Conti's.

Different subject: Did you buy a after market warranty for your SL? I am really up in the air about this. Do I take a rick or not? If you did, from who.

Thanks

Gsqrd

I bought factory 7/100 when new. It expired end of 10. Have 85K mi and assumed to many miles to get another warranty(Lazy). Expect to be taken to cleaners but hope for another 3 years of service. PS 3k$ for xtd warrnty was money well spent. lots of niggle but expensive issues taken care of by warranty after 4 year original expired.

Stoofpilot

Was it Mercedes warranty or third party.

Gsqrd

was factory xtd warranty. interestingly it excludes options such as massage seat and also command which are covered on basic4/48 warranty. I complained and got some relief on a repair on seat(leaky vacuumn) that was well over 1K$ repair.

Stoofpilot

I have 26,000 miles on my 04 and I can get a "full" coverage warranty for 3 years/75,000 miles for $3,200.00. Sounds like I should consider this. Did you have any ABC suspension issues.

Gsqrd

early on i had some abc sensors go out but no struts or pump....yet. Buy the warranty.

PavementPounder

Who is that through? I have about the same mileage on my 04 SL600. The car is stock, in very nice condition, and has never given me any trouble, but I am debating whether to get some kind of coverage or sell it and step into a newer 600 that I can get a warranty on.

NCE500

I have a set of new car take off wheels/tires from an SL500 indoor stored. Factory mounted/balanced, under 50 miles on them. Perfect condition. Tires are the OEM Michelin Pilots, wheels are the OEM 5 spokes. I'd consider a partial trade depending on the condition/style of your wheels. Shoot me a PM if you have interest.

duckmanfla

I just installed michelin pilot sport a/s plus on my 2004 r230 and they ride great. I have the 18 inch mercedes wheels with two different widths front to back. I noticed with the original pilot sport tires that the car would track in road ruts, which was very annoying, but these sport a/s plus tires don't. The a/s plus tires also seem to be quieter. I'm very happy with them versus the original sport tires. I had to make an emergency stop yesterday, and I was impressed by the traction these tires had. Instant deceleration and safe stop. You may have a problem with one tire being defective which could cause a pull in one direction. I believe these tires are not directional so you could switch sides with the wheels and see if the pull is eliminated or goes in the other direction. BTW, I got 30,000 miles on the original sport tires, but I should have changed the back tires at 25,000 miles. The front tires still had reasonable tread when I got my new tires.

bbgnate

I bought a new front set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus too on my '05 C230 from Discount Tire. My car also pulls to the right. since their installation, I have had three alignments performed from 2 different shops. It was the last one that said they have exhausted all thier resources and that I must have bad tires. I went back to the tire shop and the right front tire was replaced (they figured it was the one that was defective). Well, this didnt improve my situation--car still pulls. So yesterday, I went back to the store and they are ordering me some ContiSportContact 3's to be installed. I am feeling pretty confident about this tire because 1) they are OEM and 2) I cant find a single report on the internet about this tire causing a pull.

Other than the pull from my Mich. A/S Pluses, the tires seem to ride well, however, the pull is something I cant live with . If you do a simple google search, you will find that these tires have caused a pull on a number of cars, including Benzes, Hyundais, Lexuses and others. Shameful to think that such a well-esteemed tire maker would have this kind of problem.

bbgnate

I wanted to add that Discount Tire has been extremely helpful and catered to me very well through this period. I'd also like to add that the tires (Michelins) have not been on the car for longer than a month..so maybe thats why they didnt give me any beef about replacement! Good company...would recommend.