GreazyDeigo

Thinking about saving some money and putting a set of Nankang tires on her. Did that with my Hyundai and have NO problems whatsoever. Anybody have different experience?

pleeson

I have Hankook Ventus V12's on mine.
They were new on the car when I bought it, and seem OK so far, but only 2K miles.
They go for $710 at TireRack and have decent reviews.
Time will tell....

amdeutsch

You must have bought your SL used. OEM tires they are not.

MB vs Hyundai

Didn't know they were competing (similar models) with each other. GL

abiazis

I went with Continental DWs for $ 1,100 versus Hankook at $ 712 and am real happy for $ 400 more....I changed my mind to Conti's after speaking with several Tirerack reps....and local tire store people...........and reading reviews on TR......

Gsqrd

I also went with Conti DW after bridgestones and Michelins. Very happy.

mjr24

Correct, they aren't. They are ridiculously less expensive and ride the same just about. I've had the V12 Ventus on my M6, 750li, and now my 55 in both 19 and 21 inch sizes......the tires are damn good tires (let alone for the price) and I've put probably.....40k miles on the V12's among the 3 cars over the last 2 years.

The reviews don't lie.....the Hankooks have great reviews everywhere. I was going through tires on my M6 every 5k miles.....I had the ContiSports or Michelins or whatever was OEM on car when I got it new from the dealer....$400/tire....so I would have been spending $7k/year in tires alone with the mileage I put on that car.

Paying $1500 for set of tires unless you track the car where the difference would probably be noticeable=sucker.

GreazyDeigo

I must have worded my original question incorrectly. Somehow we're talking about $1000 tires and whether a Mercedes is comparable to a Hyundai. let's try this again...

Has anyone tried any CHEAP tires out on their car and have any BAD feedback, like the tires are too loud while driving, or they wear out in months, or they disrupt the turning radious or mess up the steering? I am thinking about putting Nankang tires ($80/each) on my car.

abiazis

If you want cheap go with Cooper tires or General Tires....

B R

Hankooks are a great tire, also in the past, other cheap tires with good results were Sumitomo HTRZ & Falken Azenis. I had some Nankangs on my dd truck a long time ago & they were ok, don't know about their high performance tires.

VividRacing

A car is a car. There is NO reason to spend $1100 on tires, unless you need the performance of $1100 tires; regardless of make or model.

Sumitomo, Hankook, and Falken all make good tires. As for the OPs question about Nankangs... My only experience there is friends who've ran them because they stretch really easily. Most of them have no bad things to say, but that's probably because they're not expecting the performance of a sticky high performance tire from their cheap Nankangs.

For a daily driver, just about any tire will do the job provided it's the right size and properly suited to the climate/terrain.

abiazis

[QUOTE=VividRacing;4803108]A car is a car. There is NO reason to spend $1100 on tires, unless you need the performance of $1100 tires; regardless of make or model.

A bit of a tangent again.....BUT.......

When I am putting down the amount of hp/torque to the wheels of a 65......... There is SOME reason that I do want some good solid tires beyond ones that have, i.e. weaker sidewalls for better control/safety of the car, etc....and it does differ with individual driving habits, as some of us are harder on tires than others......don't have to necessarily track the car to upgrade tires, as some locales in the US welcome spirited driving, etc..i.e. mountain roads...

I find the tirerack consumer and overall tire reviews albeit subjective in most aspects very informative, thus my decision to spend the additional bucks to have more confidence in their safety.......versus the Hankooks V-12s where I have read numerous "weak sidewall" comments ( I am sure the DWs will have some negatives in time, but did not see anything as critical)....my car also weighs 4500 pounds and with the power, it can get "squirmy" on inadequate tires........

I have run Sumitomo on Porsches, etc... and like the tires for the price, but Conti DWs have been a better experience overall......and better than the more expensive Bridgestones or Michelin PS2s I have tried......or the Conti Contact 2s.....for that matter......the DWs certainly are well done...

pleeson

My car has the sport package, with 2 sizes of tires.
If you want the same brand of tires on both axles (which I think is wise) your brand selection will be limited.
I find the Tire Rack User surveys to be accurate and more reliable than one person's opinion.

But, gotta admit "Hankook" is an odd name...

pleeson

Yeah, would be kind of rare to have a 2003 model with 2K miles

Benz-O-Rama

There's inexpensive and then there's cheap. Don't confuse the two.

khassis

Looking for tires for my 03 SL500, sport package. im not going to do 150 MPH, but want to be able to drive all year here in the Phila. area. Not every day, but maybe on a clear weekend in the winter to take a little trip. Want something that would work in cold weather and if something came up I wouldn't be stuck. Was looking at Conti's DWS. Or would the DW's work?

Benz-O-Rama

DWS for you. Summer tires, like the DW, are not supposed to be driven in temps below 40*, regardless of precipitation. The rubber compounds used in summer and all-season tires, are radically different.

mkhurley

Just put the Hankook V12's on mine, replaced the Mich Pilot Sports after a front took a hit somewhere and had a nice tear in the sidewall. So far the Hankook's are smoother and not near the roadnoise the Pilot Sports had.

ImInPA

I have had exceptional results from Hankook tires. I find them to be very quiet compared to models they compete with, and, very good wear. Cooper now has a series called Zeon which are getting good reviews.

lkirchner

I recently changed my wheels to HRE's on my SL55 and fitted the wheels with th Hankook performance tires. They replaced Michelin PS2's. They are quieter, have better grip and best of all they have eliminated the infamous wiggle under full acceleration from a stop that came from the PS2's.

jmejones

I put Hancocks on my Audi and they are loud as hell. I swear by Michelins.

grane

And then there is "cheap and cheerful."

PS

The worst tires I ever owned were Nexens. Their off road tires don't even have belts! I was stranded in the Gwagen for a day in Canada off road while Taurus's with Canadian Tire specials were passing me by!On the same highly travelled rural road! Nexens are dangerous!

read the C&D review of HanKook V12. My family in Austria uses the Hankook Icebears on their MB as a reasonable alternative to Contis etc.

Salty63

On my second set no problems and very quiet.

lkirchner

And I swore at my Michelins.

VividRacing

[QUOTE=abiazis;4803150]

You're in the category of NEEDING expensive tires, in my opinion. The fact that your car is a Mercedes isn't what dictates that, though. It's the power and weight of the car, as well as how you drive it. That's what I meant by not buying expensive tires unless they're necessary.

abiazis

THOUGHT SO, COOL........