Rudeney

Got rid of the old Contis and put on Michelin A/S 3+ tires today. Wow! It rides like a new car! The Contis were harsh and lacked grip (of course they were down to 3/32, so some of that is to be expected) but these Michelin's are just great. And I can't beat having a 22.5K mile warranty.

fishndude

How much did you pay for the fronts and rears and where did you purchase them? My Conti's still have a lot of tread, but I would love to get rid of them.

Rudeney

255/35/19 front - $221 each, 285/30/19 rear, $260 each. Bought at Costco, out-the-door price was $1055 which included road hazard, lifetime R&B, TPMS kit, and of course all the wonderful taxes.

fishndude

Rodney,

Thanks. That's not a bad price. I have gotten tires from Tire Rack online in the past to avoid the taxes, but of course you have to find an installer. Maybe I'll wear mine out a little faster than anticipated and check out my local Costco.

Steve

Rudeney

I thought about Tire Rack, but my preferred installer here charge $70 PER WHEEL for balance and install and that does not even include lifetime R&B. Also, a friend who had to deal with Tire Rack for road hazard warranty said it was such a hassle, he just gave up and bought a new tire locally. I've had a few road hazard claims with Costco and all were painless. In fact, one time (of many) they replaced the rears on the CLK550 under warranty due to premature wear, they determined that the tire I had was no longer made (MXV4 or something like that) , so I had to get a different (Pilot A/S) so now the fronts would not match. They offered - without me asking - to replace the fronts for no charge. My only complaint about Costco is that they are just so busy, you either have to drop the car off for most of the day, or line up an hour before opening to get the first service of the day. They do offer appointments, but they are booked for weeks. Oh, and they usually don;t stock the size I need, especially on the SL.

fishndude

Rodney,

I hadn't thought about the warranty issues. I know Costco is relatively hassle free when it comes to issues. I try to get up there about a hour before they close, for my other vehicles. The garage is usually cleared out by then and they have to finish by closing. :-). I had always put Conti's on my CLK550 from Tire Rack. I also seemed to go through rears tires faster than I thought I should, but thought this was just the nature of the beast. I am going to take your suggestion and pick up the A/S 3+, from Costco, as soon as needed. btw we both had the same '07 CLK550 at the same time and purchased the '11 SL550 around the same time. I remember you from the A209 board. I hope you are enjoying the SL, I really am.

Rudeney

Hi Steve! I could not be more please with the SL550. The only time I miss the CLK550 is when I need to "carry stuff". Then I just have to go home and get the Jeep GC.

carguyshu

in fairness the R part of the R&B is useless on the SL since they are staggered and cannot be rotated. the warranty is also only a protating of the tread left towards the purchase of a new tire and only if the tire wear is even, which usually doesn't happen on a Mercedes...

http://media.michelinman.com/content...utmk=227688281

Rudeney

You are correct about not rotating, but balancing is still important. I fully understand pro-rated tire warranties. And other than one time I had an alignment issue, my tire wear across the tread of each tire and even on each axle has been very even. I have used the Michelin tread wear warranty several times on MBZ staggered wheels.

The A/S 3+ comes with a 45K mile warranty, which is cut in half for no-rotatable staggered setups. Unless Michelin has done something amazing with the "+" on the A/S 3+, these will need replacement around 10-12K, so halfway through the 22.5K, they'll pay 50-60% of the cost of replacing them. I've been there-done that a few times with Michelin and Costco. It's a good deal.