I have read threads here about tires for our car, but some are older and new ones come to the lines...

So to refresh things, what are the best tires to install on our 450? Right now we have Pirelli Sottozero tires...255/35/R19 on the front. We live in a moderate climate state. We would not drive the car in snow or ice anyway. It mainly gets warm and hot weather use with a mix of interstate and rural and a little city miles...

Our MB dealer told us at our service a couple of weeks ago to start thinking about tires. We need to replace them soon. I am a little concerned about a mom and pop tire store messing with the car so we might buy from the MB dealer... Not sure. Also are dealers competitive on price? We have a good MB dealer, but they do not service a lot of SL models. We need some advice about what to do and estimated price for four tires.

By the way, we have the only blue SL I have seen anywhere around and it mixed with the white interior beautifully in our opinion. We like the car more and more all the time. Now for the tires????

Thank you for your time and any advice....

 

Please, define your criteria for tires you want? The above statement is an oxymoron. Above states that you do not drive in snow, but the car has snow tires now on the front (you have different tires on the back?)?

 

Michelin Pilot Sport 4s! You'll have to step up to 295s in the rear, but the 295s look and fit amazingly. They are the best tires you can put on a GT car. Get the non-RFT ones and get a tire sealant kit.

 

The rear has 285/30/R19.... I should have stated that I guess but I thought people here would know the different sizes. It is the same brand and model of tire on the rear but a different size.

I know what is there now is more of a winter tire. That is why I took effort to explain where the car will be driven now. It is MB pre-owned car from MB leasing. It was a one owner lease. These are the tires MB and the previous owner had on it. I bet he or she had two sets to swap. We don't and also don't need to. We were not even sure we would keep the car when we bought it about 6 months ago. I had never owned an SL before and if my wife and I did not like it, we would have traded it off on something else. We both have other vehicles that are daily drivers and are SUVs. This is our fun car, play car, date night care, weekend car, Covid take a drive car (LOL). We like the car. It is fun and the blue exterior and white interior is a match we really like on the MB. It is a little unusual and we like it.

It came with these tires. We like the car and will keep it for some time I think.... That is why I want to replace the tires. Thank you for taking the time and trying to understand the situation before giving advice to help us. I could probably just buy what the dealer wants to put on it, but I figure that not taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge these members have on the SL and asking would be a mistake. THANKS.

 

So... I went to the Michelin website. Plugged in the SL....looked at this tire. It stated they did not fit my 2017 SL450. It took me to the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ .... and that was not their first recommendation from their "virtual" agent at the website.... Maybe I plugged in something wrong.... The tire you recommended gets really high marks though.

 

If you regularly drive in temperatures below 40 degrees F, I would get an all season tire. The summer tires are notorious for losing grip in temperatures approaching 40 degrees. If you are careful and warm them up by driving conservatively for 30 minutes or so you will be OK but if there is any chance of snow or ice do not drive on summer tires. Also, realize that if you go with regular goflat tires, i.e. not runflats, you are without a spare and will need to be ready to call a flatbed if you have a catastrophic blowout or other damage that cannot be temporarily sealed with a slime kit.

I am partial to Continental and Pirelli but Michelin also makes some very good tires. The AS3+ is a great all season tire and it does come in both goflat and runflat. The online advisor on TireRack can assess your needs and will make recommendations as to what tire they would recommend. You can also call them and talk to one of their advisors on the phone. They will ship tires to any address. I usually send them to my local Bridgestone/Firestone store. They have a lot of experience dealing with runflats and have the latest mounting and balancing equipment. Some dealers don't do a lot of tire mounting and balancing and often outsource it to a local tire shop.

 

Thanks for the lesson! I was not referring to tire size on the rear, but to tire type - winter on front (so what's on the rear?, but you've answered that). You're the one who specified the front size. My reference was to winter tires. Now that you've explained the full story it makes sense what you want. By putting tire brand/type (and size) without further details, it was confusing to me why winter tires are on a car that is not used in the winter conditions.

 

Yep....I am sure it was confusing how I stated it. I don't know what the heck I am doing with this car. I am the only person I know with one and just trying to do things the right way and learn..

The dealership sells Continental tires... I may just go that route. If I had people on here respond and five of them said to buy only this tire or that tire then I would look for them. I think tires are one of the most important decisions you make on a car and I am just trying to learn and not make a mistake. Thanks.

 

I just replaced my tires on my SL 550. I went to Discount Tire (if you have one in your area), best price by far and good service.
I stayed with the same size on the front, a 255/35/19, However, I decided I wanted a wider rear tire. I went with a 296/35/19. However, if I knew then what I know now, I would have went with a 305/35/20 on the rear.
I did lower the car after replacing the tires and did place wheel spacers on all 4 wheels so I did not need to actually go with the 305's but they look awesome from the rear view.
The lowering, larger rear tire and the wheel spacers is the look I was going for. Maybe you as well?

 

I can’t say enough about the Michelin A/S3+ tires. I put them on my SL450 and they are very smooth riding and quiet. I don’t drive aggressively, but from what I have seen, the handling is very nice as well. I do, however, live in sunny, Southern California and the car never sees inclement weather. I really like the way the tires look as well.

 

Joseph...
What model and brand tire did you buy? I will probably stay with the stock size. I don't know enough about this car yet to do spacers, changes, larger width and ride or performance changes that might present.

I have had two Corvettes and did some changes to them, but I knew the car and had friends that owned Corvettes as well. There is also a huge wealth of information on vettes and mods. This SL is new to me and there is just nowhere (except here) that I have found with much information. The lack of research information and mods information is surprising.

 

Streamliner...
thank you. That is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. We probably won't see any snow or ice with the SL.... We probably won't see any real cold weather......BUT unlike where you are, we will probably see some rain from time to time. Have you had much experience with rain and cornering traction or stopping with the Michelins? Thank you. You comment about comfort is good and I have always liked Michelins.
Also, what wheels are those and what would be a budget price for them.? They look great!!! I think they would look great on my blue as well. Man, they really set your car off.

 

I have not driven a car with the A/S3+ tires on anything but dry pavement.

The wheels are the ones that came as original equipment on the 2017 SL65AMG. They are forged and polished. As with most all forged wheels, compared to cast, they were rather pricey. The two threads linked below go into all the details, should you wish to check them out:


https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...hty-mouse.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...hty-mouse.html

Sent from my iPad

 

Very tasteful updates on a beautiful SL
Your wheel setup is very unique in that you chose the front wheels for the rear as well and the setup works quite well even if I like the 20" in the rear a bit better. In general, one can't go wrong with Michelin tires. My go-to choice is a Michelin Pilot Sport 4s (PS4s), followed by the Pilot Super Sports. Picking one or the other is often decided by the availability of tire sizes for the rims rather than preference but I am sure the A/S3+ will be very capable. Less performance but better for colder temps. Performance tires loose significant traction below 50 degrees.

Here is a pic of our last SL with the 19"/20" wheel setup

 

Can never get enough photos of that gorgeous, Iridium Silver car with the Porcelain/Black interior. I wonder where she is now???

 

Just replaced all four tires on our 2017 SL550 last week. We had 10,000 miles on the original Continental run-flats and the treads were over 50% worn. The tires were out of round (despite re-balance at every service) and rode like a washboard. With the advice of this forum, I replaced with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 255/35ZR19/XL and 285/30ZR19/XL. If I had been blindfolded on my drive home from the dealer, I would have sworn I was in a different car. The SL now drives like it's on a magic carpet. I chose the summer version of the Pilot Super Sport over the All Season because I live in Florida and the SL never leaves the state.

Initially, my MB dealer gave me a hard time about replacing the run-flats with non-run-flats. They hinted I would void my warranty and the SL was "not designed" for regular tires. Then they told me I would have to sign a release form to have the run-flats replaced. The Pilot Super Sports clearly have "MO" Mercedes Original and "MO1" Mercedes Original AMG molded on the Michelin sidewalls. Ultimately the MB dealer matched the COSTCO and TireRack price on the tires, the warranty was not voided and I was not required to sign any releases.

The biggest problem I encountered was the 4 wheel alignment. Four other shops, including another MB dealer, quoted me between $78 and $137 for a 4 wheel alignment. My MB dealer charged $364.90. They told me the SL alignment was more expensive because the alignment involved the individual tire sensors as related to lane-keeping with the Distance Pilot Distronic, ABC, and Steering Pilot. AT this point, I was just tired of all the arguing, the car was at the shop, they had agreed to the basic tire pricing, they were performing 4 other minor items under warranty N/C. I felt I was overpaying almost $225 for the alignment but it was worth it for the convenience of getting it all done and over with.

Can anyone confirm the dealer claim that the SL alignment normally costs significantly more than a traditional 4 wheel alignment? Overall, it was money well spent. The car has never felt this good since I first bought it.

 

I used the Continental Extreme Contact tires. I wanted a performance tire. You will not get the mileage of a Michelin as compared to the Continental, however, I wanted a softer rubber so the mileage did not matter to me, I want the performance.
As you can see in my photo, I lowered my vehicle with the Brabus spring kit, I used Hi quality spacers for both front rear to achieve the wider stance I was looking for. You also inquired about the ride with the lowering springs and the wheel spacers; Yes the ride is more rigid in "Sport" mode, however, in "Comfort" mode, I would say it is like driving in the Sport mode. Stiffer but not unreasonably rough. But I really do not care about the ride itself, I want the look and the performance!
It's all a matter of taste. I also removed the two mufflers/resonators (on each side) from cat-back. Not the 2 at the tail end. The quality of the sound was greatly enhanced. It's a MB, you do not want the sound of a street rod. However, when you aggressively accelerate, the roar is exhilarating yet still quiet in every day driving.
As I stated, it's all a matter of taste. Some people are happy with a stock MB SL 550 and some like me, want the power and the look of a more aggressive MB.
Make no mistake about it, I am very happy with all the alterations I made. The performance, the look, the sound, etc.
Next is the sound system which is not an easy task.

Hope I was able to offer some insight.

Be well and good luck!

Joe

 

You have posted a lot of details on the modifications you have done and I’m sure some here have found them very helpful. Please do the same when you tackle the sound system. A pictorial, showing the process wold be most helpful. Good luck with it.

 

The Mercedes Dealers are rip offs. Use them only for warranty issues, then after the warranty expires, move on.
I actually did purchase an extended warranty through CARCHEX who did get great ratings! ****ing horrible. Two claims, two denials. I am in the process of legal action as well as working with the Michigan Attorney General's office in Michigan. And they were at the top of the list for being a stand up company. After the AG's office gets done with them, (I am a State of Michigan employee) , they will get what they deserve. Trust me.

 

A blue over white SL 450. I've missed purchasing two of these in the last month and my wife and I agree, that's the best combo.
As for your tires. I've only used Michelin Sports for our 06 SL. I typically research all online prices and my MB dealership price matches, so I have the work done by them. They understand how important it is to carefully mount and balance the tires so that the wheels and tire pressure sensors are not damaged.

 

Fun33....
GREAT POST AND excellent information. WOW.... I have never owned Continental tires and that is what the dealer was offering. They must get some sort of national rebate or price cut.... I will check further on the other tires... Thanks so much... I really appreciate it.... Great information. This is the kind of stuff I was hoping for when I posted the thread here
Thanks for taking the time to detail a great contribution

 

Joe...
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply. The tire information is great. I am like you in some regards. I really don't worry about how many miles I can get out of a set. There are only two of us and we have four vehicles. Three of them are newer model SUVs. They are our primary vehicles, especially if I get an emergency call at night. The SL is just a fun car and my wife drives it more than I do but I am tasked with the tire deal...LOL.

I am a little hesitant on any mods. I just don't know enough about this car yet. I know Jeeps and Corvettes a bit, but the SL is new to me. As stated by someone else above PLEASE PLEASE take a lot of photos of you do the sound system. I cannot BELIEVE how BAD the system is in the SL. I have a 2017 4WD Expedition that did not cost new what the SL cost new and MY EXPEDITION WILL BLOW THE SL SOUND SYSTEM AWAY IN QUALITY...NO CONTEST. None at all. If you have time do a "sound system for dummies". It seems a lot of people want to get Best Buy or whatever to do it, but I am a little nervous about that. Thanks again...

 

I just wanted to update you with the tires - Michelin Pilot Sports. There are a few selections to choose from. We're in FL, so the heat actually acts as a catalyst, unfortunately reducing the tire life. I've tried all the brands and have been satisfied with Michelins for wear, handling and low noise.

 

Thanks Westy... We LOVE the color combo...LOVE it. We found other SLs to buy, but we saw this blue/white combo in a dealer showroom in Florida and was just floored at the class it had. We would have bought it but we were in the market for pre-owned more than a new one. But the look of it under the showroom lights took my wife's breath away. It was all I could do to beg her to wait and see if we could find a pre-owned one somewhere.

We found it and I flew her out to get it. We had sent some money for them to hold it for her thank goodness, because they had two other people that saw it and were in line for it if we decided not to take it.

Thanks for the other information as well....

 

Thanks a lot for the additional information. We have another house in Florida just north of Cocoa. This SL could spend time there. We had it there some back in Feb and March but left early and came back home because of Covid issues in both states...