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On advice here on the forum and because my stock Conti Sport Contact SSR's are 8 years old, per Continental only safe to 45 degrees F (I am skeptical of this claim) and only have 9k miles on them - I am looking for new tires. It seems the consensus is the the run flats compromise handling and tend to damage the AMG 19 Wheels (adding a few lbs can mitigate) - I will put a plug kit and compressor in the trunk like I do for my street bikes.
I live in Colorado and do not want to buy two sets of tires so I am considering either the Brand New Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 plus (the plus is supposed to be way better than the older version) https://www.tirereview.com/continent...ct-dws06-plus/
Or the new generation of Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 which as expected is slightly more costly than the Continentals - Both have tires for the two different wheel sizes. On my R129's I used to only drive in the summer with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports but would only get about 10k miles at best on them.
I will be using this car for summer road trips and driving fast on curvy mountain roads as well as sunny winter days. Even in nice winter days there can be snow on the road for weeks in the mountains even when it is warm and dry in town (Boulder)
I used the search feature and cannot find anything that is helpful and speaks to the new Conti's so I would appreciate some feedback from experienced owners. Thank you for any assistance.
I had the DWS06s on my C7 Corvette and my wife's RX. Good tires. A nice compromise of decent handling, smooth ride and good treadwear. The Michelins will handle a bit better but the ride will be more firm.
I currently have a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my 19 SL450. Also on 3 other cars we own, with one having the runflat version. Great all around tire and no issues in cold. The 4 being newer is probably better.
I don't think you can go wrong with either. Continental and Michelin both make a fine product.
Buy Pilot Sport 4S tires in 295 width for the summer and get a PROPER SET of winter tires. Don't cheap out. A/S tires barely work in the snow on AWD CUVs, now imagine how they'll work on a high power, RWD, open diff roadster.
You need to run narrow winter tires on smaller rims with low backspacing in order to be able to properly drive in the snow. Even then, you'll struggle, and you'll greatly accelerate wear on components. Or, you can just ignore my advice and then come back next winter asking for winter tire and rim recommendations and a good indy shop to fix what broke. Just my $0.02.
Thanks for the candid input Keon - I agree with your assessment - I got surprised by unexpected snow a few times and had to drive home from the office in my 01 R129 and the car could not even make it up the 4 inch high skirt on my driveway. As you pointed out the combination of big wide low profile tires, a heavy for size car with no weight in the back and the powerful engine (the r129 only had 305 HP) the car was a sled.
I never intentionally take these cars in the snow or use them for transportation in the winter unless it is a nice sunny day or in the summer. I have a GMC Duramax with spiked snow tires for the mountains in winter and also a Range Rover with all season Michelins for year round use.
The reason I would get an all season for the 231 is that even in the middle of summer we can get snow, heavy rains, hail storms and then you have the shoulder seasons where anything is possible - this year 8 degrees F on Sept 28 with snow.
For years I used the Michelin Super Sports on the R129 and with the teenager driving we were getting under 10k miles. They were very nice for fast pleasure driving.
Perhaps I will still bite the bullet and go with the snow tires as you have suggested and keep the Conti's for the 8k miles I can expect on them - does the 295 size require different wheels?
Also this weekend I looked closely at the DOT numbers and for some reason (probably liability) the dealer that sold the 13 231 to me put the Conti Sport Contact 5p SSR on the car on July - so they are only 8 months old and basically new. I know that they as they are run flat they are not the best, but right now I cannot take them up on the curvy mountain roads to evaluate them. Your pragmatic advice is appreciated
Not at all. In fact, 305s would fit fine as well, but they would be taller than the front tires...whereas 295/30s are the same diameter as the front 255/35s.
I'm in the same usage conundrum as you. I'm in north Georgia during the winters, when the temps hover between the low 40s and the low 50s. The standard Conti run-flats actually perform better than I thought they would, but they're kind of loud compared to the rest of the car. I'd like to switch to Michelins, but I refuse to put 285/30s back on the rear when they're actually shorter than the front tires. 295s or even 305s would be great, but the Pilot Sport AS 3+ tires that I'd really like to use aren't available in my preferred 295/305 sizes. I know the new 4s are great summer tires, but I run a fair amount in these lower temps and I don't think they'd make sense for me. Likewise the Alpin PA4s, which are winter tires. What to do?
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Feb 2, 2021 at 07:36 PM.
Thanks for the candid input Keon - I agree with your assessment - I got surprised by unexpected snow a few times and had to drive home from the office in my 01 R129 and the car could not even make it up the 4 inch high skirt on my driveway. As you pointed out the combination of big wide low profile tires, a heavy for size car with no weight in the back and the powerful engine (the r129 only had 305 HP) the car was a sled.
I never intentionally take these cars in the snow or use them for transportation in the winter unless it is a nice sunny day or in the summer. I have a GMC Duramax with spiked snow tires for the mountains in winter and also a Range Rover with all season Michelins for year round use.
The reason I would get an all season for the 231 is that even in the middle of summer we can get snow, heavy rains, hail storms and then you have the shoulder seasons where anything is possible - this year 8 degrees F on Sept 28 with snow.
For years I used the Michelin Super Sports on the R129 and with the teenager driving we were getting under 10k miles. They were very nice for fast pleasure driving.
Perhaps I will still bite the bullet and go with the snow tires as you have suggested and keep the Conti's for the 8k miles I can expect on them - does the 295 size require different wheels?
Also this weekend I looked closely at the DOT numbers and for some reason (probably liability) the dealer that sold the 13 231 to me put the Conti Sport Contact 5p SSR on the car on July - so they are only 8 months old and basically new. I know that they as they are run flat they are not the best, but right now I cannot take them up on the curvy mountain roads to evaluate them. Your pragmatic advice is appreciated
295s don't need different rims, but if it really does get that cold in the warmer months then the PS4s will struggle for grip. If you usually drive the SL on warmer days, then the PS4s makes sense. If not, then you'll need GOOD all-seasons - just for the operating temperature range.
For me - I swapped out the original ContiSports (21k miles) for a full set of Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4s for my (new to me since October) 2017 Sl63 AMG. The difference in ride quality is night and day. The slightly softer sidewall adds just a bit more give in comfort mode (which the AMG benefits from) but the wet and cold weather traction is leaps and bounds above the ContiSports thus far (60 days in). I can actually accelerate away from a stop and in turns without fishtailing at 1/4 throttle. I haven’t been able to hammer it fully yet - but I suspect these will grab well once it warms up as well.
I live in Seattle, and so wet weather and cold weather traction are key for any car you want to drive more than the three non damp / cool
months of the year. I have already driven through some torrential downpours, a few frosty mornings, and some nice sunny days, and have seen no real loss of traction or cornering ability.
Now granted - I havent had the chance (given the season) to push the sidewalls hard enough to see significant roll or push or under steer, but even in the best of days here, it’s rarely warm enough or clear outside late enough in the day to push it hard. Here in the PNW - 50 degree mornings are common all summer long. So I have always added high quality AS tires to my vehicles for everything other than track day events so I can actually enjoy the car as close to year round as possible.
what I can say about these, as compared to the other AS tires I have shoed vehicles with, is that the sidewall seems even firmer than the AS3s I had on my SL550. They have a big section width, and so seem wider than the AS3s as well. The only odd comment I can add is that they have a strange metallic almost synthetic hollow tire noise at speed unlike any tire I have owned. It’s not bad, but is a little sonorous or melodic, not nearly as dull sounding like other tires. Like an overinflated basketball “ping”
If all season traction is what you are in search of, to extend the driving season, I can’t see any downside to the new Pilot Sport All Season 4s.
Need some guidance/ opinion .... I've been reading these threads on tires and i'm going back and forth with the Michelin A/S 3 and the Pilot Super Sport tire. I'm moving from Orlando, FL to Raleigh NC soon and need tires in the fairly near future. I won't drive it in the snow or frost. I'm not that aggressive of a driver, but I'm leaning towards the super sport because of the increased handling and other reviews. I currently have the stock continental run flats. Thoughts?
For those that have switched from a runflat to a goflat are you carrying a slime kit and do you feel comfortable driving on road trips knowing that you have no spare and with a blowout you could be stranded if in an area without cell service? This is my main concern.
I am now jinxing myself but I have always been able to drive all my cars to the tire store in at least the last twenty years with a screw or nail in the tire (slow leak) just don't pull it out
I am now jinxing myself but I have always been able to drive all my cars to the tire store in at least the last twenty years with a screw or nail in the tire (slow leak) just don't pull it out
I switched to go flats on numerous BMWs over the years and carried a slime kit with a compressor but always worried about a catastrophic blowout.
I carry a plug kit, pliers, and a cigarette lighter plug in compressor. The SL450 currently has the Michelin Pilot Super Sport All Season tires mounted. Non runflats. Great year round tire.
The OEM wheels and stock Continental runflats are in storage. Mandrus Millennium wheels with Michelin All Season tires.
I carry a plug kit, pliers, and a cigarette lighter plug in compressor. The SL450 currently has the Michelin Pilot Super Sport All Season tires mounted. Non runflats. Great year round tire.
The OEM wheels and stock Continental runflats are in storage. Mandrus Millennium wheels with Michelin All Season tires.
That is a great looking SL.... What size tires did you put on the front and also on the rear??? I will need to replace mine very soon and I will probably buy the exact same thing you did. I already carry the emergency stuff.
I think my wheels are a little different....but they are visually very similar and I think the look would be about the same. Please tell me exactly what you had on there regarding size ( these SL tires are confusing to me) and exactly what the new ones are.....sometimes manufacturers have subtle differences in the same model of tire... and I would like to do exactly the same as you did if my wheels and tires would be the same....Thanks for the help.
I stayed with stock SL450 sizes for both wheels and tires.
255 35 19 front and 285 30 19 rear.
The Mandrus wheels stick out to the fenders due to a bit more offset than the standard wheels from MB.
My wheels are the AMG wheels they offered but standard size I think....I also think that I could do exactly what you did and get the same result... Am I right??? I am a Jeep guy and a Corvette guy. Also I am not a wheel and tire guy so much and the SL is more my wife's car than mine, but I will be the one that buys the tires....
If mine looked like yours and performed like that, I would be a happy camper. I am not big on changing the factory tire and wheel sizes. Thanks.
My Corvette is in the garage in that picture. It's a 2017 Grand Sport A8. It has Cray wheels with All Season Michelins too. Stock sizes also with offset also different. Those are the runflats and Cray and Mandrus are both TSW wheel brands.
When I saw the new high end Corvette at the Chevy dealer with the single offset white stripe on blue a couple of years ago - Z something (it was 98k) - like any red blooded American boy - my first instinct was to whip my credit card out immediately - really.
I ended up with a pre-owned 13 SL 550 with 7800 miles on it purchased a couple of months ago (my third SL) from a Lexus dealer in Hawaii. I realize they are different cars - and the Vette has more power. I think the one I was looking at had 645 HP or something like that.
I would be curious as to your assessment of the difference in handling.
It seems like they have finally got their act together unlike the ones I grew up with. I imagine they now have the ability to corner as opposed to driving in a straight line and that the door panels and dash, do not vibrate off while you are driving. I bet that front end bumber/grill takes more of a bashing than even the SL at about less than 6 inches off the road.
Last edited by guyotrd; Feb 17, 2021 at 02:04 PM.
Reason: add picture
The Corvette is a razor, the SL450 a steak knife. To be expected given their different roles. Both are exceptional in their own way.
The SL450 rides better than any car I've ever been in. Just so sorted out. Good power too, and in Sport modes, very impressive, and great handling too. All day comfort, superb build quality and materials.
The Corvette is my second. I had a previous generation C6 2013 Grand Sport. The 2017 C7 is better in all respects, especially the interior quality and execution, and is a great track car too. Phenomenal handling and braking and more capable than my skills allow. Great power with 460hp. The Z06 you referenced has 650 and is basically the same car as my Grand Sport except for the supercharged engine. A lot of tire noise, a somewhat supple ride in Touring mode (it has the magnetically controlled shocks), and fair interior comfort. A great car with near supercar capabilities built to a price... and a relative bargain IMO. Mine has almost 20k in appearance options like carbon fiber hood, roof, splitter, side skirts, etc. I got a great deal new. About same as the one year old 2019 CPO SL450 with 12k miles.
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