griza

305 will be too wide

spinalator

I have 305s on the rear of my car and they are perfect. I will purchase them again when it's time to replace

SLclass

Are the 305's on your '17 SL 450, and with the factory rims?

spinalator

Yes, they are on the factory AMG 14 spoke rims. The owner of a local tire shop that I frequent recommended those as the diameter/height of the tire is now the same or slightly taller than the fronts. I never liked the look of the front tire appearing larger than the rear tire. It bothered me. And these look fat and very aggressive from the rear of the car.... Highly recommended.

SLclass

My reason as well. Thank you! And, I see that you do highly recommend rear 305's. So, in addition to the improved appearance, are either or both comfort and handling also improved?

spinalator

Comfort is vastly improved because they are not run flats. I've had run flats on my cars for decades and I never "needed" them. Just the price differential alone is a major reason to dump the run flats. My old corvette run flats were over 1K per rear tire. I have road side assistance and I don't travel across the country so I decided to go with a non run-flat tire. Besides, these tire sizes were not available in run flats.

SLclass

My '18 SL 550, which I purchased new in '17, has 13.5k miles on it, all with the OEM run-flat Conti's. All four tires now have minor cupping on the inside treads along with the associated noise! So, I am thinking of going with either the Pilot Sport 4s or some highly rated all-season tire. For now, I am fairly but not totally certain about the 4s being my choice for a summer tire, while I am much less certain about a specific brand/model should I choose to go with an A/S tire. I live in southeastern NC, and I never drive it below 45 degrees or in any inclement weather; so, I am definitely leaning toward a summer tire. However, I do have to wonder if there is an A/S tire that performs close to as well as the 4s, while providing better ride comfort and tread wear. Having said all of this, I would like to know which brand/model tire you chose as well as your thoughts on this subject.

rmorin49

Michelin makes good tires but I have had good service from Continental tires so I went with Continental Extreme Contact DWS06+ tires in the OEM sizes. They are not runflats so I carry a slime kit with compressor. They get very good reviews on Tire rack and are all season rated. I also had them on my C7 Corvette.

SLclass

Sounds like a strong contender for serious consideration! I'll continue researching for a bit longer, as I still have plenty of time to decide. Thank you!

griza

Which brand tire do you have? 305/30/19? I would love 305's when time to replace my rears. Glad to hear they fit, I wouldn't think they fit on the stock rim.

spinalator

Continental Extreme Contact Sport Plus 305/20/19

griza

Would you be able to post so closeups from different angles? Is the 20 sidewall a bit of a rough ride? I figured it would have been a 25 or 30 sidewall but I guess with a 305 width the 25 or 30 sidewall might be too tall. Thank you as I am very interested in putting a 305 on my SL550.

I see you are in Hollywood, I am in South Beach. Maybe we can cross paths so I could check it out.

SLclass

I had thought 30 as well. The 305/20/19 is 2.22" shorter than the original front 255/35/19.

Keon

The PS4S is hard to beat in terms of ride quality, but when the temperature is near freezing, they have very little grip. I am on my second set of PS4S, but I think you should check out the new PS5 as well.

SLclass

Thank you!

spinalator

If you provide me with your cell phone number or e-mail address, I'd be more than happy to forward you pictures of the tires. Posting photos on this site is tedious at best. You can P-M me that information if you don't want to post it

Jimbo2518

I did the exact same thing as WN1X replied. The Michelin 4S tires have been on the vehicle for about 6 months and performing perfectly. The slightly larger tires are awesome.

As a curious aside, I stopped in our Costco Tire Center to get a third quote versus my usual two tire shop suppliers. Shockingly, Costco sold and installed the 4 Michelin 4S tires for $1,000 less than either of the other two quotes. I am not sure if the tire sales person screwed up or Costco's pricing is just that much better based on volume. Costco, however, does not do wheel alignments so I had that done at a tire shop I trust.

Another nice feature at Costco is they only put nitrogen in their tires and our location has two free refill stations. There remains some controversy over whether nitrogen is superior to regular air or not but as someone who has been putting nitrogen in their tires for over 25 years I prefer it.

Good luck!

HighPercentile

I’m finally moving in the direction of replacing my Continental runflats with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4’s. Several months ago when this thread was active, the rear 285’s were out of stock so y’all suggested going to 295’s instead. Today I was browsing Tire Rack and they show the PS A/S 4 285’s in stock and ready to deliver. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...unflat%20Tires


Given that info, is there any reason at all to still consider the wider 295’s? Staying with 285 seems prudent based on what I already have, other people telling me I have the incorrect size, and even using the various tire-size calculators that most websites use. I’d like to finally make the switch but will wait for some feedback from y’all. Thank you!

WN1X

I am still happy with my 295's. Getting rid of those horrible run flats was key.

SLclass

In addition to appreciating the wider 295 for added grip, I really like the rears being the same height as the fronts for an improved appearance!

rmorin49

OEM size is 285-30-19.