Hi all, wanted to discuss tires and the options we have for OEM fitment in 2025.

My 560SL came with Goodyear Integrity tires from 2013 when I purchased, I had one plugged for a flat around 2018 and now it seems to have lost its seal. I am thinking time to replace the whole set because of age, but not finding any stand out options from quick searches. Mostly grand touring all season, with many snow rated options that I dont think fit my use case with the car.

There are several options but nothing from Goodyear or Michelin when I search by vehicle on tire rack. The ones which stand out the most to me are the Falken ZIEX ZE960 A/S because they are the only V rated for speed, the rest are all H rated. They also have XL load rating, most of the others are SL. The other stand out is Vredestein Hitrac just because I hear the brand discussed a lot, not sure if this is good bias to follow though. I see options from Bfgoodrich, Bridgestone, Cooper, Yokohama and other familiar brands but they all seem to be either focused on economy or all weather. Personally I am looking for a premium tire that will give the best driving experience on dry roads in the summer.

My local MB shop which I take to my cars to for mechanical work surprisingly doesn't seem to be concerned about the age of the tires when I ask about a new set. They said since the miles on the tires is low and the car is stored indoors. Not sure if I am being over cautious in this regard, but likely I will just be ordering the tires and having them installed myself at this point.

My spare seems to be original Pirelli, I'm pretty sure I used it back in 2018 when I had my flat but not sure if I should be using it now. I mentioned to my shop I would order 5 tires to also replace the spare and they seemed to encourage me to keep the original spare if I can. My car isn't quite collector grade but it is 1989 and under 40k miles, so is it really worth it to hold on to the original spare tire?

 

Have you been searching on tire manufacturer websites or only on retail sites like tirerack?

 

I took a look at a few, Michelin Pirelli Continental and Goodyear. Mostly did not have success searching by make/model, searching by size for 205/65/15 does bring up some results but again mostly snow rated winter/all season. Goodyear and continental has the most options for normal dry roads but everything H or even T rated, so nothing standing out really against the options from tire rack. I also looked at Coker classic tire but they only had some bfgoodrich whitewall and redline options, not really appropriate for this car.

If I take my shops advice, they suggest to either just plug the current tire again or get the most expensive tires available which in this case would be BFgoodrich Ecopias. They are surprised to see Vredestein hi trac going for 127 per tire and concerned that is too cheap. I am mostly used to modern performance cars and paying much higher prices per tire so I dont have a good sense in this range.

I'm curious to hear what other owners are doing. Sometimes the best resource for these cars seem to be auction sites like bring a trailer, where you can see many examples being traded and examine details like tire brands. But very little actual discussion of tires happening on there. I drove this car for years without thinking much about the tires so maybe I am just overthinking things now but I would like to make a proper informed decision before getting a new set.

Does SL vs XL load range matter? Will I be fine with a T rated tire from a better brand vs H? I have taken this car to 100mph+ speeds before and would like to retain the ability to do so.

 

What does door sticker say for original tire size and specs?

 

205 / 65 VR 15 is what is written on the door sticker.

 

I would start with the 15" wheel size (I assume you want to keep the original wheels) and then go to tire manufacturer websites and look at the selection of summer/performance tires that are available in 15". You might not find 205/65R15, but you can deviate slightly to 195/70R15, 215/60R15, 205/60R15 or 205/70R15) without experiencing any fit consequences or objectionable speedo/odo impact. For example, Michelin has a classic tire section on its website (https://www.michelinman.com/classic/...05-slash-60r15) with a 205/60R15 tire in its Primacy 3 series that might work for you as it's only 3% smaller and it has a W speed rating.

If you like to do Italian tune-ups at 100 mph, I'd definitely avoid a plugged tire.

 

Thanks, I did not really consider deviating from OEM size, I mostly hear it in the context of sizing up the wheels to 16'' from a r129. Those primacy 3 could be a good option, they are in stock at Coker tire. I took a look at a tire size calculator and checked tire rack for some other options with even less% diameter shift. Some options in 215/60R15 that are also W rated, in this size there is Vredestein Sprint Classics and two options from Pirelli, P6000 and Cinturato C36. These seem to be intended for classic porsches, but may be a good solution for the r107.

 

If you can find a suitable tire in either 195/70R15 or 215/60R15, the diameter change will be only about a percent.

 

Michelin has 2 choices. One, the XWX, has always been expensive but much more so now.

https://cokertire.com/tires/205_mm-m...n-15_inch.html

 

Just following up to give an update of what I decided on.

I ended up sticking with the OEM sizing and not experimenting with the classic tires in alternate sizing, since they really seem more aimed at 60s/70s era cars. I chose the BFGoodrich Advantage Control, good reviews and they have 99H XL rating, not that it seems necessary. My tire shop was running a special so they ended up being similar price to the Vredestein Hi Tracs which would have been my alternative choice. Maybe I will try those next time depending on what becomes available in the future. Based on examining the endless r107 BaT auctions it seems like a lot of options for these cars from Michelin Goodyear Continental have been discontinued, I wonder if that trend will continue as the car ages or if new options will arrive. For such a relatively common classic car I am surprised at the lack of support from these bigger brands.

I am still curious to hear from others owners what they are doing for tires if any are frequenting this forum board. Drove the car today with the new tires and still don't see myself selling any time soon, a very nice change from my other modern cars.

 

Goodyear Reliants in either 195/70R15 or 215/60R15.

find these at Walmart, believe it or not.
It’s a nice ride reminiscent of white walls.

 

I recently bought a set of Pirelli's to fit these cars for a very very reasonable price from Wal Mart of all places. I've been quite pleased with them.