I'm at 26K miles, and it's time to replace the rear tires...for the second time! And I generally don't drive my car hard at all. Is everyone else seeing rear tire life be about 12-15K miles? I'm going to try Michelin PS2's this time as I've been very pleased with the set I installed on the front axle.

IMO, if you can get between 12-15K for that type of tires is really good already. I know a friend of mine just put about 8-9K on the rear tires for his AMG but he drives aggressive though.

lol mine is on 12000 km, and well have replaced the back tyres 4 times , soon going in for its first service
Front tyres are still good as from new

I don't drive mine in winter, so I'm not too obsessed with the tread. I'd say, if you drive calmly and always in the right conditions, you can do up to 20k miles on a set of tires.

get about 9000 on mine. Already put on second set at 18,000 miles.

The SLK55 does tend to "eat" tires.

About 11k miles on the stock Pirelli rears now and they're due for replacement. Fronts are still like new.

Yep just installed my first set @ 11,000. Fronts are fine. Any advice on better trend life and tires anyone?

Keep on burning them up!

Like someone said, the stock pirelli's will last about 12-15k miles and the fronts will last about 20k miles. I just had the fronts replaced due to tire feathering. Replaced them w/ BFG G-force Sport 235/45s. The feathering could be an issue w/ the camber settings. I took it to the dealer prior to the replacement and they said it wasn't a problem. If the new ones wear out prematurely, it's going back to the dealer for sure to make a case for the camber settings not set up properly.

Same here! I have 10K on mine and I probably can get another 5k.

I'd say, you can probably get past 25k on the fronts with very calm driving.

But it's never a good idea to drive on bald tires, so might as well always keep a fresh pair of shoes on

Which, come to think of it, resulted in a little comment I had to give my GF when I got my new tires (front and rear). Total cost was about $1000 for PS2's. She said "my shoes are never that expensive" (I tend to always tease her coz, as a typical girl, she has over 20 pairs of shoes ), to which I replied "maybe, but these shoes will walk more then 20,000 km's unlike any of yours "

12k on my rears before needing new ones

Okay, I just made 14,560 on my tires and my left rear tire blow while passing a UPS truck, doing a slow 80mph. Tire gave where side wall and tread met. May have been slightly low on air for a week. I was wondering should I stick with with the Pirellis?

veroomer how about some Bridgestone potenza's ?

I just got re-01r's. WOW.

That's what I switched to awhile back as well, a VAST improvement in grip over the stock Pirelli's, highle reccommended!

I just got re-01r's. WOW.

which companys tires exactly? are those bridgestone?

I just replaced my stock rear Conti 2's at 11k miles. I should have done it a few thousand ago as they were bald. Looked like eraser heads. No tread at all. Put some of the new Conti 3's on. Was going to do something else but the fronts were fine and I didn't feel like replacing all 4 yet.

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Potenza+RE-01R

People with summer tires living in the north...do you just not take the car out when it's cold? On http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Potenza+RE-01R it says they're not intended to be used in near freezing temperatures. What kind of tires do you get? My car spends the winter up north and the summer down south so I dunno what I want to compromise lol.

Mine just went into winter storage, so I don't worry about driving in the snow or extreme cold. The RE-01R's were fine right up til hibernation .

I have PS2's on my car, and you can drive in the cold...when the ambient temperature is below 40 degrees just make sure the tires are warmed up first...I almost learned the hard way :-) The original stock Pirellis were the same.

The slk55 should have larger tires, I think the biggest reason tire life is so short out back is because the car is under sized when it comes to it's rear tires...needs like 275 on it from the factory and the room to go up to 315 if you want

I currently have BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2, but I would not get them again...cool looking tire and hook up very well, but man they are very noisy. Plan on getting Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 next and going up to a 255 or 265 size.

I agree, the SLK55 should have a 275 out back at least (a real LSD wouldn't hurt either). I went with 255/35-18's for the Potenzas - every bit helps! The F1 GS-D3 is an excellent tire too, especially for those doing a lot of driving in the rain; the RE-01R is not a great wet weather tire but I wanted dry traction as my first priority.

The Goodyear GS-D3s hook up well dry or wet, but they're very noisy. I had them on my E55 and wouldn't do them again. If it weren't for that then I'd have put them on the SLK to.

Fishtailin says: I agree, the SLK55 should have a 275 out back at least (a real LSD wouldn't hurt either)

I'm a novice. Are your tires doing acid? what is real "LSD"?
thanks