ILSAAir

Time to replace the tires on my 2004 E-55.

I've seen good things about the Michelin Pilot PS2 as well as the Goodyear F1.

Price wise, the Michelins are a bit higher, but that is not the deciding factor.

Big thing for us own here in Florida is wet handling as well as road hazzards.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Barry

baldmike73

i just ordered the F1's myself. I figured I would try them out this time around. The pricing on tirerack was great as they are on special as well.

ILSAAir

I liked the price of the Goodyears and the test results seem to look pretty good. Anything has to be an improvement over the Continentals!

Heisenberg

If you found the right car just buy it.

You can get a brand new set of Michelin PS4S for about $1400... I've had PZero, Conti5p, and PS4S on my last couple AMGs and the Michelins are by the best in terms of traction, noise, comfort, and treadwear. Since S63 doesn't have a spare, run flat is nice to have but they ride harsh compared to non-runflats.

Strangely a lowering module helps treadwear on the S63, unlike my previous AMGs at standard ride height the wear is predominantly on the outer edges. And definitely ignore the recommended tire pressures, keep them at 40-48 psi.

tw2

They probably made a decision about 12 years ago. I will definitely get pilot sport 4 for my next set of rears.

Faast

Two things you should never compromise on, a nice set of shoes (spent most time standing/working) and a good set of tires (ride quality/braking/handling). I have always wore ECCO's and have always bought Michelin's for my cars. Both expensive but the best money can buy.

ygmn

What about other brands?
Pirelli
Continental
Kumho
Toyo
Falken
Hankook
Yokohama
Bridgestone

tw2

I can only speak for Bridgestone's new S007a summer tire, it's ok but I refuse to believe this is near the maximum grip one can get from a summer tire hence why I will try the Michelins next time. 2nd gear will grab half of the time at WOT in the dry.

boosted305

Read the test results on TireRack, they do some nice writeups on nearly every tire. Michelins are consistently one of the top, if not the top, tires in terms of traction, handling, road noise, etc.

In fact, while not PS4S, they actually do a head to head comparing, among others, the Pilot Super Sport vs the F1 wherein the PSS, by their gauge, scores higher than the F1.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=218

While the Michelins are consistently one of the more expensive tires, the PSS's also have a treadlife warranty whereas the F1's do not, and that can be big.

Sulaco

Great write-up. I always use the Kumho Ecstas from this comparison due to a value proposition: I don't race, I don't track, and I do 100 miles per day. I have 4 cars and the Kumho's have never once disappointed me. They're quiet, grip really well (for the money), last long enough, and don't break the bank.

But my E55 wagon is about to become a garage queen so I'm tempted to slap a set of PSS on there and only take it to car shows or the strip.

shadymilkman

Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R

E63007

I had an incident a couple years ago in my 07’E63 after having rebuilt my engine yet before repairing my Rear Main Seal whereby I made a pass in 4th gear (5000rpm) around two semi’s on a one lane road. In the next town I stopped in, that turned out was only a mile down the road, I noticed my Driver Rear Michelin Tire was absolutely Flat! I was shocked as the thoughts immediately ran through my mind of what would most likely have happened if I were in any “lesser” of a vehicle during that pass! I was blown away that I couldn’t even feel it, which is why I’m now considering installing TPMS! After that brief bout of a racing mind thinking terrible thoughts, my focus went directly to the killer wheels I had just had refinished! And I’ll say this, those beefy sidewalls of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S were what saved my rims! It turned out I had a roofers nail lodged in between the treads, so it was easy fix. Interestingly on the front I had Bridgestone’s soft high speed offering, and now that I’ve bought 4 new Michelin PS4S, I’ve noticed a bit more noise in the front wheel wells, but nothing that’s a dealbreaker!

Sulaco

I can report back I eventually went with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and I'm very pleased. It's glued to the road and I didn't notice any increase in ride noise. The tires do look very aggressive from any angle, which takes some getting used to.

kevm14

I'm still happy with my Michelin Pilot Sport AS4s. About to rotate them at the 5,000 mark so I'll check wear.

tlambert

How do you rotate them on a E55?

Fountain35

I have the Michelin PS4's on my E55, PS3's on my SL and Jaguar. I noticed the tires today probably are good for another 3-5000 miles, they have 20,000 on them now. These grip well, but don't last as long as some other performance tires I have had in the past. They also seem to "walk" a bit from side to side on grooved interstate.

kevm14

Side to side. I've noticed many modern performance tires are non-directional which is convenient.

I checked wear. Rears showed like 8-9/32". Fronts showed 9-10/32". Only some very light evidence of feathering, which means 5k was time to rotate. The new spec for these AS4s is 10/32". I was warned these AS4s wear badly so we will see. They have a stiff, sporty feel, perform well in conditions where real performance tires give up, and are supposed to last longer than like a PS4. So I went for them. We'll see how they do after the next 5k.

I also have a theory that these cars really want annual alignments given the 1 million ball joints, bushings and links.