vdubpower

cool keep us updated on how the feel and perform. And if you notice any flex in the rears as other say you may have with only a 9.5 inch rear wheel . thanks

2012 merc amg

Well that's good news about the 295's, I really have my heart set on going with the Pilot SS tires and it sounds like they should work out fine in that size, I think I will go with the 265's on the front as it seems like the back is a little jacked up already with the stock tires and that will at least maintain it where it's at now rather than making the back jacked up even more. The price is right on the SS tires, the Poles are even more reasonable, but I think the SS's would be quieter and probably wear longer and handle better, so more than likely worth the extra money.

vdubpower

let us know how it goes and snap some pics too

vdubpower

i think im gonna just swap out my rears for hankooks evos and keep my fronts, theres too much tread on them to just toss away.....

2012 merc amg

I would not mismatch your tires, what if you want to sell the car, it may handle or ride weird to especially in a panic situation. I'd just get the same tires you have on the front even if it costs you more.

I fixed my pull problem today, rotated the tires back to where they were for 7K miles and the car is back to normal again, no more right pull. I'll never ever rotate tires side to side again, not worth it.

Painted my rusted rear inner hubs too while I had the wheels off, looks good.

vdubpower

well im not selling the car anytime soon
i think its ok for a short time, ive likely over done it in my pirellis, the 16.5 but the are slicks. if i get 10000 out of the hankooks and finish off the fronts then ill start fresh after that.

mix matching tires is not ideal, sure but i think it matters more when the differ side to side on the same axle.

some may argue changing the suspension geometry from stock could have worse effects the car.

did u get your PSS yet

2012 merc amg

Nope that is long range plan as I think I can drive the Conti 5P's around another 8 K miles, they are half worn now, the previous owner replaced them and the rims right before I bought the car @ 9700 miles, the car now has 16K miles. I won't be driving it a real lot this winter as I go to Fla and have my VW Jetta TDI wagon there and do a lot of long range driving with that car, trying to keep the miles down on the Benz. I just wanted to know exactly what I was going to do for tires when the time comes, you never know if I put a nail through the Conti's I think I would just replace all the tires at that time with the Michelins, the Conti's cannot be repaired, another joy of run flat tires. I just hate the ride of the Run flats, I live around Newport R.I and the roads are very bumpy, I just know when I get the Michelins on the car it's gonna feel like a different car.

vdubpower

you have runflats on now?
thats rough...
you mentioned your rims were changed too?

heres my fronts, not great, but still ok.

2012 merc amg

Vdub, if I were you I'd just replace all four tires now with the Michelin Pilot SS tires. What the heck you have this big investment in the car and want to enjoy it, the Pilot SS will give you a great ride, much better handling and you won't have to worry about futsing around with tires for another 20K miles.

From everything I understand the Contis I have are run flats. the other strange thing though is they say they are not directional tires nor does the tread pattern indicate they are but from rotating them and having them act so strange I'd say they are directional, no doubt if I rotated them and took the tires off and reversed them I'm sure they would be fine, but not going to go to that trouble. On this car being staggered tires and all I will never attempt to rotate the tires ever again after this experience, I'm just glad the car is back to normal now.

vdubpower

Tirerack usually has good descriptions. I thought the pirelli and conti are assymetric so technically u can do a side to side swap. Not sure how much difference it makes. I never did it with my car

2012 merc amg

Yep, that's what I thought too about the tires being non directional, but doing that rotation did not work so makes me wonder if I have a bad tire, it can happen when the tires are made if they are not heated or pressurized exactly right, at any rate moving them back to where they were was a good move because the car drives great now.

vdubpower

they may have gotten more used to going in one direction and didnt adapt to the reversal.

i need to sort out my tire and alignment issues on my 500 for now and then ill do the E, soon.

hopefully kartboy can give use some more impressions of the PSS he put on his wagon,

vdubpower

just wondering if there are any updates on feedback for the 295 mich. pss on these cars

good bad ugly?
thanks

keyserS

Only tire diameter and rotation per mile matter.
Tread style, construction, etc. irrelevant as is snow vs run-flat vs summer.
Clearance issues aside, obviously has to fit on rims and in fender, but that becomes a wheel issue with offset/inset. Tire Rack has good sections on that.

Per Tire Rack:
OE Conti 255/35 and 285/30 are F/R 26" & 799 rpm/25.7" & 808 rpm.
OE PZero 255/35 and 285/30 are F/R 26.2" & N/A rpm/25.7" & N/A rpm
Mich PSS 255/35 and 295/30 are F/R 26" & 799 rpm/26" 799 rpm.

Michelin 295 is closer in size to 255 than stock rear.
Usually 1-3% difference from stock tolerable, not noticed by 4WD or ABS sensors. Wear and manufacturing differences have that much give. Usually Michelins and Pirelli UHP tires have lower diameters for a given size than other brands.

YMMV, yada-yada. Possibly