Luke, Turanza vs. SO3 or PS2? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ksing44 · #1 09-16-2004, 07:11 AM

Hello Luke,

I have Michelin MXV4+ tires that I purchased from Tirerack. Although the Michelins do provide a quiet and comfortable ride, they are definitely not great in the rain and they squeal like crazy during modest to hard cornering. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that they are French tires. I am going to drop the Michelins. Base on your advice, I have been planning to try the Bridgestone Turanza LS-H, but I am also curious about trying a set of the "Max Performance" tires. I know Tirerack does not compare the tires directly, but I wondered what you think. If you were driving a 1995 E320, would you install Turanzas or would you go for SO3 or maybe something else that I did not mention.

To help you guide my tire selection, let me tell you a little more about my driving preferences and about my car. I appreciate a quiet ride and I suppose I also lean toward a comfortable ride. I did upgrade to the AMG 16-inch wheels and I tightened my suspension with Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, so I think you can say that I also appreciate better handling. My current tire size is 205/55/16. Cost is really not a factor, because I am willing to pay for the best tire I can get. I have dedicated winter tires, so driving in the snow is not an issue. I have some questions about snow tires too, but I will address those questions in a different post.

Based on my stated preferences and my car’s attributes, what tries would you recommend for me?

Thank you,

Ken

My 1995 E320

Luke@tirerack · #2 09-16-2004, 05:16 PM

Have you considered the Eagle F1 GS D3 ???

ksing44 · #3 09-17-2004, 05:30 AM

Thank you for the tip. I respect and appreciate your advice. I checked out the Eagle F1 GS D3, both at Tirearack and with a web search. It certainly sounds like they are good in the rain and there were many very favorable reviews. I am not in love with them, however, even though they certainly have many positive characteristics. For one thing, I just don’t like the look of that V tread design, although it sounds like that is what provides the outstanding wet traction. I am also concerned about tire wear at the edges of the tires. It sounds like the Eagle F1 GS D3 may be more susceptible to getting worn at the edges of the tires. There were also some comments about noise as the tread gets worn. I hate noise.

My car tends to destroy the edges of the front tires. It used to be the outer edge of the front tires, but after the drop my car tends to chew up the inner edges of the tires. When I lowered the car with the Eibach springs, I had the alignment set to the minimum specified toe-in. I thought I could correct the problem of excessive wear on the outer edges of the tires. It did fix the problem at the outer edges of the tires, but now it is the negative camber that dominates my tire wear issues. I am within the specifications for a sport W124, with the camber set to -1.1 at all four wheels. When I get the new tires installed, I am planning to try a bit more toe-in, to try to balance the tread wear from both negative camber and toe-in. The suspension stuff is just my own little problem, but it sounds like the Eagle F1 GS D3 may be more susceptible to the problem that I am still sorting out. In addition, I suppose all of the Max Performance tires will tend to wear much more quickly than the Grand Touring tires.

The noise thing is another concern I have about trying the Max Performance category. My impression is that Max Performance tires will generally be noisier than the Grand Touring tires and, as I remember, you confirmed my notion in an earlier post. I truly enjoy a quiet ride, so I am generally reluctant to try the Max Performance category.

Right now I am still leaning toward the Turanzas, but I truly appreciate your advice. After all, my plan to purchase the Turanzas was based on your advice.

Thank you,

Ken

Luke@tirerack · #4 09-21-2004, 09:04 AM

GrandTouring tires are generally quieter than performance tires plus they wear better